Think of it: Walken and Rourke in the same movie. That alone is worth the price of a ticket.
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
An over-big, over-loud, over-heated, over-long, over-everything mess of a story about this year's most popular movie topic, revenge.
Man on Fire is a very good movie because [Director Tony] Scott sets the perfect tone and mood.
Features solid characterizations, interesting twists and turns, suspense, action, drama and about as many creative ways of accentuating the action as I've ever seen.
This is a dark but wonderfully created picture of friendship and love.
[E]xacts its most painful retribution upon the keisters of those assembled to view it.
Man on Fire shares plot, and plot twists, with Ransom, but it replaces that film’s claustrophobic intensity with Michael Bay-style overkill that’s unnecessary.
Man On Fire becomes riveting in (Washington's) calm, meticulous rage. But gradually it's also undermined by Scott's non-stop, hopped-up-on-crystal-meth-style editing.
Has moments of brilliance -- and by that I mean actual, best-of-the-decade-maybe genius -- but is hampered somewhat by a dreary and repetitive middle section.
Its callous fixation on violence is merely a lame pose meant to distract us from its soggy redemptive core.
One of the more absorbing and palatable entries in the rather disreputable Death Wish-style self-appointed vigilante sub-genre.
Man on Fire feels vaguely like something left over from the 1980s, when action heroes were one-note tough guys methodically picking off baddies.
Despite its high craft level and Washington's participation in it, this movie's showy violence is finally as deadening as the over-emphatic violence in these kinds of films generally is.
A coldly violent revenge drama that tarts up scenes of wanton sadism with lush art direction, and a spiritual story that invokes serious struggle and prayer for atmosphere rather than content.
Cruelly underwritten but wildly overproduced, this latest Hollywood example of the vigilante vengeance movie is...at once sensorily fatiguing and intellectually dispiriting.
[Scott's] fondness for intrusive, fake-stylish camera tricks -- jump cuts, speeded-up montages, abrupt changes in light, color saturation and focal depth -- has overwhelmed whatever story sense he once possessed.
Scott’s laudable attempt to push the envelope emotionally can’t quite overcome the screenplay’s limitations
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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