Not done justice

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2005)

"Man on Fire." I have to admit, after reading the previews and hearing the title, the only reason I chose to watch Tony Scott's latest film was an uncharacteristic craving for some brainless, gun-heavy, Dolph Lungren-style action. And I have to say, I was disappointed.
But in a good way. Anyone watching this film for the first time will not be expecting much in the storyline or character-building department, yet Man on Fire is one of the best films for doing this that I've seen in a long time.
The movie boasts former two-time Oscar nominee and one-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington in one of his best performances in the lead role of John Creasy, an ex-CIA operative who's hired to protect the daughter of a wealthy Mexican businessman. Creasy is on a path of self-destruction before his ex-colleague Ray, played reasonably well by Christopher Walken, lands him the job. Presumably meeting Ray's hopeful expectations, the bodyguard work gives Creasy a new purpose, effectively keeping his 9MM at a safe distance from his skull.
Washington paints Creasy as a man who is as washed up as one can get: regretting the past and giving up on any hope of redemption. He's a man who has incessantly drunk himself away from his physical peak, finding little solace in The Bible and looking vainly for a place to end his life. Pita, his charge, immediately makes an unlikely connection with Creasy and, in the words of Ray, "showed him that it's okay to live again." Dakota Fanning is perhaps the best child actor working. Pita is made likable, intelligent and funny by Fanning, who brings out another dimension in her 9-year-old character by being able to brilliantly portray an emotion before swiftly moving onto another one. Whether purposeful or not, her voice has both the essence of a child's innocence and an adult's thought, making Pita's kidnapping all the more heart-wrenching.
The physical contrast between Washington and Fanning coupled with their poles-apart acting styles makes for some amazing chemistry. Though her early attempts at connecting with Creasy are somewhat akin to trying to draw blood from a stone Pita eventually succeeds, and although first reluctant to communicate with Pita, Creasy eventually becomes a mentor, almost a father, to her. So much so that when Creasy, after being hospitalised by the kidnappers, swears to wreak bloody vengeance on the organised faction behind her capture, we wonder exactly how this is going to come about.
That's where the real character building of Creasy begins. From his statement "I'm gonna kill 'em. Anyone that was involved. Anybody who profited from it. Anybody who opens their eyes at me," to the end scene, we see that Creasy is in fact a highly trained unstoppable killing machine incapable of remorse for his enemies. The detached and almost polite way in which he horrifically interrogates the kidnappers en route to their master puts Jack Bauer's "Tell me where the bomb is!" to shame.
This is perhaps the film's greatest strength: it is not a preachy revenge flick. Creasy does not learn that killing is wrong, a la Collateral Damage, and does not find the value of human life. He kills and kills and kills and kills until his job is done and revenge is served, but we still cheer him on because we too feel anger towards these so called "professionals" who ripped Pita's childhood away from her. In turn, that's exactly how Creasy dispatches them: professionally, be it by calmly cutting the fingers from a corrupt Mexican policeman's hand or casually informing another of the C4 lodged in his anus.
Artistically, this film is something of a masterpiece. Director Tony Scott has (perhaps over-)used montage editing to its full effect here, shooting one sepia-soaked scene over another and putting a gritty texture into the film's presentation that matches its story. Working in tandem with Harry Gregson-Williams' spicy score, Scott has created something that is as enjoyable to look at and listen to as it is to follow. A special mention must go to the revolutionary use of subtitles.
A stunning piece of cinema, then, that has been let down by a lack of hype and bland storyline synopses. Man on Fire is a rarity: an undervalued remake that infinitely outclasses its own subject material. Enough to set the audience alight.