| Man On Fire (2004) Cast:Denzel Washington,Christopher Walken, Dakota Fanning, Mickey Rourke, Marc Anthony Washington stars as Creasy a sucidal bodyguard who finds himself growing close to the little girl he's hired to protect, however all things are set ablaze when a group of kidnappers swipe the kid, shoot Creasy and end up later killing the girl, ticked off Creasy becomes blinded by rage. Man On Fire is a movie which depends entirely on suspense and the acting from the cast, and all of it is very well done. The movie is brutal but slick, Denzel's performance is quite good although one perfers Scott Glenn a little more in the role. That said Denzel gives a stunning performance of a man blinded by rage, indeed it's a role that takes a lot of understanding, because how easy is it to come off as over the top? However aside from Washington, Walken and Rourke also contribute good performances, while one wonders why the always underrated Mickey Rourke didn't get a bigger part. Still Man On Fire hits hard and pulls no punches making it a superior genre outing. The only flaw is that it should've gone all the way, the twist ending is lame and subtracts what impact it had build in the first place. Still with lame revenge fables out there (The Punisher 04) it's nice to see something character driven.. D.Tony Scott*** |