is it better to burn out than fade away?

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2004)

Denzel washington gives an great performance as creasy, an alcoholic with a military background who is hired to protect a young girl(played by dakota fanning). The story is set in Mexico city where kidnappers target wealthy families to make huge amounts of money from their ransom.
Tony scott directs a fine cast that includes christopher walken and mickey rourke. The whole film is a blur of various shooting techniques and a vivid soundtrack that suits the mood of a very threatening and alien Mexico city backdrop.
Dakota fanning is excellent as the young girl who creasy must protect, and washington himself is quietly convincing as a man with a past he isn't proud of and a future he knows is empty. But its his friendship with the girl that becomes the heart of the movie. As they bond after an uneasy start, we can see just where tony scott is taking us..so when things do take a turn for the worst, we are fully prepared for it. In fact, we are just waiting for for it to happen. And thats when the pace of the film begins to pick up. Scotts direction revels in showing us the mindset of each character, and soon the plot becomes a by the numbers trail of revenge and information gathering.
However, man on fires strength is the emotional weight that these scenes carry. Scotts investment in his character's relationships almost justifies the violence. And as an audience we are made to feel that creasy's dark side is completely reasonable, no matter how grisly his actions. That might disturb some audiences, but in todays society, it seems that an eye for an eye attitude is not so terrible an idea- at least in scotts vision of society.
If this film has a fault, it isn't the plot, the script or its execution. Its the wealth of good actors that are neither used or developed nearly as much as they could have been. But as in scotts earlier movies (true romance being a prime example), the cast,even if under-used, add a rich quality to the proceedings and audiences will feel in good hands throughout.
Strong story, strong cast, and confident direction make this one of the most interesting releases this year. And if you don't mind your action with a spoonful of sentimentality then you'll enjoy the fact that this film chooses to fade away instead of burning out at the end.