Willa's Flic Pic: Man On Fire * * * *

Man On Fire
2004, Tony Scott
Crime/Drama
* * * *




Creasy: The gunshot holds no fear, say it.
Pita: The gunshot holds no fear.
Creasy: You welcome the sound. In fact it's the sound that sets you free. You are a prisoner on this block until that sound sets you free.

This film got low to average ratings when it was released. I admit that the trailers were unmemorable to me and I didn't give it a second thought. But it has turned out to be one of my favorites and the one that made me a Denzel Washington fan.

John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is burned out. His life has been a career of unspeakable crimes and it is now asking a toll which he currently pays with large quantities of Jack Daniels. He wanders aimlessly into Mexico to hook up with a former partner, Rayburn (Christopher Walken).

Kidnapping has become a growth industry in Mexico and more and more families are buying kidnap insurance and hiring bodyguards. Rayburn thinks Creasy needs something productive to do so he gets him a bodyguard position protecting the nine-year-old daughter, Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning), of a prominent family. (Taking this job is like asking a brain surgeon to be the elementary school nurse.) Creasy doesn't care about himself much less anyone else, but, despite himself, he becomes friends with Pita. Predictably, Pita is kidnapped and Creasy has a mission that more aptly fits his skills.

I find it interesting that a critiqe of this film is that it's an endless blood bath with a thin underlying plot. The plot does take a couple of fairly predictable twists but they are handled very well. Although this is a very violent movie where lots of people are shot, beaten up, blown up and cut up, it is more of a character study of Creasy and a story of redemption.

Creasy is presented as the worst of the worst – at least in his own estimate. Pita represents complete innocence. As the adults make their choices, she is still under their control. She is a victim of their greed. Her parents control even the activities in which she's allowed to participate. All of Pita's potential mistakes or contributions to society still lay in front of her. Creasy chose death and destruction and he believes that none of that can be undone.

Creasy: Do you think God'll forgive us for what we've done?
Rayburn: No.

While Creasy doesn't believe he can be redeemed he still looks for it. While drinking and holding a gun, contemplating suicide, he also reads scripture. Pita doesn't see him as a lost cause and accepts him unconditionally; all he has to do is accept.

Pita: There are some good things in this world.
Creasy: Oh yeah, like what?
Pita: Like meeting me.

I wonder if part of the problem critics have with this film is the religious undertones. Creasy quotes scripture once and wonders if he can be redeemed. There is a lot of religious symbolism. It's a great issue to contemplate – can you go too far to be redeemed? What is redemption and where does it come from. Although "thou shalt not kill" is not applied by Creasy, I do believe he gets his redemption message from Jesus and applies it the only way he knows how. In the end he becomes a redeemer himself.

This film has all my favorite things. Good action/adventure, a great character, one against many and Christopher Walken (every film should have a little Christopher Walken)