You can say whatever you'd like about Denzel Washington's newest action movie, Man On Fire, but we must give credit where it's due: this is, without a doubt, the strangest cinematic experience to hit the multiplexes in a long while.
Director Tony Scott (Ridley's brother), who's brought us movies like Top Gun, Crimson Tide and Enemy of the State, hits the absolute high point of nuttiness with this 150-minute epic that manages to be a searing character study, vicious revenge film and sweet but not saccharine odd-couple drama all in one. And don't forget to leave out the flashy editing, cinematography, incessant subtitles (of both Spanish and English, in different fonts and sizes) and voice-overs. It's the craziest movie of the year. And also a very, very good one; in some ways, it's one of the best of the year (although I'm quite certain that there will be many, slightly more structured films to replace it from such a high loft by year's end).
Washington, who is, unsurprisingly, powerfully tragic yet slyly charming, plays John W. Creasy, an ex-CIA agent with an unknown yet violent and haunting past. Creasy comes to Mexico to meet one of his old CIA friends, Rayburn (portrayed marvelously by Christopher Walken, who has way too much fun here). Creasy is, as with all tragic heroes, a man with vices: Jack Daniels is his primary choice, but he also enjoys planting a gun to his head when he's truly down and out; to his credit, he does read the Bible...well, religiously.
Rayburn, concerned for his friend, suggests that Creasy be a bodyguard for Pita Ramos, a precocious 9-year old child of a fairly wealthy family. See, according to the stats, in Latin America, someone gets kidnapped once an hour and 70% of the victims don't live. With this thought looming over the heads of Pita's parents (Radha Mitchell and singer Marc Anthony, who's also apparently Jennifer Lopez's new boy toy), Creasy is quickly hired, although he tells Pita's father, simply, "I drink." It doesn't matter to the family, who's willing to buy for a bargain-basement price; they just want their daughter protected.
At first, Creasy is like a rock: unwilling to talk to the girl, not wanting to get too close to her. However, since she's played by Dakota Fanning, a young woman who possesses all the right qualities of adorability and cuteness, the bodyguard warms to her and becomes a surrogate father and her swim coach. Just when things get great for Creasy, just when he's found his reason for waking up, Pita gets kidnapped. Right under his nose. Although he kills four of the would-be kidnappers (two of whom are corrupt cops), he gets a few bullets in the chest.
When he wakes up in a hospital bed, a ransom attempt, for $10 million, has been botched, and all is completely lost. Creasy gains up a certain amount of strength (though we see him relaxing and easing his wounds in a swimming pool often) and, with Rayburn's help, vows to kill anyone even remotely involved with the kidnapping.
For those concerned, this happens roughly 80 minutes into the movie. It may surprise a lot of people, since the previews for this movie make you think you're watching Denzel's version of Death Wish. In reality, Man On Fire has much more on its mind than senseless, cold-blooded murder. Not that there's none of that, though. Creasy doesn't just use a gun; he cuts off fingers, makes explosives, and generally tortures his victims first. The CIA taught him well.
It's dicey material, to be sure, but Scott knows well enough that this story, while dark, grim and fairly uncompromising, also has a bit of quirkiness to it. I can't help but snicker, or try to stifle it, when Christopher Walken proudly shows Denzel Washington a mammoth rocket launcher so he can use it. In Mexico City. In broad daylight. Frankly, the shift of tone can be a bit jarring, since we're not really prepared for the viciousness of the action scenes of the final hour. If you're a fan of the MTV-style of rapid-fire editing and camera tricks, this third act will appeal to you all the more than what builds up to it (though Scott doesn't spare any expense early in the movie).
I wonder what inspires Tony Scott, who has said that this adaptation of A.J. Quinnell's novel of the same name (it's also a remake of a 1987 film with Scott Glenn and Joe Pesci) is his dream project. Where does he get the idea to amplify almost everything everyone says in this movie, thrusting subtitles left and right? Where does he get the idea of superimpose images upon images upon images, so the audience is deluged with multiple angles of the same damn shot? I realize that cinematographer Paul Cameron and editor Christian Wagner have worked with him before, but how are they able to not completely barrage my senses?
Of course, I imagine that without solid acting and an equally solid script, Man On Fire would be up a creek without a paddle. As it's been said, Denzel Washington is sensational here, burning off the screen. During his vengeance, I thought to myself, "The guy from Training Day would be frightened of Denzel now." And yet, although he's somewhat worse than Alonzo Harris, we like John Creasy. That's because his is a slightly more noble cause; sure, it's the worst way to do things, but Creasy gets things done.
Fanning, as the charming little Pita, works magic here. She's not only able to sway the audience to love her and feel pain when she's snatched, but she suckers Creasy as well. How can you not be nice to this little girl? You'd have to be inhuman.
My only complaint with Christopher Walken in this movie is that he disappears with about 50 minutes to go. Of course, I can see why: he's this close to stealing the entire movie. If you've never seen Walken laugh, smile or do something...well, nice, then check out Man On Fire, if just for that. He's great here. Pulling their weight are Mitchell (whose Southern accent needs a bit of work, though) as the concerned mother; Anthony as the slightly more distant father of Pita; Rachel Ticotin as a corrupt but well-meaning and helpful journalist; Giancarlo Giannini as the only good cop in Mexico; and Mickey Rourke as the Ramos' lawyer (it's always nice to see him get work).
The script, by Brian Helgeland (he also wrote A Knight's Tale and Mystic River), is a tightrope walk, balancing between hard-bitten revenge picture and sorrowful character study. I could have done without a bit of the religious overtones (they seemed tacked-on), but even still, it's a minor, non-intruding flaw. One other...well, oddity is the final subtitle of the movie before the end credits begin. It's something about the filmmakers thanking Mexico City, and calling it a "very special place." Lord, I hope that's sarcastic.
Man On Fire is not for everyone. The violence can be especially graphic. It will have its detractors (the movie is too long, too gory, too weird, too over-the-top, they will say). But no matter. It's my opinion that, for the longest time, Denzel Washington could do no wrong at the box office. With Man On Fire, featuring his best performance since Training Day or even The Hurricane, the streak continues.
Josh Spiegel is an entertainment reporter for the Web Devil. Reach him at Joshua.Spiegel@asu.edu
