does considered, planned out bloody revenge make you go "oooo"?

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2004)

Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning impressed me to no end in this film. Giancarlo Gianinni was underutilized in a near-promising role, Rachel Ticotin's role was left unfulfilled, with dangling plot devices left hanging and the resolve and necessity of her character is basically ignored once that character's actions culminate in the event Scott used them for. He threw her away and left me wondering what happened.
The plot was relatively common in its underlying themes, but its execution in both the portrayal of the two main characters by Washington and Fanning, and the fascinating photography effects and dialog captions used by Scott to draw the viewer in to the disjointed and seemingly random violence of the particular aspect of the life of Mexico City residents, and the mind of Creasy, make it a worthy film. My greatest complaint, besides the under-usage of some of the supporting cast, is the over-usage of the photography effects. To some degree it would have been MORE striking if those effects had been used with more reserve. By the end of the film they had been used so often that they no longer served their purpose with the same efficacy.
I've seen people complain about the ending, but I think it fit perfectly with the progression of the character of Creasy.
*SPOILER* Creasy evolved from his lost-self to his found-self through his relationship with lupita (Pita). Pita, expertly portrayed by Fanning, won us over with her strength and wits and genuine charm. And later, Washington won us over with his unrelenting drive to avenge her loss. The character of Christopher Walking was GROSSLY underutilized, but his narrative-like contributions painted a haunting picture of the evolution of Creasy - and the carnage he would bring down around the heads of those who'd taken the girl. If Walking painted a picture of what would come, Washington competently, and understatedly fulfilled that vision with remarkable power. I found myself confidently rooting for his vicious revenge to be enacted in ever-greater measures of creative pain on "those who were responsible, those who profited, and those who looked at him." By the end his injuries and purpose had basically done what they were supposed to do. Though the end might have felt anticlimactic to some, I don't think this movie was at all about the ending. Rather it was about the journey from the beginning to the ending - the climax seemed to be somewhere around the blowing off of fingers, or possibly the blowing up of something, or maybe even a suicide.
*end spoiler*
This movie is harsh. It is intense. It was well-made and worth watching. I don't recommend it for the young or the squeamish, as it is violent and gory in the extreme. But it is a fascinating take on a common western theme with expert photography and deft portrayal of characters that possibly could have been better-written, but probably not better acted.
Definitely worth the rental. If you're a fan of action features, this is not exactly that. There is action, but the heart of this movie beats in what drives it - and if you don't feel yourself hunkering down and waiting/wanting for Creasy's revenge to culminate then you're not paying attention, or you just don't like these kinds of movies.