Tony Scott's best flick since True Romance

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2012)

This film works so well, partly due to the fact it's based on a true story, is a revenge flick but has a soul to it without being a vehicle to justify copious and profusely bleeding baddies for Denzel.
The story takes a while to get going, but once it does, it doesn't really let up. Denzel is Creasey, a mysterious and stoic former soldier now turned soldier of fortune/ bodyguard with a strong predilection for booze. Walken is now trying to shake the creepy villain role with him as Creasey's war buddy who does private security "ferrying workers" across the Rio Grande from El Paso to Mexico to work. He takes on a job merely to ingratiate himself to Rayburn, Walken's character.
Then the daughter, Pita takes a fondness to Creasey much to his chagrin as he's not particularly social or fond of anything besides Jack Daniels. What works is the reticent chemistry between Pita and Creasey who later comes to reciprocate his fondness of Pita's charm. Much like Mathilda and Leon in The Professional. Sans the sexual innuendo and alcohol.
The narrative actually has a poignancy as it begins with Creasey's self-destruction, and becomes a love story and eventually descends into the dark recesses of a revenge flick. Scott actually let the story breathe and didn't try to cut corners for the sake of action. Actually, he did the story justice by exploring the relationship of Pita and Creasey, thereby giving the viewer a place as the 3rd person among Pita and Creasey.
All of this culminates in a dark juxtaposition to the jovial friendship as Creasey goes to seeking trouble in the form of revenge, and finds Pita's abductors.
This is evidence that Scott is capable like his brother Ridley to tell a story that does not necessitate blowing things up when he works with Bruckheimer.
Maybe Scott had something to say or prove to his critics . Because he followed this up with...Domino? A movie made just to justify his "exorcising his rock and roll demons" in the same aesthetic he uses in Man on Fire. More kinectic and saturated shots combined with rapid fire editing and under/overexposed frames.