Great film, minus the MTVesque editing...Denzel Washington performs ?SPOILERS?

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2004)

Just rented and watched this film last night and what a surprise!! Denzel Washington proves yet again his diverse talent and praiseworthy abilities as an actor. He plays a detached, "has been" ex-CIA agent with an impressive investigative/agent history who's hit the bottle and lost his way in life. Enter Christopher Walken as his long time friend who genuinely cares about his struggle and helps him get a job as a lowly paid bodyguard in Mexico City for a little girl, Dakota Fanning (who starred in "I am Sam" and is a wonderful little actress who will no doubt have a successful future in Hollywood).
The movie, although a long 2 hours+, spends the better part of the first half developing the relationship between Denzel's "Creasy" character and Dakota's character "Pita". While it was less than exciting to watch it was necessary to show the growth of their love for one another to support the latter half and plot of the story.
The little girl is kidnapped and from that point the story becomes "A man on Fire"..Denzel is "reborn" and out for bloody revenge for the "loss" of the little girl...some grisly scenes, one after the other dominate the rest of the film. Now despite the fact that Denzel's character takes matters into his own hands and is, in reality..committing unspeakable crimes himself, we care too much about him and the little girl to hold him accountable.
There are suspenseful moments in the movie, with a predictable turn of events (although the back of the DVD hints to this with the comment "He will stop at nothing to save her") and the viewer is not so surprised. But it's not a psychological thriller, so it's not a fault of the screenwriter or director.
I found this a tender movie and sincerely vested in the character Denzel plays. I shed a few tears at the ending and for that I give the movie 7/10*..
A few minuses...the annoying MTV video like editing. It was full of fast, rapid editing, with too colorful, or colorless close up shots in the beginning..at times you almost felt like you were watching an MTV video without the music (Marc Anthony's presence in the movie added to that message in my opinion, a not so good choice for those who casted him, physically he fit the role...??? his acting ability) It reminded me of the technique used in "Traffic", which is new and creative, but distracting for the audience.
What were they thinking when they brought in Marc Anthony?? His supporting role was somewhat significant, but no awards there.
Also, Mickey Rourke...overshadowed..a waste of talent there. I would have like to have seen his part expanded, because in the context of the story, it WAS significant...
Overall a great film, definitely don't miss this one. Consider buying it..also of noteworthy mention was the score (if you can get past the MTVesque editing...a little bit of Lisa Gerrard's engaging voice is thrown in, who was also involved in the score for "Gladiator")
If you can get past the annoying editing style, and somewhat predictability of the plot, you'd be hard pressed not to enjoy this one..a pretty good drama/action piece.