Mind-blowing!

Rating: 9/10 (2 April 2006)

There is very little Denzel Washington can do to shock us anymore at this point in his career but I was stunned by his performance in this film. He plays a former assassin eager to keep his past in the past as he slowly wastes away to booze and what not in Mexico. One day, his friend and former accomplice Rayburn (played by Christopher Walker) convinces him to take up a job as a bodyguard for a rich young couple's played by Radha Mitchell (in her element) and Marc Anthony (he continues to try and show us that he can do other things besides sing well) daughter Pita (played by the heartwarming/heartbreaking Dakota Fanning). Pita, a young girl of say seven-ish or tops ten-ish develops a school girl's crush on Creasy (Washington's character) and very soon she is able to melt his heart and create a worthy enough relationship with him that is enough to tug at his heart when she is eventually kidnapped and held for ransom. That's the first part of the film, and during the whole ordeal you will feel like you're actually watching Washington in two different films. Like a 2 for 1 so to speak. The second half of the film is spent on his ultimate revenge and bringing losers to justice. The problem with kidnapping in Mexico is one of the highlights of this film and it out to bring shame on the law makers and politicians of the country.