Recommended Retro Cinema: Man on Fire (2004)

When you think Tony Scott, you think erratic, schizophrenic, and wholly incomprehensible stylized directing. And you wouldn’t be entirely wrong, given Scott’s work on “Domino”, his 2005 box office disaster. But before Scott tackled Keira Knightley as a bounty hunter, he tackled Denzel Washington as an ex-covert operator with a bloody past who goes on the warpath after his charge (played by young Dakota Fanning) is abducted and killed during the subsequent ransom exchange. “Man on Fire” remains Tony Scott’s best film to date, and is an example of style used to forward the story rather than drown it out in a sea of noise, explosions, and loud music. Actually, “Man on Fire” is all those things, but it also has a fantastic, explosion-free first hour, and a second hour filled with nothing BUT those things.

The company line for “Man on Fire”:

Hard-drinking, burnt-out ex-CIA operative John Creasy (Washington) has given up on life–until his friend Rayburn (Oscar winner Christopher Walken) gets him a job as a bodyguard to nine-year-old Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning). Bit by bit, Creasy begins to reclaim his soul, but when Pita is kidnapped, Creasy unleashes a firestorm of apocalyptic vengeance against everyone responsible.

The movie trailer:

An excerpt from our review (found in its entirety here):

If the movie feels too inspiration and bright in the first half to action junkies, fear not, because “Man on Fire” delivers the goods in the second half. The action is stylish and oftentimes confusing, with Scott throwing every camera and editing trick he knows at the audience. There are times when Scott threatens to go overboard, and on some occasions he does. The script by Helgeland is simple and effective, and the only real knock on it is its clumsy third act, which is disappointing and anti-climatic. The filmmakers also throw in a last-minute plot twist that threatens to torpedo the movie’s entire purpose, as well as a downbeat ending that, one suspects, was in response to the ludicrous plot twist that came before it. In this case, keeping the film simpler would have been the better, and more effective, way to go.

The credits:

Starring Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony, Radha Mitchell, Christopher Walken, written by Brian Helgeland (based on the novel by A.J. Quinnell, and directed by Tony Scott. Rated R for totally badass violence.

The Images:

Why you should see “Man on Fire” if you haven’t already:

An entertaining, character-driven first hour, followed by a bloody, action-a-second second hour. The ending offers up a plot twist, but works anyway because you want it to work so bad. That wouldn’t happen if the characters weren’t worth cheering for. Creasy is worth it.