Sometimes the recommendation Netflix does things well and makes it possible to highlight works outside the house catalog which is nonetheless beautiful sessions of catch -up – or revisioning – in perspective. And it works since Man on Fire currently occupies the Top 10 films in the streaming platform For several days. A 2004 feature film directed by the late Tony Scott with Denzel Washington headlining. A film that won its unmissable stripes over the years.
Because as often with the brother of Ridley Scott, responsible notably for Top Gun, True Romance, Unstoppable or The last Samaritanhis works have rarely been to everyone’s taste when they got out, before becoming locomotives in video club. Man on Fire holds a special place in his filmography since the film, conspired by criticism, found his fans immediately. Just about Allocinéit is at 2.8 press stars for 3.9 audiences. And its legitimacy has not stopped growing since, to the point where it is now regularly found in the tops of the best action films or on the podium of the works of Scott and Denzel. Here is why you must (re) see it.
The synopsis of man on fire
Mexico knows A wave of kidnappings Unprecedented and ransom requests are daily. Several wealthy families call on bodyguards to protect their children.
In this particular context, Ex-CIA Agent John Creasy arrives in Mexico City To visit an old friend. No longer knowing what to do with his life, he gets hired by the ramos to Protect their 12 -year -old girlPita. The kid, curious and stubborn, tries to get closer to Creasy while the latter prefers to drown his demons in alcohol. But little by little, a strong link will eventually be created.
This is when Pita is removed under the eyes of Creasyseriously injured during the attempt. Standing again, he’s going do everything to find the managers And he will not stop at any violence.
Denzel that smells of powder
Denzel Washington in relentless vigilante ready to do anything to punish the managers, for those who would have just fallen on Netflix, Man on Fire could be taken for a prequel à The Equalizer. Tony Scott respect The codes of the revenge filmnot without impregnating it with its own style.
Whether we like Ridley’s brother or not – on our side, the question does not arise – we can never take him away from him that he had a merit: being faithful to his ideas. A constancy that he did not prevent him fromexperiment behind the cameraas was the case with Man on Fire. In the company of his director of photography Paul Cameron and his editor Christian Wagner, the director signs A work above all sensory that upsets its plans As soon as the Creasy machine starts, as if to merge with the confused mind of the character. It is confusing at times, epileptic more than once, and we find this color filter that likes User Scott. A way of filming that is reminiscent of Hyper Tension With Jason Statham.
Tony Scott was this kind of filmmaker, the one who had not afraid to displeasewho was even used to it, and who will not see that many of his babies are today considered cult by a whole branch of moviegoers. A filmmaker who could deconstruct the action film by choosing to Start this same action after a big hour. Minutes of lost? On the contrary.
This first part makes it possible to appreciate the talent of The young prodigy Dakota Fanning and create the heart of the story. Because unlike the 1987 version (the two films are inspired by the same novel), Scott favors The relationship father/daughter of substitution to the portrait of a killer that is Creasy. When the time comes, the why it acts has become more important than the how and it gives rise to a strong emotional bond between the spectator and the character. A narrative context in which Denzel Washington is perfectly swimming.
This does not prevent the film from being cruel when Creasy takes action. It was one of the major points raised by criticism at the time, The cruelty of images. And even if we have seen much more shocking in this kind of work since, we must recognize that Man on Fire Answer his name with a cold vigilante, calculator, and above all ready to do anything to go up the food chain. The feature film assumes its ambiguous morality Regarding the implementation of personal revenge, in particular by fairly frank dialogues on the subject.
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Man on Fire is not made to please everyone, but it is a film with a real identity, visual and narrative, carried by two exceptional actors. A footage that we do not forge to appreciate, however that we must have seen at least once.
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