#Man on fire plus

#Man on fire plus

Language: There were about 20 uses of f* plus a few subtitled uses of the Spanish equivalent. If you’re not used to this genre, and don’t want to get used to it, stay away. I’ve detailed some of the content here, but there’s much more. But in most cases, the emotion is there, and it’s gut-wrenching. There were a few stressful scenes in which the characters seemed to show less than the expected degree of emotion. Mickey Rourke is wasted in a bit role as the Ramos family’s attorney. Rachel Ticotin is okay as an investigative reporter who supplies Creasy with information. Performances: Washington is very good, as always. So some people may be sickened by the filming techniques as well as by the content. In fact, while Creasy was recovering from the wounds he sustained during the kidnapping, an honest cop had him secretly moved to a Veterinary hospital where the corrupt cops couldn’t find him and kill him.ĭuring the retribution crusade, there’s a lot of shaky hand-held camera work, spin-angles and fast-motioning, some of which appears to have been shot on digital video. And since many of the police are corrupt, belong to a secret brotherhood called “La Hermandad,” and are themselves a part of the kidnapping trade, the only way Creasy can do what he needs to do is outside the law. This isn’t stuff that most Bible-believing Christians will enjoy watching, but it’s effective for Creasy’s purpose. Creasy also blows up a Rave club that apparently belongs to one of the kidnappers, after first firing warning shots to get all the dancers to evacuate. Sticking a remote-controlled explosive charge up the rectum. We’re talking about cutting fingers off, one by one. Starting with the “little guys” at the bottom, Creasy tortures members of the kidnapping ring for information on their superiors, then kills them. (Rayburn refuses to be directly involved in any more killing, but he does use his contacts to get Creasy the weaponry he needs.) Problem is, we can’t just relax and enjoy that interplay because, as anyone who’s seen the advance publicity for this film knows, Pita will eventually be kidnapped and Creasy will go on a crusade of retribution and vengeance.

The slow-blossoming relationship between the two is very engaging. Eventually, her sunshiny influence rekindles something in Creasy. On duty with the Ramos family, he also waffles between being “all business” with Pita and letting himself become her friend. He waffles between suicidal depression and trying to rekindle his dormant faith in God. “Do you think God will forgive us for what we’ve done?” “No.”Ĭreasy drinks heavily, but knows the Bible well.

They’re former counterinsurgents (read: “assassins”) carrying a heavy weight on their consciences. The backstory on Rayburn and Creasy is leaked to the audience little by little. Not exactly his field of expertise, but a reasonable fit. One thing leads to another, and Rayburn refers Creasy to the Ramos family. Industrialist Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony) and his blond “American” wife Lisa ( Radha Mitchell) are temporarily without a bodyguard for their young daughter Pita ( Dakota Fanning), and are keeping her out of school until they can find a suitable replacement.įormer CIA “Black Bag” operative John Creasy ( Denzel Washington) drops in to see his old partner Rayburn ( Christopher Walken) in El Paso. Therefore, it has also become normal for upper-class parents to hire personal bodyguards for their children. The rich have purchased kidnapping insurance, which makes them even more lucrative targets. Kidnappings for ransom have reached epidemic levels in Mexico City. It centers on a flawed but conscientious hero, and ends with a strong redemptive twist which I can’t give away. This is a surprisingly good-of-kind film, for viewers who can tolerate the extreme violence.