Man on Fire

While I may feel in a vengeful mood, I'm nowhere near as angry as Denzel Washington in Tony Scott's Man on Fire. Though the movie was savaged by some critics, I find it a good revenge story, much in the spirit of Garth Ennis short comic book story, Red. The movie has an interesting dichotomy; the first half being a character study of a washed up soldier's attempt at finding work as a bodyguard and finding a friend in his ward, and the second half becoming an extrordinarily brutal revenge story - one that's overly slick and visually glitzy, as many Tony Scott vehicles tend to be - but brutal nonetheless.

Dakota Fanning, who plays the daughter Washhington protects, is fantastic - definate star material, and I understand why she's been compared to Haley Joel Osment.

Though I would say Denzel does a good job as the hard-bitten Creasy, the scripted role of "anti insurgency operative" combined with Washington's natural (and often unavoidable) on-screen charisma makes for a slightly weird pairing. While I think Creasy should be a little more monstrous, especially as he is committing these terrible violent acts of retribution in the second and third acts, Washington's Creasy almost comes off as an assassin-martyr.

Regardless, it's an entertaining film, and certainly worth a rental - particularly for you Spycraft players out there that want some material for a gritty freelancers' game.

Quote of the film:

Creasy: "Your brother wants to talk to you."
The Voice: "Put him on the line."
*BOOM*
Brother: [incomprehensible screaming]