Man on Fire

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Forget cold, Man on Fire proves that revenge is a dish best served by an Academy Award winner. Denzel plays Creasy, a soldier of fortune haunted by his past and now placed in charge of protecting a little girl (Dakota Fanning) for a wealthy family in Mexico City. When a local crime syndicate catches the family off-guard and abducts her, Creasy concentrates all of his fury on anyone even remotely responsible by doling out beat-downs to deserving thugs. Director Tony Scott proves adept at fomenting a lust for retribution and overwhelming our senses with grisly torture scenes. (Let’s just say you’ll be glad to leave the theater with whatever digits you came in with.) You’ll feel Creasy’s pain, grimace at his creatively violent tactics, and laugh at his relationship with pleasantly non-evil cohort Christopher Walken. Intense action flicks that simultaneously stir this much emotion don’t come along often enough. Sleek style and perfect pacing combine with Denzel’s badass brilliance to carry an already capable film to rewatchable heights.

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