Hero Or Brutal Sadist?

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2004)

Tony Scott is one of the modern maestros of fancy editing, zippity camera-work, and slick violence. So it's a shame that 'Man On Fire' is closer to the ugly sadism in 'The Fan' than to his wonderful techo-thriller 'Enemy Of The State'. Scott's films are fairly empty and derivative at the best of times, but he knows how to shoot action. Reuniting with Denzel Washington (they made the dynamite submarine drama, 'Crimson Tide') and working from Brian Helgeland's screenplay, this seemed like a can't-miss flick. Well, it missed.
What went wrong with 'Man On Fire'? Is it too long? Yes. Apart from the rock-solid Washington and the mere presence of Christopher Walken (playing *GASP* a good guy), is the cast mostly forgettable? Uh huh. Does Scott over-do the visual tricks when he should just let his story work on its own? Yup. Is the movie just too gruesome in the final hour when the hero turns vigilante and shows how they used to do things in Special Ops? Oh yeah. But at least the film is not boring or stupid. Denzel Washington is responsible for a lot of what DOES work, and he's given the opportunity to play a troubled hero in the first half and a sadistic hero in the second half. Actors love challenges like that and it's hard not to root for Denzel when he's kicking the asses of a bunch of guys who deserve it.
Dakota Fanning continues to seem like she's an alien from far, far away. This little girl is too grown up for her own good. She can act, though, and her relationship with bodyguard Denzel is nicely developed. They're about the only characters who matter. Everyone else is window dressing. This isn't a terrible film, but it's not one of Tony Scott's best. He usually finds a way to make his violent flicks fun. There isn't much humour or fun to be found here, though. Even worse, there are no surprises in 'Man On Fire'. Geez, if you don't see the plot twist coming from 4 theatres away, you need to see more movies. But I liked the way he used (and sometimes OVERUSED) subtitles.
Maybe that's the kick in the head. Here's a movie about kidnappings and children in danger and murders and torture and betrayal and money and Mexico. It's got Mickey Rourke and Chris Walken in supporting performances. The lead is one of the finest actors in Hollywood and his young co-star is the female Haley Joel Osment. The director has made his millions working in the action-thriller genre. And still...all I can remember is the subtitles. I guess that's the essence of Tony Scott, style over substance. In 'Man On Fire', the gap between style and substance was a gigantic chasm.