What the hell is going on with Denzel Washington? I cannot help wondering why he isn’t far more picky when it comes to the parts he chooses. He is cast – no, he lets himself be cast – as the eternal good guy, and judging by his performance in for instance Training Day, he is far more convincing as a baddie. And the Academy people seem to agree with me on this. With Man on Fire, Denzel reprises his countless parts as the good guy and anxiously tries to squeeze a dark, tough edge into his character, but is restricted by the truly lousy screenplay, that was, by the way, surprisingly jotted down by Brian Helgeland (LA Confidential, Mystic River)

Ex-marine Creasy (Washington) gets hired as a bodyguard to protect and guide a young girl, named Pita (Dakota Fanning) by her rich American parents, who reside in Mexico. At first Creasy seems to want to stick to the job and refuses to bond with the young girl. When her parents have to leave for business the two of them spend a week together and become friends after all. Due to the large amount of kidnappings in Mexico City, her parents (played by Radha Mitchell and Marc Anthony) seem to be overly protective at first, but their concern seems justified after Pita is, in fact, kidnapped and killed. Creasy is determined to find the ones responsible.

Director Tony Scott, like his brother Ridley, started his career as a director for television commercials. Both directors have great eye for visuals, but in Man on Fire these visuals to me were extremely annoying. For this movie, Scott likes to use a realistic look, reminiscent of films like Traffic and Amores Perros. At first this suits the raw Mexican setting quite well, but it becomes disturbing after Scott introduces slo-mo, pretentious, contemplating, arty shots that slow down the pace of film, which is already quite slow in its first half.

I am not sure whether to blame Washington for his mediocre performance. I find it incredible that a screenwriter such as Helgeland managed to come up with something as average as this. Although the directing is decent (if you put aside the camera nonsense aforementioned), more action is what you could only wish for. Some scenes are highly promising, especially the ones in which Creasy tries to get information and seek his revenge. But by the time these scenes show up, about halfway through, it turns out to be too late to save the movie as a whole.

Director Scott doesn’t seem to know how to utilize the acting talents present in Man on Fire. We don’t have to expect much from worn-out Mickey Rourke (although his role in Once Upon a Time in Mexico was rather suitable), who shows up in about three scenes. But why put a veteran titan such as Christopher Walken in a totally useless side-kick part? Maybe Walken’s part (not his performance) is characteristic of the entire film: no zest.

In short: this one could have been promising, if it wasn’t for the really forced, overly-pretentious camera tricks, the cliché screenplay and embarrassing dialogues. This is the type of movie to rent on dvd and do the dishes or call your friends in the meantime.

Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony, Christopher Walken and Mickey Rourke
Runtime: 146 minutes
Release Dates: US: 23 April, UK: 8 October, The Netherlands: 18 November
Official Website

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