Tony Scott has paid for the sin of his success with the blood of dispassionate criticism over the years. Public disdain has been as consistent for one of Hollywood’s most successful film makers as his consistency in gauging correctly the tastes of the American audience. With films as socially relevant as they are atmospheric films such The Hunger, Top Gun, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance and Crimson Tide, Tony Scott has infiltrated the public consciousness while propelling many of it’s actors into the A-list category and box office success.
Yet, this cinematic martyr, heavily criticized for his violence and fast paced editing style cannot gain a reprieve from his critics. There are film directors who have committed much worse offenses of violence and the overuse cinematic pyrotechnics, yet have critical accolades to accompany their self-indulgent and overblown blockbusters. There lies the double standard.
In no other film is double standard more apparent than the remake of the 1987 film Man On Fire, the financially successful yet critically panned revenge fueled action thriller.
Man on Fire - The Plot
Although not new, the story, based on the books by A.J. Quinell, centers around remorse filled bible reading ex CIA operative John Creasy (Denzel Washington) hired to guard a young girl named Pita, skillfully played by Dakota Fanning. Set in Mexico City, a hot bed of kidnapping and extortion, the hard drinking and self-loathing Creasy drops his defenses to love his charge and pick up the pieces of his broken life. When she is kidnapped, he uses his well honed skills to avenge her kidnappers one by one, resulting in the rescue of Pita, where he ultimately gives up his life for her life.
A Time To Kill
In addition to the film’s bold cinematography, meteoric editing and haunting soundtrack, this film is as complete a package that can come from any mainstream Hollywood film. Overly criticized by many as excessively violent, Man On Fire demonstrates no more violent imagery than its highly praised counter-part Traffic or the gritty critically acclaimed City of God. While both are amazing films in their own right, they are free from the prejudice that hovers over Tony Scott’s career which makes the double standard harder to comprehend. In City Of God, the children in the film are the procreators of the violence that surrounds them, whereas in Man On Fire, Tony Scott shows us that it is the adults who are the perpetrators of the crime against the innocent. Which raises the questions as to why is it okay for one film to depict the corruption of innocent who commits the violence, but not acceptable for the adult to make right was has been done wrong through violence? Even the Kill Bill series directed by Quentin Tarantino is treated with critical deference although it contains more blood and lack of truth due to the cartoonish desensitization in it’s depicting of the violence which is the filmmaker's trademark.
Denzel Washington As The Christ Figure
The casting is superb In addition to the amazing Dakota Fanning, the film is crafted with mature and accomplished performances. Christopher Walken, plays Creasy’s former CIA pal and who acts as a de facto Greek Chorus that guides the audience through John Creasy’s psyche while schooling the morally compromised Federal Agent played by Italian cinematic icon Giancarlo Giannini. Even the stunt casting of Mickey Rouke as the scheming attorney and Marc Antony as the ineffectual head of a prominent but crumbling family are played with maturity, lacking of tongue and cheek and self-consciousness.
However it is Denzel Washington, who makes John Wayne’s character of Ethan Edwards in The Searchers seem like a fair haired altar boy, which drives the thrilling story with such a passion and ferocity for the impure and corrupt that has not been seen since the Old Testament. It is impossible to not root for Creasy as he avenges the innocent Pita one death at a time with skill and imagination. The script, which is infused with bold religious imagery and overtones, offers over the top and terrific dialog that would have fallen flat and mawkish in the hands of a lesser accomplished actor.
Finally as Creasy discovers that Pita is indeed alive, he offers himself up as a Messianic sacrificial lamb to set Pita free from her captors. Even John Creasy’s initials, J.C are as subtle as a Mack truck, and one cannot thinks of anything but the initials of Jesus Christ. Once Pita is set free, they meet a bridge, an almost limbo between captivity and freedom. In the end, Creasy sends the young girl to her mother who waits nearby to drive her safely home while walks the long walk to the waiting kidnappers. While in the hands of her former captors, en route to a horrible fate, he is mercifully sparred the abuse waiting for him, as he gracefully expires clutching the medal of St. Jude, the patron Saint of Children and Lost Causes.
The Test Of Time
Films have a way of outlasting their audiences only to gain new appreciation in later generations. Hopefully Man On Fire will be a film that transcends current prejudices and set Tony Scott free from critical condemnation.
For information on the cast and crew of Man On Fire, please refer to International Movie Data Base below.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328107/
