On the surface, Tony Scott's Man on Fire looks like a paint-by-numbers revenge flick.
Think of it as Walking Tall in Mexico City.
Denzel Washington plays John Creasy, a former CIA assassin who tries to drown the sins of his past in a bottle.
He's washed up, alone and unemployed, so his old partner, Rayburn (Christopher Walken), suggests he take a job as a bodyguard in Mexico City, which has become the kidnapping capital of South and Latin America.
Industrialist Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony) and his wife, Lisa (Radha Mitchell), need someone to watch over their daughter, Pita (Dakota Fanning).
Ramos is restructuring his businesses and has very little cash flow, so he can't afford one of the top bodyguards. He'll just have to settle for Creasy, who'll settle for enough money to keep him in Jack Daniels.
It's no surprise to anyone who has seen the trailers for Man on Fire or who's seen any number of these redemption-style flicks to guess what has to happen.
Creasy needs to be rescued from himself as much as he needs to protect his young charge, and that can only happen if she is actually kidnapped.
That's when he's required to do what he promised himself he'd never do again. He's going to call up all his skills as a professional killer and go on the hunt for those responsible for kidnapping Pita.
That means big explosions, lots of maimed bodies and the kind of bloody, gory revenge that will have audiences cheering as the villains get a long-overdue double dose of their own medicine.
What raises Man on Fire to a higher and more satisfying level than other revenge and redemption films are the performances and Scott's direction.
It's like getting on the biggest, baddest roller-coaster at the fun park.
You may instinctively know what's coming and where the big thrills will happen, but the ride itself is so spectacular and thrilling, it takes your breath away all the same.
Scott's mesmerizing camera work is enhanced so effectively by music and sound effects that it bombards all the senses simultaneously.
He speeds up his cameras then slows them almost to freeze frame. He alternates film stock so that images go from crystal clear to hazy.
One moment Man on Fire is a flashy Hollywood action movie. The next it's a guerrilla-style documentary. It's fantasy, then it's real, but it's always heart-pounding and gut-wrenching.
It is much more than pure action and pure thrills.
At first Washington makes Creasy a tortured soul who fends off any emotions and any real contact with people.
That's where Fanning's Pita comes in. She breaks through Creasy's defences until they become friends, so that her kidnapping has personal, not just professional, ramifications.
Fanning is a rare child actor who can hold her own in scenes with actors as powerful as Washington.
Anthony and Mitchell have several tense scenes and it's refreshing to see Walken so subdued.
Man on Fire is a compelling, top-notch film that delivers all the thrills, twists and drama it promises.
(This film is rated 14-A)
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