Fire with Fire

Plot synopsis:
Following a grueling day of work, firefighter Jeremy Thomas Coleman and his co-workers contemplate ending the day with a case of 35-year-old Scotch. When Jeremy enters a convenience store to buy snacks, he witnesses the clerk and his son being brutally murdered at the hands of Hagan, an Aryan Brotherhood crime boss. After Jeremy narrowly escapes with his life, police detective Mike Cella, whose old partner was murdered by Hagan while they pursued him in a different case, sees an opportunity to bring justice. Hagan is arrested and Jeremy identifies him in a line up; however, Hagan demonstrates that he knows full well that Jeremy is behind the two-way mirror by reciting Jeremy's full name, address and social security number.
Prior to the trial, Jeremy is forced to change his last name to Douglas and surrender his entire career as he is placed into the witness protection program. Although Jeremy finds it difficult to cope with the loss of his career, he finds consolation in his budding romance with Talia Durham, a Deputy United States Marshal assigned to his case. Later, Hagan's attorney arranges for him to be released from prison in the weeks leading up to the trial. As a result, Jeremy and Talia find their lives in jeopardy. Talia is wounded by one of Hagan's hit men, and Hagan calls Jeremy, threatening to kill everyone he loves whether he testifies or not. Jeremy vows to kill Hagan first and abandons the witness protection program.
Jeremy travels home to Long Beach, California, where he seeks out an Eastside Crips leader to exact revenge. The Crips decline to help but give him a gun. Jeremy stakes out one of Hagan's hiding places and kills three of his men while in pursuit of Hagan. However, he leaves behind forensic evidence that can not be traced back to him due to his WITSEC status. The evidence, though, leads detective Cella to believe Jeremy is behind the killings. Jeremy grows bolder in his actions, torturing one of Hagan's men and confronting Hagan's attorney to find out where Hagan will be one night.
Talia arrives at Long Beach and tries to convince Jeremy to abandon his plan. Jeremy locks Talia in the bathroom and gets away, but Hagan's hit man arrives soon after and kidnaps Talia. That night, Jeremy, using his firefighting knowledge, sets ablaze the building where Hagan and his men are meeting. When Jeremy realizes Talia is also in the building, he puts on his fireman's suit and enters the building to rescue her. Jeremy runs into Hagan inside the burning building and, after a struggle, Talia kills Hagan. Jeremy leaves the building with Talia. At the wrap, detective Cella, while conversing with the DA, states that no evidence was left behind at the burnt building to charge anyone with the deaths of Hagan and his men. Cella is seen putting away a photo of him and his old partner.

Tags: suspenseful, murder

Review:
Similar recent action flicks with decent actors that were worse:The River Murders(3/10), Set-up(3/10), Takers(4.5/10), and Elephant White(4/10).Donofrio is actually really solid as the villain here.The story is very straight forward, but the brutality of some of the violence is quite nice.
Too bad the script squanders the cast with suspect writing and a mail-list of decent actors that have one line in the film.I actually felt like I got my money's worth here, but I only spent .50 for the 3rd choice out of the redbox.Considering the excellent cast - it's a bit of a disappointment.
Placing Bruce Willis, very minor role, in a film and not using him to add to the action and thrill effects of the story is crazy.
"I need you to trust me" - this is how our hero manages to save people from burning buildings.Unfortunately there is nothing he can do to save this movie.As a lover of American cinema, I have seldom seen so much bad acting and writing in one film.The premise of a fireman going on a murder spree to fight for the love of his life, whom he met in witness protection program, is so dumb its painful to watch.He is magically transformed into an killing machine after shooting a few rounds in the forest with his love interest, Rosario Dawson.Every character seems to be made out of cardboard, Bruce Willis is at best a (poorly) supporting actor.50 Cent is on screen for a total of 40 seconds, and I suspect it is a redeeming quality that we are spared seeing more of him.Vinnie Jones is the usual British bulldog, apart from the fact that his ass is kicked by a fireman (this scene is so dumb, it made me cringe)Vincent D'Onofrio is the only actor that is able to make his character slightly interesting as the antagonist.Trying to build a climax our fireman hero resorts to arson to save his love, It would have been a perfect turkey if they could have written in a scene with the dialog "everything going to be alright now"Maybe they did, at this point I actually left - so I would not know.Apart from an obviously decent budget, high production values - there is nothing here worthy of a box of popcorn.I need you to trust me, watch something else..
It is about a fireman Jeremy (Josh Duhamel) who witnesses a murder by an Aryan gang boss Hagan (Vincent D'Onofrio) and ends up in witness protection but Hagan is still able to get to him.Hagan and his gang which features Englishman Vinnie Jones nearly kills his girlfriend and goes after his work colleagues.
The movie itself isn't anything new or amazing but it is actually pretty fast paced and keeps you interested and watching the entire time.
Terrible!Round-Up: Like everyone else, when you see Bruce Willis I'm the cast, you just have to watch it, but this was one movie that I wish that I didn't watch.
It was a bit weird seeing Bruce Willis in a thriller/action movie, not getting involved in the actually nitty gritty of the movie.
Released August 31, 2012 by director David Barrett; starring Josh Duhamel, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis and Vincent D'Onofrio, among some other notable talent.
Realizing no matter what he does their lives will forever be in danger he forgoes marshal protection and takes the fight to the crime lord, using any means necessary to find and kill his adversary.Fire with Fire, point blank, is a low end action film that doesn't pretend to be anything else.
Duhamel does well as the action lead, plenty of practice with the Transformers films I'm sure.I will say, with Duhamel's character supposed to be this do right, save lives kind of guy, the script writers or Duhamel, didn't give his character that feeling of really struggling with the violent acts he had to commit.
Sure, he showed the typical signs, like puking but other then that I just feel Duhamel didn't show the struggle the character felt internally.Rosario Dawson was nice to watch as a female lead.
Do you trust me?" The movie is relatively fast, so it does get right into the action and it is possible you will feel like your missing the meat of the movie but I don't feel it hurts this film too much because if it went on too much longer I think it would have hurt the film more then helped it, though a few more violent scenes from Duhamel and D'Onofrio to show what they were both really capable of would have been nice.So as you can see the film's positives balance out with the negatives.
If your a fan of D'Onofrio, who I enjoy on Criminal Intent, or Duhamel, who I've only watched on Transformers then you will enjoy this movie as the two get plenty of screen time.
Action movie fans, with no real high expectations but who enjoy a simple plot with a bold protagonist will also enjoy this.My last note is towards Bruce Willis and Curtis Jackson (50 Cent).
If your looking for a Bruce Willis action film where he has plenty of acting time and kicks butt all day this is not the film as he plays no real significant character and is not shown often.
Fifteen minutes into yawn-creating screenplay, the plot starts making no sense.Bruce Willis looks like he was forced to wake up and act.
This is more of a missed opportunity by the producer and a waste of Bruce's talents.Vincent plays an excellent villain which is tough as he comes from a very well known law and order role and is tough to shake his character but pays an excellent role.The hero does a great job as an unknown actor which we need more new actors.Watch the movie for Bruce and Vincent if nothing else, go see the movie now playing on Netflix..
Picked this movie just because I watch all Bruce Willis movies and starting to like Josh Duhamel.
The actor that seemed to have put the most effort into this movie is Vincent D'Onofrio who does a good job of playing interesting mob bosses.
Overall it's a typical action movie with a bit of love story in it with very underdeveloped characters despite some well know cast names.
They would have done the movie good to develop his character more but instead, they focused on the boy/girl thing.Action bits weren't too bad - gun shots etc.All in all the acting was about on par with a 70's porno movie, without the porn.Cellphones in the movies always work a heck of a lot better than mine does in real life..
He did deserve a far better film, this material does little for an actor of his amount of talent.However, Willis for someone highly billed doesn't have anywhere near as much screen time as much as one would believe judging by the advertising, like he has been in many of his recent roles he looks like he has given up and in it for the money.
not for story, not for less credibility of many scenes but for the eccentric idea to give a role - perfect for a younger Bruce Willis- to Josh Duhamel who seems out of his character almost scene by scene.
The villain Hagan, played by the totally unconvincing Vincent D'onofrio [ one of the worst actors in the film, to be kind maybe he was miscast] had no impact.
Like anyone else who follows an actor because he is "great" full of "action" "credible" and other terms of endearment...this film had everything going for it...Bruce in a staring roll...other actors maybe not so well known...but hey Bruce is in it...So it seems that either Bruce has given in and accepting a less than lead roll...or the guys/ galls that put it all together will get more at the box office because a "famous actor" is in it...Oh boy wrong again...similar to the film "COLD LIGHT of DAY" where we see Bruce then he's gone...In this film we see him...and again....and again...but if you think it's all about Bruce you may be disappointed...However the film is worth a viewing...it's full of action, blood and guts...a plot...and a maybe a telegraphed ending...but my wife and I did enjoy it...Despite not having as much of Bruce as we could have expected...Lets hope this is just a phase and Bruce Willis will be back on the screen doing what he does best...Action and doing the job through to the end of the film...I gave this a 5 but could well be a 7 out of 10....
If you're a D'Onofrio fan like me you watch it to see the Man do his character actor thing again.
Off duty fireman Jeremy Coleman (Josh Duhamel) witnesses a killing in a convenience store, escapes and is put into Witness Protection until the trial when he is to testify against bad guy David Hagan (Vincent D'Onofrio).
What we have here are 3-things: (1) a vigilante movie and (2) an interview for Josh Duhamel to become a new action hero, and (3) a new scary villain in Vincent D'Ornofrio.
I don't want to believe that a good plot is hard to come by; I also don't want to believe that Bruce Willis was in this movie, but all this happened in Fire with Fire.
The idea of gang violence and the fact that one man can just wake up one day, turn from a life saver to a killer (also an arsonist) and end the entire operation of a mob takeover, is to me too ludicrous a plot to think you have a reason to make a movie.Yet this movie was made, with a lot of expense also because the stunts and work done will show you that money was being spent, the delivery of the actors is not the problem it is what they are delivering that is the problem and the movie's cinematography shouts amateur.Fire with Fire is a 2012 direct to DVD drama action film, in the B-Movie genre that features our Die Hard series veteran Bruce Willis, Josh Duhamel (Fergie's Husband) who played Captain/Major/Lieutenant Colonel William Lennox in the Transformers Trilogy and Rosaio Dawson (Rent (2005) and Eagle Eye (2008)).
I'm sure his part in the movie could have been shot in just 3 days.The plot is about a fire fighter Jeremy (Josh Duhamel) who witnessed a murder done by a known murderer and mob leader Hagan, somehow by share luck Jeremy escapes and goes to the cops.
Jeremy decided to take matters into his own hands and take Hagan down.With Fire with Fire, what we have is a movie produced by 50 Cent (which is another reason to stay clear), predictable to be the last breath and an ending that was just out of place, all through the movie, the protagonist was either beaten when he should have shot, or waste time moaning over a hurt love when he should be shooting, save your cash.www.lagsreviews.com.
In that order, do not expect Bruce Willis to get to action; this time he 's an administrative cop with grief and goes no further.The plot is awfully predictable and sometimes insulting, but it manages to keep an eye on the movie, and that's because one man and one man only.Vincent D'Onofrio is as good as Gomer Pyle (from Kubrick masterpiece "Born to Kill), ruthless, stone-cold mean faced in this film, and that's the only part of a predictable, cheesy movie you should watch.
Vincent's role worth the watch.Josh Duhamel is not bad in this new kind of action role, but I support him for comedy..
As if there were not enough cringe-worthy actors the Director decided to add Vinny Jones and Rosario Dawson to the mix.There is this one scene in which Duhamel is trying to break into a location owned by the villain D'Onofrio.
Bruce Willis actually does a little work as the grizzled detective, and Vincent D'Onofrio is his reliable self as the ruthless bad guy.
It's the story of a fireman (Duhamel) who witnesses a very bad guy (D'Onofrio) kill a convenient store owner and his son.
The Director tries to correct this by surrounding him with veteran action stars like Bruce Willis and Vincent D'Onofrio, but it is still painfully obvious that Duhamel got the role simply to be eye candy, further proved by the amount of times he unnecessarily takes his shirt off.
As with all action films, Fire With Fire has it's moments, and Vincent D'Onofrio is always an entertaining villain, but aside from that, this film is good for nothing more than a 90 minute distraction, that you probably won't even remember it a few days later..
Firefighter Jeremy Coleman (Josh Duhamel) witnesses a murder by gang leader Hagan (Vincent D'Onofrio) and set to testify.
I'm not actually sure what he did in Fire With Fire other than run around a bit and then try to hide from the camera when he realised how bad it is.Fireman Jeremy Coleman (Josh Duhamel, who previously 'delighted' in the execrable Movie 43), escapes a hold up in a convenience store by über villain Hagan (Vincent D'Onofrio).
Fireman goes on the lam and decides to take care of business alone.Oh God, really?OK, it's got some production values and it's also got Bruce Willis, 50 Cent, Vincent D'Onofrio and Vinnie Jones in it.
Bruce Willis might have been paid $5M for 1-2 days of work, as his character never leaves the single location he was filmed in.There are actually 36 producers listed in the credits - maybe that's where the money went?.
And the bad guys easily find where Jeremy and Talia (Rosario Dawson) are hiding, but their hit-man chooses to noisily shoot at them from a mile away instead of just quietly plugging them in their room?I have no trouble suspending disbelief when necessary, but a movie of this genre is supposed to at least try to be somewhat realistic in its portrayal of action and basic plot.
"Jeremy Coleman" (Josh Duhamel) is a dedicated fireman for the city of Long Beach who just happens to witness the cold-blooded murder of a convenience store clerk by a man named "David Hagan" (Vincent D'Onofiro) who is also the leader of an Aryan supremacist gang.
He is a capable and suitable action hero but the story he has to work with loses steam after the first half hour.Rosario Dawson plays an FBI agent - but the most useless agent in history till the end.Bruce Willis looks tired and squinty and doesn't do much - but I guess they need his name to add prestige to the project.It's okay for one watch but it is a bit of a let down and you'll see why it went straight to DVD..
As I expected Bruce Willis was not in the film very much, just slightly more than a cameo, although he has some good lines and a particularly fun "bad-ass" scene of him beating up a thug easily.
I was worried that like many action films he wouldn't get a really great ending to his villainy but there are no worries in that front because his death scene is A+!
As his new identity becomes compromised Jeremy is forced to take an unexpected course of action in order to get his life back and save the lives of those he loves.....If you take away the 'get them before they get you' part of the narrative,this film is just a dramatic retread of the eighties comedy 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil', person sees a crime, gets away, and the bad guys are after them.But naturally, the cops are after our hero, because he's seen Kill Bill a couple of times.If this had been made in the nineties, it would have starred Keenan Ivory Wayans, and had a comic twist on the narrative, and still have that dark edge.Here we suffice with Duhamel literally taking the title for granted, running every five minutes and breathing heavily.Dawson is the best thing about the film, Vincent D'onofrio turns up as a guest villain, and Bruce Willis, although very good, looks very, very smug.It's by the numbers stuff, and its nothing memorable, but you'll have a bit if fun watching all the clichés add up..
Why is Bruce Willis' character in this film?
But anyways, I digress.The actual stars of "Fire with Fire" are Josh Duhamel (Jeremy Coleman) and Rosario Dawson (Talia Durham), which is probably why the producers of this film opted for the Bruce Willis "bait and switch".
In the end, Jeremy decides to retaliate against Hagan so that further harm does not fall his friends, family, and love ones.This film is the perfect movie for television enjoyment, not great by any means; however, it's definitely quite suitable for renting, pay-per-view, and /or watching on HBO, STARZ, etc.
Firefighter Jeremy Coleman (Josh Duhamel) is a witness to a murder and has been placed in the witness protection program where he falls in love with a US Marshall (Rosario Dawson).
Bruce Willis plays local police chief Mike Cella who would like very much to see crime boss David Hagan (Vincent D'Onofrio) go to jail.While in the program, the bad guys find out where Jeremy is located and threaten to kill everyone Jeremy knows and their family.
I would have liked to have seen more of Willis in the film.Might work as a 99 cent rental for some people.
Considering that this movie went straight to DVD despite having Bruce Willis in its cast, I wasn't expecting much.
Making a bad guy completely evil doesn't add to tension; it turns the story into a comic book.I'm actually one of the few reviewers who appreciated the subdued role that Bruce Willis has in the film.
Fireman Jeremy (Josh Duhamel, in the second film within two hours for me) witnesses racist thug and all-powerful crime boss David Hagen (Vincent D'Onofrio) commit two cold-blooded murders.