by Miguel Mike Medina
Man on Fire is one of those films I went to the movie theaters to watch with my siblings. It makes me feel old because it’s been 20 years since this movie came out. Tony Scott directed this movie. This is the second of five collaborations between Scott and Denzel Washington. Denzel Washington plays as John W. Creasy. Dakota Fanning plays the role of Pita. The chemistry between Washington and Fanning is beautiful and that’s what drives the movie.
Creasy is an ex-CIA who was brought to Mexico City to be the bodyguard of a 9-year-old girl. It was also nice to see Christopher Walkennin in this movie. He plays as John’s friend. I wish he could’ve had more screen time in the movie. The eating scenes with him and Denzel could make anyone hungry, haha.
Mr. Creasy is an alcoholic, stoic, and battling his demons. You get the sense in the first half of the movie that he doesn’t like killing people. He doesn’t want to be bothered or asked too many questions, especially from Pita. I like the director’s decision to use the Bible. Creasy reads the Bible sometimes in this film.
The casting is a bit off with Marc Anthony portraying Pita’s father. Another actor could’ve been cast to play that role.
Tony has this directing style of “frenetic camera style.” If you had seen his films, then you would comprehend. I’m not too crazy about the way he works with the camera. A lot of the camera movement in Act Two after the kidnapping scene was throwing me off and I didn’t like it for me.
The last 15 minutes of the movie is beyond emotional. Fantastic acting and the music score capture the essence of that moment.
My review for Man on Fire is 3.8 out of 5 stars. Denzel and Dakota brought out the best out of each other in this film.
