His bodyguard style is much entertaining. I could watch it all up until certain point. Then it seems Denzels character goes against his usual serious bodyguard style. Only to progress the plot. That is when I turn this movie off

A Former CIA operative John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is hired to protect Lupita Ramos (Dakota Fanning), a 10-year-old girl living in Mexico City. After she is kidnapped, Creasy stops at nothing to get her back and deliver vengeance.

Tony Scott and Denzel Washington worked on four films together, and while I did enjoy this movie, I don't think it's the best of the four. Unstoppable will always be my favourite. The pacing is what lets this movie down for me. I really enjoyed the first half of the movie, where Dakota and Denzel are getting to know each other and driving her around. The second half just didn't work as well as I had hoped and was too long. The chemistry felt real and strong. Christopher Walken was as good as we know he can be, but I wished to see more of him in the film.

Denzel proved as to why he is one of the best actors in the business and is one of my all-time favourites. He does action scenes really well and is very believable, but where he really excels is the emotional scenes, Just by the look in his eyes, he loves what he does and gives it his all every time. Seeing him play Creasy who is a drunk and seems not really care for anyone, then meeting Lupita who gives him purpose was a happy moment to see. It gave the film and characters more depth when she is kidnapped. The villains did not have a lot of substance and were not that threatening.

I am not the biggest fan of slo-mo and I thought it was overused in this film and did not add anything to the film. The violence used while fun at times, was nothing more than that. The locations used were beautiful and I think the film is wonderfully shot with a great score to add to that.

The ending is one of the more emotional ones that I can remember. This is an above average revenge movie that had the potential to be so much more. 6/10.

The problem with most revenge films is that due to the poor build-up and bad developed characters, there's hardly any emotional involvement with the main characters, which leaves a lot hanging when it comes to the final check on the revenge list, and therefore doesn't give the satisfaction it's supposed to. However, in Man of Fire, they take the time to build up the story, they take the time to let the characters and their relationship get known.

[spoiler]Creasy is a depressed, alcoholic ex-soldier who asks his best friend Rayburn whether God will ever forgive them for their numerous sins, to which his friend replies: Not Us. The same friend persuades Creasy to take on a job as a bodyguard for a young girl. Creasy reluctantly does this, but after a while he starts to enjoy it because the girl, Pita, opens his heart that has been closed for years and shows him that life can be beautiful too.[/spoiler] The natural chemistry between Washington and Fanning is a pleasure to watch, and portrayed in a captivating way. With this, director Tony Scott creates a bond between the characters and the viewer, at least, if it allows that.

As soon as the plot kicks off and the revenge journey starts, the film drastically changes directions. Creasey becomes a human Terminator that doesn't care about anything or anyone; with a whole arsenal of weapons he goes hunting for everyone who has had something to do with the abduction. Fortunaly Washington gives this revenge machine dignity and an appearance as not many could, with which he actually takes the whole movie to a higher level. This especially applies to the second half of the film, in the first half Fanning is the girl that needs to be protected, and absolutely steals the show. She knows how to indulge and movie, and with her charm she gives the film a warmth that otherwise wouldn't have been, and definitely fuels the latter half. As soon as her character disappeares, the film immediately gets heavier. Christopher Walken also has a (too small) supporting role in which he delivers a tough speech about what Washington's character entails.

The montage and editing of the movie is absolutely terrible and all over the place, which is nothing short but disturbing. Althought the regularly chaotic and busy image changes in the second part of the movie can be called appropriate, but definitely ruins the better (and most other) moments of the first half. A more relaxed style would've definitely been welcome. But it seems Tony Scott couldn't make a film in that time period without some flashy and unnecessary editing and camera techniques, which is a pity, especially in the action scenes. These are so unclear and confusing most of the times, making the scenes have less impact than they should've had.

The film sticks the landing with a solid ending, with an expected twist and a poor execution. It's slightly disappointing, but on the other hand realistic. Furthermore the film is a strongly developed action film with the necessary drama, in which Scott paid good attention to the main characters who are more emotionally charged than usual.

Although there are some incongruities in the script, the film is an exciting ride from start to finish, despite the horrible editing. It's a shame , it would've been a very solid movie if that was handled differently. It would've been a great action film, unfortunaly, that's not what happened and clearly knocks the movie down a peg, it's a decent action film with highly skilled actors.

Thanks to, among other things, cleverl dialogues and perhaps the toughest and best portrayed revenge characters from this niche genre. Definitely one of the better revenger films.

**7.4/10**

**7.5** rounded up, because I thoroughly enjoyed it

I wasn't really sold on most of the attempts at hinting at to establish a backstory in the beginning, and some of the hard boiled lines are a bit pulpy, and aren't delivered with enough weight (probably intentional since Scott probably knew how on the nose they were), but the main heft of the drama works, and the acting is generally very good, with special nods to Dakota Fanning, who could out-act Anthony Hopkins on a good day in the nineties, but also Marc Anthony, who outshone Denzel IMHO. Christopher Walken was a delight to watch. Denzel makes the role, but I also think he's the weakest part of the Creasy/Rayburn piece of the plot. The development of the relationship between Creasy and Fanning's 'Pita' were the highlight of the portion of the film that wasn't dedicated to violent poetic retribution.

The lighting must have been painstakingly realized, and especially the closeups on manual actions (the mini hi-fi etc.), and the light scattering off of skin in the darker scenes were some amazing examples of photography, and I'm guessing that was thanks to the work of the DOP. The Ramos' house was gorgeous, and the picture showed it. I want it, as is, and I'm not even Catholic.

Solid revenge flick.

_**The Punisher in Mexico City, albeit black**_

A disillusioned ex-CIA operative (Denzel Washington) gets a gig in Mexico as the bodyguard of a precocious girl (Dakota Fanning) from a wealthy family. Christopher Walken plays his friend, Radha Mitchell the mother of the girl and Mickey Rourke an attorney of the family.

“Man on Fire” is a crime drama/thriller that debuted five days after Thomas Jane’s “The Punisher” in 2004. While “Man of Fire” was based on a novel by A.J. Quinnell and “The Punisher” was based on the Marvel Comics’ character, they’re both about men who suffer great tragedy and enact merciless strategies to take out the criminals responsible. They’re about on par, but I give this one the edge as it has more dramatic depth and flashier filmmaking by director Tony Scott (which some may find annoying). But neither is as supremely effective as the later “Taken” (2008).

Some complain that the movie’s “schizophrenic” because it’s like two movies stitched together, but don’t all revenge stories have a set-up for the oncoming revenge part? This one just has a longer and more satisfying set-up.

The film runs 2 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot mostly in Mexico City.

GRADE: B