Dakota Fanning's preternatural acting ability is almost frightening, and Fire takes a big hit when her character disappears with 90 minutes left.
Man on Fire (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:153
Fresh:59
Rotten:94
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: Man on Fire starts out well, but goes over the top in the violent second half.
Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for language and strong violence
Runtime: 2 hrs 26 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:08-10-2004
Synopsis: John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is a lost soul. A former government operative, he has become an alcoholic nomad, searching for inspiration and redemption. An old friend (Christopher Walken) who... John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is a lost soul. A former government operative, he has become an alcoholic nomad, searching for inspiration and redemption. An old friend (Christopher Walken) who lives in Mexico gets Creasy a job as a bodyguard for nine-year-old Lupita "Pita" Ramos (Dakota Fanning), the daughter of Mexican Samuel (Marc Anthony) and his American wife Lisa (Radha Mitchell). Creasy's primary job is to protect Pita from the kidnapping attempts that are an increasing menace to the children of Mexico City's wealthy. A man of few words and many secrets, Creasy initially balks at Pita's attempts to befriend him, but soon a bond grows between the precocious child and this lonely man who is tormented by his past. When Pita is kidnapped despite Creasy's valiant attempts to save her, he will do anything to bring all of those involved to justice. His fury unravels a net of almost unimaginable corruption and greed in the process. Director Tony Scott (TOP GUN, CRIMSON TIDE) builds the relationship between Creasy and Pita in the first half of the film in order to justify Creasy's violent actions in the latter half, and in the process he does a fine job of keeping the film's tension consistently high. [More]
Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Radha Mitchell, Christopher Walken
Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Radha Mitchell, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Giannini, Marc Anthony, Rachel Ticotin, Mickey Rourke
Director: Tony Scott
Director: Tony Scott
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland
Producer: Lucas Foster, Arnon Milchan, Tony Scott
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Man on Fire
Feels almost like two different movies, one after the other, but both entertain in their own way.
Tries to justify revenge by hooking it into the myth of redemptive violence -- it doesn't work.
Seventeen years from now, we may well remember this version of the story -- just as one remembers getting hammered on the head repeatedly with a 2-by-4.
Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson made the vigilante the true urban cowboy. But I think even they would blanch at the hero of Man on Fire.
Director Tony Scott's visual style is very jittery and more expressionistic than it needs to be, but he succeeds in creating an appropriately nightmarish, apocalyptic vision of the Third World south of the border.
One of the longest, dumbest and most savage revenge fantasies extant.
While Washington has a sullen physicality, he is just too good and too smart of an actor to be credible as a character that is a bit more up Vin Diesel's alley.
At 142 minutes, Man on Fire is too long, but watching the mystery unravel is still jolly good fun.
At times, Man on Fire seems like it was filmed by a camera attached to a nervous hummingbird.
Watching one of our finest actors calmly torture and mutilate his victims makes Man on Fire reprehensible, not thought-provoking.
[Scott] cares too much about stylishness to let the festering ugliness of true vigilantism stain his carefully art-directed mise-en-scene.
Man on Fire is slick and handsomely made -- even the subtitles have a stylish energy -- but its slickness feels inappropriate because the movie is unsettling in ways it never grapples with.
Two hours and 20 minutes of the most out-of-control filmmaking you've seen since your Jack Russell terrier grabbed the Handicam off the coffee table, mistaking it for a tug toy.
[Washington] plays a cliched character in a by-the-numbers plot, but manages to make both acceptable on the sheer power of his screen presence.
Starts off as a good example of super-glitz moviemaking, gradually turns into a movie on fire -- another helter-skelter, big-studio spending spree.
Latest News for Man on Fire
May 20, 2009:
Fox International Targets Local Markets ![]()
Looking to drum up new(ish) streams of international income, Fox is planning Russian and Japanese versions of library titles such as "Man on Fire" and "Working Girl." More...
September 24, 2007:
Denzel, Tony Scott to Take Pelham One Two Three
Pelham is about to be taken again -- and Denzel Washington and Tony Scott are doing the taking. More...
May 21, 2007:
Four Directors Up for the Next "Bond" Flick?
Curious to know who'll be directing the next James Bond flick? Join the club. One source has a short list of potential helmers, all of whom would be pretty ... distinctive. More...
November 21, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Halls" Spreads Little Cheer; "Déjà Vu" Intrigues; "The Fountain" Overflows; "Pick" Is Mixed
This week at the movies, we've got holiday mischief ("Deck the Halls," starring Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito), a phenomenon known as déjà vu ("Déjà... More...
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