Man on Fire
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(http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i266/Chiprocks1/DVD%20Covers/Man%20on%20Fire/ManonFire.jpg)
Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJoIIxDUKaY
Well, I finally got around to checking out Man On Fire which for the most part is a good film....in pieces. The first half of the film with Dakota Fanning as Pita I would easily give 5 Stars. But once she is kidnapped and disappears for the rest of the movie, it does in a way lose it's heart and becomes an entirely different film altogether. I loved how they set up the first half of the film by making Creasy (Denzel Washington) more or less shun any king of bond with Pita. It's never clear if he was just being professional or if there was a lot of guilt in his past that would make him this way. Anyway, over time the two of them bond to the point where he ends up become a father figure to her and it's because of this connection he now has with her that his motivation to find her "killers" is more than justified.
Now for the second half of the film. Without Pita on screen, this becomes a straight up revenge flick for Creasy to lay waste as he hunts down those that took her away. It's kinda like Taken (http://pennycan.createaforum.com/dvd's-blu-rays/taken-(2008)/msg9756/#msg9756) to some extent and I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with is Tony Scott's sudden fascination with useless aesthetics that don't add to the story telling. Although it wasn't as bad as it was in Domino (http://pennycan.createaforum.com/dvd's-blu-rays/domino-(2005)/msg9770/#msg9770), it was still very distracting, taking away from the story. Because of this, I give the second half 3 Stars.
Definitely worth a Rent. Averaging out both halves of the film, it gets 4 Stars.