Man on Fire (2004)
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Reviews Counted: 159
Fresh: 61 | Rotten: 98
Man on Fire starts out well, but goes over the top in the violent second half.
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 25
Man on Fire starts out well, but goes over the top in the violent second half.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 391,382
Movie Info
A man whose ideals have been shattered for the last time is out for violent justice in this thriller. Creasy (Denzel Washington) is a former United State intelligence agent-turned-mercenary who has seen too much of the violence and corruption in the world and has become jaded and withdrawn. Creasy is hired to act as a bodyguard for Lupita (nicknamed "Pita", played by (Dakota Fanning), a ten-year-old girl whose wealthy family (a Mexican father and American mother) currently lives in Mexico City,
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Cast
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Denzel Washington
John Creasy -
Dakota Fanning
Lupita Balletto -
Christopher Walken
Rayburn -
Giancarlo Giannini
Manzano -
Radha Mitchell
Rika Balletto -
Marc Anthony
Samuel -
Rachel Ticotin
Mariana -
Mickey Rourke
Jordan -
Jesus Ochoa
Fuentes -
Angelina Peláez
Sister Anna -
Gustavo Sanchez Parra
Daniel Sanchez -
Gero Camilo
Aurelio Sanchez
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Man on Fire Trailer & Photos
All Critics (171) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (98) | DVD (42)
Suffice it to say nothing about this pumped-up, hyperthyroidal Tony Scott revenge flick makes sense, but it takes two hours to kill off as many people and demolish as many vehicles as Charles Bronson used to do in 30 minutes.
Top CriticIntentional or not, Man on Fire's over-the-top evocation of Christian retribution goes a long way to making this otherwise standard revenge fantasy watchable.
I'm recommending Man on Fire for that bold style, its unapologetic comic book story arc, and the great performances from Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken and young Dakota Fanning.
This movie isn't just about a kidnapping; it is a kidnapping, and we're the hostages.
Despite a red-hot performance by Washington as the antiheroic, self-annihilating title character, the film as a whole, while possessing a kind of vicious beauty, feels as cold and as embalmed as a corpse.
A predictable, gruesome piece of business that tries to ennoble one-man vigilante justice with the star power of Denzel Washington.
Extremely violent; not for kids.
"Man On Fire" is remake of a notoriously dreadful 1987 movie, based on the same-titled novel by A.J. Quinnell, and it fares little better here with Tony Scott ("Spy Game") directing with a flamboyant use of flashy subtitles and camera techniques lifted f
A down-and-dirty revenge tale that packs an emotional punch.
Visually the film is nice, but the images are in service to a violent and ugly film.
Un bon divertissement de masse, non exempt d'intelligence.
Mean-spirited; one of the year's 10 worst
[It suggests] that John Creasy -- J.C. -- is a Christ figure: scars, prayers, acting as savior. But where Christ overcomes evil with good, J.C. uses heavy artillery.
Serves up revenge, loud bangs, grisly deaths and heavy symbolism in Mexico with some relish - and extra cheese.
"One of those rare treats -- an original and ingenious take on an otherwise formulaic idea."
I couldn't help thinking afterwards how harebrained the whole adventure was. Yet Washington is so charming, so charismatic, and so heroic in his role, he makes the movie.
Shamelessly manipulative and sadistically violent… a new low for both Washington and Scott, and one of the nastier bits of business in quite some time.
Giving credit to Mexico City as 'a very special place' after spending two hours depicting it as the worst hellhole in the hemisphere shows how clueless the director can be.
For those who flinched at watching Denzel go crooked in "Training Day," you may want to hide under your seat as he goes absolutely twisted here.
Em nenhum dos filmes de vingança produzidos recentemente a retórica eleitoreira e bélica de Bush tornou-se tão visível quanto em Poder de Fogo.
Helgeland's screenplay is too lazy to investigate Washington's viciousness. This promising movie winds up spinning its wheels in a conventionally dopey action plot.
The chemistry between Washington and Fanning is the main reason why the story works. Without it, Man on Fire would just be a big dumb loud violent music video.
Exemplifies a widely-held mindset of its era, one that calls for simplistic, brutal solutions to highly complex, awful things that are happening in the world.
It has just enough weight and depth to feel like it means something. I don't think it actually DOES mean anything, but it gives the illusion of it nicely.
[W]hat may take the jaded viewer aback is the amount of time [Tony Scott] dedicates to character development before heading down the inevitable trail of bloody revenge.
Moviegoers have a duty to admonish Hollywood for turning the multiplex into a Two Hours Hate, asking us to cheer the fascist aesthetic of movies like Man of Fire.
Audience Reviews for Man on Fire
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- John Creasy: Your mother's waiting for you. She's right down at the end of the bridge. OK. You go home.
- Lupita Balletto: OK. Where are you going?
- Lupita Balletto: I'm going home too. I'm going to Blue Bayou.
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- Rika Balletto: What are you gonna do?
- John Creasy: What I do best. I'm gonna kill 'em. Anyone that was involved. Anybody who profited from it. Anybody who opens their eyes at me.
- Rika Balletto: You kill 'em all.
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- Lupita Balletto: Creasy bear.
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- John Creasy: Forgiveness is between them and God. I just here to set-up the meeting.
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- John Creasy: Last wish? I wish...you had..more time.
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- Rayburn: A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasey's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece.
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Featured
Movie: ID: 12876 Title: Man on Fire Release Date: 2004-04-21 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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