Great Film

Rating: 10/10 (24 June 2008)

Man on Fire is an amazing film because of the emotional arc the main character, Creasy, makes. He starts lost and calloused by the life he's lead until he meets Pita, a young girl he's hired to body guard. It is through the love Pita shows Creasy that gives him the will and strength to live again. The dynamic between Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning is wonderful. They each do a great job building their characters and relationship together. The film itself depends on the strength and believability of Creasy and Pita's bond. The audience needs to feel for Pita, and in conjunction, feel the pain Creasy experiences when he loses the one person he really loves. We understand the drive behind Creasy's every move.
Another element that works in favor of this film is its visual style. It follows suit with some of Tony Scott's other films, but is used very well in Man on Fire. The cinematography, film development methods, and editing scream at you throughout the film. It creates a chaotic feeling matching Creasy's emotions. The film also expands and compresses time in appropriate places. For example, the kidnapping scene is edited to be much longer than the event itself. Life happens in real time, but an individual's perception of an experience is very different from what actually happens. In this sense, the way these sequences are cut together work better than cutting "in real time." The nature of this film is often bloody and violent, but it equally exposes the power of love and friendship. This balance is the film's greatest accomplishment. It creates a powerful, emotional journey that moves me every time I see the film.