Man On Fire (2004)
Twentieth Century Fox/Regency Enterprises
We watched this last night. A run-of-the-mill Latino kidnapping affair. Better than Proof Of Life, but then what isn't?
Denzel Washington plays a down-on-his-luck, alcoholic, ex-special ops soldier—stop me if you've heard this all before—who goes to work as a bodyguard to the daughter of some geezer in Mexico. There follow a few derivative plot twists, some of which were so screamingly obvious that even I spotted them coming. Which says something, really; and it's not good.
Denzel's pretty good value, as ever. And there are some nice support roles, including the kid who isn't as revolting as some child actors.
But there are some shortcomings to the film. It's a tad long (2½ hours) for what it is, really. And the director really needs to understand that, while clever
visuals may be fine for giving a three minute MTV video an edgy
and urban
feel, shakycam
blows donkeys when applied to a feature film.
At least the ending isn't a total cop out. 7/10.