Denzel Washington
John W. Creasy
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Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life.
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| Release Date | 2004-04-23 |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 2h 26m |
| Directors | Paul Cameron, Tony Scott, Alejandro Fernández, Mark Swain, Carlos Benassini, Frank Kostenko Jr., David B. Nowell, John Wildermuth |
| Producers | James W. Skotchdopole, Lucas Foster, Lance Hool, Tony Scott, Arnon Milchan, Conrad Hool, Don Ferrarone, Peter Toumasis, Erik Rogers |
| Writers | Brian Helgeland, A. J. Quinnell |
His bodyguard style is much entertaining. I could watch it all up until certain point. Then it seems Denzels character goes against his usual serious bodyguard style. Only to progress the plot. That is when I turn this movie off
— cryodome
The Punisher in Mexico City, albeit black
A disillusioned ex-CIA operative (Denzel Washington) gets a gig in Mexico as the bodyguard of a precocious girl (Dakota Fanning) from a wealthy family. Christopher Walken plays his friend, Radha Mitchell the mother of the girl and Mickey Rourke an attorney of the family.
“Man on Fire” is a crime drama/thriller that debuted five days after Thomas Jane’s “The Punisher” in 2004. While “Man of Fire” was based on a novel by A.J. Quinnell and “The Punisher” was based on the Marvel Comics’ character, they’re both about men who suffer great tragedy and enact merciless strategies to take out the criminals responsible. They’re about on par, but I give this one the edge as it has more dramatic depth and flashier filmmaking by director Tony Scott (which some may find annoying). But neither is as supremely effective as the later “Taken” (2008).
Some complain that the movie’s “schizophrenic” because it’s like two movies stitched together, but don’t all revenge stories have a set-up for the oncoming revenge part? This one just has a longer and more satisfying set-up.
The film runs 2 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot mostly in Mexico City.
GRADE: B
— Wuchak