Film Reviews

Man On Fire

• Rating:
• Director: Tony Scott.
• Starring: Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Dakota Fanning,
• Details: Mickey Rourke.

Mickey Rourke.
Alcoholic ex-Special Ops veteran Creasy (Washington) rediscovers his humanity when he takes on the job of bodyguard to a young girl, Pita, (Fanning) in Mexico City. When the inevitable tragedy occurs, Creasy reverts to Special Ops mode and becomes a one-man killing machine. The revenge flick seems to be enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment, with Kill Bill 2, The Punisher and now Man on Fire offering the vicarious thrills once provided by films such as the Death Wish and Rambo franchises. Washington is convincingly stony-faced in the 'man's gotta do what a man's gotta do' role, but the second half of the story becomes increasingly implausible, particularly as the film spends so much time building up a complex, believable character. Director Tony Scott is a pop promo veteran and here he invests his film with all manner of distracting, disconcerting effects, from jerky jump-cuts to flashy bleeds, but the overall effect is that of trashy exploitation masquerading as art. Expensive but cheap.

Review by Garreth Murphy