Denzel's the man!

Rating: 8/10 (5 June 2004)

What can I say? I saw Denzel's picture on the movie poster, had no clue what this was about, but went to see it because, well, it was Denzel Washington!
It is the story of a burned out ex-CIA, ex-government, ex-spy  he's out of shape, he drinks, he feels bad about all the stuff he has done in the past.
He gets given a second chance when he goes to be the bodyguard of a young girl (the ever-talented Dakota Fanning  does this child ever sleep?), as she lives in South America and kidnappings of rich people's families are rife. Inevitably we know she will get kidnapped, but Denzel's character doesn't let her go without a fight.
The movie is about the fight to try to get her back, a botched ransom drop, and the kidnappers announcement that they killed the little girl. Denzel's character then goes on a crusade to prove his own innocence (as some believe he is in league with the kidnappers), find the kidnappers and gets his revenge for killing the child he had come to love and exposing the bad guys.
If you think I have given away most of the plot let me tell you  WAY NO! There are subtle layers in this movie, there is a lot of intrigue and double-dealing going on, and the ending is very good and perhaps not at all where some would think we are leading  and I think we could definitely subtitle this movie as `revenge is sweet', the squeamish might want to look away on occasions, I know I did cringe a few times!
This is a great dramatic film thriller, and there are very few of these around. I would recommend this to any adult who is sick of sequels and special effects  this is original and quite a dark and sinister story, and the acting is excellent from all the lead characters, including Marc Anthony who I only know as a singer!
Definitely an 8 out of 10 movie!