Demons within and demons without.

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 2004)

Denzel Washington plays the role of an ex-marine who is battling demons from within himself, the memories of the horrible things that occur in war. We depend on men like him to defend our country, and we send them to other parts of the world in the name of freedom. We train them to be cool-headed, efficient killers because sometimes that is the only way to stop the selfish, evil ones who would destroy decency and freedom with no regard for human rights.
But then these heroic saviors of freedom must deal with the deeds they have committed and too often they can't turn off the dreams that come back to haunt them. You may have trouble understanding but this happens to soldiers who acted honorably in war. The destruction is traumatic even to those who obey all the rules of the "Geneva Conventions". They, like him, often resort to booze to numb the brain so the memories are not as painful. Something inside men like this has been twisted until it is almost dead and can only be revived by a special person. I know, because I was once like him.
In this movie, that special someone is a little girl with a heart as big as Australia. Our hero tries to distant himself from everyone to avoid the emotional interaction that comes with a relationship. The closest thing to a friendship is with another of his kind who has seemingly been able to overcome his past while Denzel (as John Creasy) is still battling his.
But, this little girl with her bubbly, innocent personality and zest for life slowly melts the granite heart within and we see him come out of his shell and dare to have feelings for another human again.
He was hired to be the families bodyguard, but is soon more than that to the girl. He becomes a friend and mentor to her. Then suddenly everything goes wrong. He finds himself surrounded by a large group of would be abductors. Vastly outnumbered he puts up a valiant fight killing several of the attackers but is severely wounded trying to save her. The kidnappers escape with her as he lies bleeding from multiple wounds.
While he is near death a ransom is demanded but the transfer of money goes wrong and the kidnappers swear they will kill the girl. A conspiracy begins to unfold that seems to involve even the police.
Our hero is able to recuperate and swears vengeance on the whole bunch of kidnappers. Now the heart once open and loving of the little girl has turned once again to cold, hard granite and woe unto anyone who had a part in her demise.
There is much action and enough explosions to please most lovers of action films, as our hero methodically goes about eliminating all involved in the kidnapping. Some may find a few of his methods brutally cold hearted but remember, they killed the first person he allowed himself to get close to and by ridding the world of them, they cannot do that to someone else. He seems to take no pleasure in eliminating the criminals, he is merely ridding the world of vermin. There are no wisecracks, no smiles of vengeance relished. Merely cold-hearted, methodical killing of corrupt, evil people. He uses whatever means necessary to extract information, even to the point of what decent citizens would consider cruelty! As he gets closer to the perpetrators, members of the police force are found to be involved and our hero enlists the help of a reform minded reporter who has been battling corruption in Mexico by exposing it in the newspaper she writes for.
I can't say more here without giving away too much and I caution you that if you hate to know the ending of a movie, DO NOT READ SPOILERS IN THE OTHER REVIEWS. At least not until after you have watched the movie. If you are like me you enjoy surprises and this movie has several.
Let it suffice to say I was quite impressed with the acting of the members of this cast. All were very convincing in their roles, I never once had the impression they were "ACTING". This movie drew me into it almost to the point I forgot I was watching a movie.
Denzel and Dakota Fanning (as the little girl) shine in this movie. I am certain we will see more of them in the future.
My wife and I both rate this movie highly. 4* out of 5*