“Man On Fire” joins the list of retribution flicks ruling our cinema’s in recent weeks but sadly unlike its title it fails to ignite any sparks.
In this remake of Scott Glenn’s 1987 movie, Oscar Winner Washington plays Creasy a suicidal, alcoholic ex-military veteran hired to serve as a bodyguard to 10 year old Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning), the daughter of a wealthy Mexico City businessman (Marc Anthony). When she is kidnapped Washington goes on a murderous mercenary rampage obliterating everyone who had an involvement in her abduction. His tactics and technique extremely brutal he attempts to tear the organized crime syndicate apart ‘piece by piece,’ slicing the fingers of one and injecting a bomb in the rectum of another.
Initially with its slow crescendo and brilliant opening “Man On Fire” starts out very promising. The introduction alone with its dramatic tale of a kidnapping attempt made every 60 minutes is compelling, but it soon takes a nasty nosedive loosing some of its credibility and focus. The only pleasant and continuous delight is the darling Dakota Fanning who is extremely adorable and brings a powerful presence to the movie. As Pita her friendship with the initially distant and brusque Creasy is also appealing to watch as he slowly warms up to her in the first hour of the flick teaching her various skills and entertaining her innocent inquisitions — thus you initially understand his loss when she disappears.
The use of visual techniques, cinematography and the haunting music are eerily reminiscent of Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic – the rapid flash editing, grainy footage, speedy still shots and the fleeting use of subtitles occasionally capitalized as though to enhance the intensity. In this case it ends up being more disorienting than entertaining.
There are a few quirky one liners and clichés mostly uttered by Denzel, ‘revenge is a meal best served cold’ and ex marine and friend (Christopher Walken) who ironically describes Washington as a mercenary whose ‘art is death.’ Plus the cute chemistry between Fanning and Denzel is the added bonus, but it is to be expected, as both are very talented actors. The title alone connotes bigger expectations but this latest offering of another vigilante seeking redemption is painfully predictable and tediously long lacking any gripping twists to an already hackneyed plot.
