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I read a preview of this in last months Hotdog magazine and was quite intrigued by the little blurb, about an ageing old mercenary hired to protect a wealthy blokes daughter, only for her to be kidnapped and for the mercenary to go on a killing spree in revenge on all those involved in the kidnapping.
In the preview it mentioned that the movie was based on the novel ‘Man on Fire’ by A.J Quinnell, so I thought I’d check out the book, and in the last week or so I managed to buy the book and finish it in time for getting the movie on dvd (it’s released on region 1 dvd tomorrow but hasn’t yet been shown in UK cinemas).
Online places seem to have been selling the film early, so I was lucky enough to have mine arrive in time for the weekend and watched it last night, and it’s not too shabby.
I didn’t really hear much about it when it came out in US cinemas, so maybe it didn’t do too great at the box office or was panned by the critics or something, but it has fairly good pedigree in that it’s directed by Tony “the less successful of the two Scott brothers” Scott and stars all American hero Deznel Washington in the main role of Creasy the experienced burnt-out heavy-drinking old mercenary.
The film is set in Mexico (unlike the book which is set mainly in Italy and the small Maltese island of Gozo), and we’re told that there is a bit of a kidnapping problem in the city, and as a result, many wealthy parents are hiring bodyguards to protect their children.
Enter Creasy’s old pal played by Christopher Walken, who manages to get Creasy a bodyguard gig protecting a young girl.
Creasy doesn’t look forward to the human contact and closeness of the job as he’s the typical strong silent type, but accepts the job nonetheless, as he basically has nothing better to do with his life.
The child he has to protect is Pita Ramos, the daughter of a wealthy business man, and to begin with he gets a bit cheesed off by her inquisitive nature and constant questions about the bodyguards life, something which Creasy doesn’t want to talk about.
Over time though, a friendship blossoms between the two, especially when Creasy helps Pita train for her school swimming gala. It seemed unlikely to begin with, but the two become good friends, and the small girl opens Creasy’s eyes, and helps him to see life and innocence again, when all he was used to in the past was the pain of death and war. She even gives him a Patron Saint of Lost Causes medallion as a present. How sweet.
Creasy’s newfound happiness and contentment is soon shattered though, when Pita is kidnapped, with Creasy nearly killed trying to protect her. Creasy wakes up the hospital bed sometime later to be told of the kidnapping.
The unfeasible part of the film is after the kidnapping, Creasy was shot up pretty badly, taking two or three bullets in trying to prevent the kidnapping, yet he still manages to go on his revenge spree not too long afterwards, without any real recovery period. In the book he moves out to Gozo for a few months to train his body to get it back into shape (not only because of the injuries sustained, but also as the body was becoming fairly untrained before that). So in the film we don’t have this large chunk of story, but I guess to have him moving away to train with his friend’s dead wife’s family would have slowed down the pace a bit.
But anyway, because of the kidnapping, Creasy wants some big-time revenge, and swears to kill anyone involved or who profited from the kidnapping, which he does…plenty of times.
There’s some torture, plenty of explosions, lots of gunfire, a bit of shotgun action and death.
SPOILERS WITHIN
So Creasy gradually moves from the smaller fish to the larger ones, including corrupt police, killing them all as he goes, and he uncovers shocking evidence that the kidnapping of Pita and the ransom money stealing was engineered by the girls own father because of his struggling finances. He’s let off with a relatively merciful death, and Creasy eventually gets the biggest fish in his sights. It’s only then though, when in contact with the last baddie, that he reveals that Pita is actually alive and wasn’t killed as we were led to believe after the bungled ransom pick-up (the killing of the girl is the main factor in Creasy's revenge, not just her kidnapping), and that he wants to trade her life with that of his brothers’ (who Creasy had captured) and Creasy’s own life. So we have a kind of cop-out Hollywood ending, the girl wasn’t brutally killed (and also raped as in the book), and she ends up safe back with her mother after the trade, unlike Creasy.
END OF SPOILERS
The directing and editing of the movie is probably a bit too fast paced and flashy, with quirky subtitles, freeze framing and that kind of showy stuff, and after nearly two and a half hours your eyes need time to rest, but it certainly has some style about it. I’ve not really seen many Denzel Washington films, but thought he was pretty good in the main role, and Christopher Walken is in it of course.
Overall, not as good as the book (which I enjoyed immensely), but worth a look.
In the preview it mentioned that the movie was based on the novel ‘Man on Fire’ by A.J Quinnell, so I thought I’d check out the book, and in the last week or so I managed to buy the book and finish it in time for getting the movie on dvd (it’s released on region 1 dvd tomorrow but hasn’t yet been shown in UK cinemas).
Online places seem to have been selling the film early, so I was lucky enough to have mine arrive in time for the weekend and watched it last night, and it’s not too shabby.
I didn’t really hear much about it when it came out in US cinemas, so maybe it didn’t do too great at the box office or was panned by the critics or something, but it has fairly good pedigree in that it’s directed by Tony “the less successful of the two Scott brothers” Scott and stars all American hero Deznel Washington in the main role of Creasy the experienced burnt-out heavy-drinking old mercenary.
The film is set in Mexico (unlike the book which is set mainly in Italy and the small Maltese island of Gozo), and we’re told that there is a bit of a kidnapping problem in the city, and as a result, many wealthy parents are hiring bodyguards to protect their children.
Enter Creasy’s old pal played by Christopher Walken, who manages to get Creasy a bodyguard gig protecting a young girl.
Creasy doesn’t look forward to the human contact and closeness of the job as he’s the typical strong silent type, but accepts the job nonetheless, as he basically has nothing better to do with his life.
The child he has to protect is Pita Ramos, the daughter of a wealthy business man, and to begin with he gets a bit cheesed off by her inquisitive nature and constant questions about the bodyguards life, something which Creasy doesn’t want to talk about.
Over time though, a friendship blossoms between the two, especially when Creasy helps Pita train for her school swimming gala. It seemed unlikely to begin with, but the two become good friends, and the small girl opens Creasy’s eyes, and helps him to see life and innocence again, when all he was used to in the past was the pain of death and war. She even gives him a Patron Saint of Lost Causes medallion as a present. How sweet.
Creasy’s newfound happiness and contentment is soon shattered though, when Pita is kidnapped, with Creasy nearly killed trying to protect her. Creasy wakes up the hospital bed sometime later to be told of the kidnapping.
The unfeasible part of the film is after the kidnapping, Creasy was shot up pretty badly, taking two or three bullets in trying to prevent the kidnapping, yet he still manages to go on his revenge spree not too long afterwards, without any real recovery period. In the book he moves out to Gozo for a few months to train his body to get it back into shape (not only because of the injuries sustained, but also as the body was becoming fairly untrained before that). So in the film we don’t have this large chunk of story, but I guess to have him moving away to train with his friend’s dead wife’s family would have slowed down the pace a bit.
But anyway, because of the kidnapping, Creasy wants some big-time revenge, and swears to kill anyone involved or who profited from the kidnapping, which he does…plenty of times.
There’s some torture, plenty of explosions, lots of gunfire, a bit of shotgun action and death.
SPOILERS WITHIN
So Creasy gradually moves from the smaller fish to the larger ones, including corrupt police, killing them all as he goes, and he uncovers shocking evidence that the kidnapping of Pita and the ransom money stealing was engineered by the girls own father because of his struggling finances. He’s let off with a relatively merciful death, and Creasy eventually gets the biggest fish in his sights. It’s only then though, when in contact with the last baddie, that he reveals that Pita is actually alive and wasn’t killed as we were led to believe after the bungled ransom pick-up (the killing of the girl is the main factor in Creasy's revenge, not just her kidnapping), and that he wants to trade her life with that of his brothers’ (who Creasy had captured) and Creasy’s own life. So we have a kind of cop-out Hollywood ending, the girl wasn’t brutally killed (and also raped as in the book), and she ends up safe back with her mother after the trade, unlike Creasy.
END OF SPOILERS
The directing and editing of the movie is probably a bit too fast paced and flashy, with quirky subtitles, freeze framing and that kind of showy stuff, and after nearly two and a half hours your eyes need time to rest, but it certainly has some style about it. I’ve not really seen many Denzel Washington films, but thought he was pretty good in the main role, and Christopher Walken is in it of course.
Overall, not as good as the book (which I enjoyed immensely), but worth a look.
See, that's how you point out spoilers!
I avoided them, and for good reason too. I heard about this when I was on Holiday in the States - sounds like a very good film and the trailers grabbed your attention too.
I'll grab this on R1 dvd too - UK gets films far too late these days.
I avoided them, and for good reason too. I heard about this when I was on Holiday in the States - sounds like a very good film and the trailers grabbed your attention too.
I'll grab this on R1 dvd too - UK gets films far too late these days.
I read a preview of this in last months Hotdog magazine and was quite intrigued by the little blurb, about an ageing old mercenary hired to protect a wealthy blokes daughter, only for her to be kidnapped and for the mercenary to go on a killing spree in revenge on all those involved in the kidnapping.
In the preview it mentioned that the movie was based on the novel ‘Man on Fire’ by A.J Quinnell, so I thought I’d check out the book, and in the last week or so I managed to buy the book and finish it in time for getting the movie on dvd (it’s released on region 1 dvd tomorrow but hasn’t yet been shown in UK cinemas).
Online places seem to have been selling the film early, so I was lucky enough to have mine arrive in time for the weekend and watched it last night, and it’s not too shabby.
I didn’t really hear much about it when it came out in US cinemas, so maybe it didn’t do too great at the box office or was panned by the critics or something, but it has fairly good pedigree in that it’s directed by Tony “the less successful of the two Scott brothers” Scott and stars all American hero Deznel Washington in the main role of Creasy the experienced burnt-out heavy-drinking old mercenary.
The film is set in Mexico (unlike the book which is set mainly in Italy and the small Maltese island of Gozo), and we’re told that there is a bit of a kidnapping problem in the city, and as a result, many wealthy parents are hiring bodyguards to protect their children.
Enter Creasy’s old pal played by Christopher Walken, who manages to get Creasy a bodyguard gig protecting a young girl.
Creasy doesn’t look forward to the human contact and closeness of the job as he’s the typical strong silent type, but accepts the job nonetheless, as he basically has nothing better to do with his life.
The child he has to protect is Pita Ramos, the daughter of a wealthy business man, and to begin with he gets a bit cheesed off by her inquisitive nature and constant questions about the bodyguards life, something which Creasy doesn’t want to talk about.
Over time though, a friendship blossoms between the two, especially when Creasy helps Pita train for her school swimming gala. It seemed unlikely to begin with, but the two become good friends, and the small girl opens Creasy’s eyes, and helps him to see life and innocence again, when all he was used to in the past was the pain of death and war. She even gives him a Patron Saint of Lost Causes medallion as a present. How sweet.
Creasy’s newfound happiness and contentment is soon shattered though, when Pita is kidnapped, with Creasy nearly killed trying to protect her. Creasy wakes up the hospital bed sometime later to be told of the kidnapping.
The unfeasible part of the film is after the kidnapping, Creasy was shot up pretty badly, taking two or three bullets in trying to prevent the kidnapping, yet he still manages to go on his revenge spree not too long afterwards, without any real recovery period. In the book he moves out to Gozo for a few months to train his body to get it back into shape (not only because of the injuries sustained, but also as the body was becoming fairly untrained before that). So in the film we don’t have this large chunk of story, but I guess to have him moving away to train with his friend’s dead wife’s family would have slowed down the pace a bit.
But anyway, because of the kidnapping, Creasy wants some big-time revenge, and swears to kill anyone involved or who profited from the kidnapping, which he does…plenty of times.
There’s some torture, plenty of explosions, lots of gunfire, a bit of shotgun action and death.
SPOILERS WITHIN
So Creasy gradually moves from the smaller fish to the larger ones, including corrupt police, killing them all as he goes, and he uncovers shocking evidence that the kidnapping of Pita and the ransom money stealing was engineered by the girls own father because of his struggling finances. He’s let off with a relatively merciful death, and Creasy eventually gets the biggest fish in his sights. It’s only then though, when in contact with the last baddie, that he reveals that Pita is actually alive and wasn’t killed as we were led to believe after the bungled ransom pick-up (the killing of the girl is the main factor in Creasy's revenge, not just her kidnapping), and that he wants to trade her life with that of his brothers’ (who Creasy had captured) and Creasy’s own life. So we have a kind of cop-out Hollywood ending, the girl wasn’t brutally killed (and also raped as in the book), and she ends up safe back with her mother after the trade, unlike Creasy.
END OF SPOILERS
The directing and editing of the movie is probably a bit too fast paced and flashy, with quirky subtitles, freeze framing and that kind of showy stuff, and after nearly two and a half hours your eyes need time to rest, but it certainly has some style about it. I’ve not really seen many Denzel Washington films, but thought he was pretty good in the main role, and Christopher Walken is in it of course.
Overall, not as good as the book (which I enjoyed immensely), but worth a look.
In the preview it mentioned that the movie was based on the novel ‘Man on Fire’ by A.J Quinnell, so I thought I’d check out the book, and in the last week or so I managed to buy the book and finish it in time for getting the movie on dvd (it’s released on region 1 dvd tomorrow but hasn’t yet been shown in UK cinemas).
Online places seem to have been selling the film early, so I was lucky enough to have mine arrive in time for the weekend and watched it last night, and it’s not too shabby.
I didn’t really hear much about it when it came out in US cinemas, so maybe it didn’t do too great at the box office or was panned by the critics or something, but it has fairly good pedigree in that it’s directed by Tony “the less successful of the two Scott brothers” Scott and stars all American hero Deznel Washington in the main role of Creasy the experienced burnt-out heavy-drinking old mercenary.
The film is set in Mexico (unlike the book which is set mainly in Italy and the small Maltese island of Gozo), and we’re told that there is a bit of a kidnapping problem in the city, and as a result, many wealthy parents are hiring bodyguards to protect their children.
Enter Creasy’s old pal played by Christopher Walken, who manages to get Creasy a bodyguard gig protecting a young girl.
Creasy doesn’t look forward to the human contact and closeness of the job as he’s the typical strong silent type, but accepts the job nonetheless, as he basically has nothing better to do with his life.
The child he has to protect is Pita Ramos, the daughter of a wealthy business man, and to begin with he gets a bit cheesed off by her inquisitive nature and constant questions about the bodyguards life, something which Creasy doesn’t want to talk about.
Over time though, a friendship blossoms between the two, especially when Creasy helps Pita train for her school swimming gala. It seemed unlikely to begin with, but the two become good friends, and the small girl opens Creasy’s eyes, and helps him to see life and innocence again, when all he was used to in the past was the pain of death and war. She even gives him a Patron Saint of Lost Causes medallion as a present. How sweet.
Creasy’s newfound happiness and contentment is soon shattered though, when Pita is kidnapped, with Creasy nearly killed trying to protect her. Creasy wakes up the hospital bed sometime later to be told of the kidnapping.
The unfeasible part of the film is after the kidnapping, Creasy was shot up pretty badly, taking two or three bullets in trying to prevent the kidnapping, yet he still manages to go on his revenge spree not too long afterwards, without any real recovery period. In the book he moves out to Gozo for a few months to train his body to get it back into shape (not only because of the injuries sustained, but also as the body was becoming fairly untrained before that). So in the film we don’t have this large chunk of story, but I guess to have him moving away to train with his friend’s dead wife’s family would have slowed down the pace a bit.
But anyway, because of the kidnapping, Creasy wants some big-time revenge, and swears to kill anyone involved or who profited from the kidnapping, which he does…plenty of times.
There’s some torture, plenty of explosions, lots of gunfire, a bit of shotgun action and death.
SPOILERS WITHIN
So Creasy gradually moves from the smaller fish to the larger ones, including corrupt police, killing them all as he goes, and he uncovers shocking evidence that the kidnapping of Pita and the ransom money stealing was engineered by the girls own father because of his struggling finances. He’s let off with a relatively merciful death, and Creasy eventually gets the biggest fish in his sights. It’s only then though, when in contact with the last baddie, that he reveals that Pita is actually alive and wasn’t killed as we were led to believe after the bungled ransom pick-up (the killing of the girl is the main factor in Creasy's revenge, not just her kidnapping), and that he wants to trade her life with that of his brothers’ (who Creasy had captured) and Creasy’s own life. So we have a kind of cop-out Hollywood ending, the girl wasn’t brutally killed (and also raped as in the book), and she ends up safe back with her mother after the trade, unlike Creasy.
END OF SPOILERS
The directing and editing of the movie is probably a bit too fast paced and flashy, with quirky subtitles, freeze framing and that kind of showy stuff, and after nearly two and a half hours your eyes need time to rest, but it certainly has some style about it. I’ve not really seen many Denzel Washington films, but thought he was pretty good in the main role, and Christopher Walken is in it of course.
Overall, not as good as the book (which I enjoyed immensely), but worth a look.