By Matt Daigle

Auburn Middle School

In most action/thriller movies, it’s the same old schtick. Someone is kidnapped and some trained professional is sent out to find her. Well, in the movie “Man on Fire,” director Tony Scott (director of Spy Game and Top Gun) rekindles the meaning of an action/thriller film. Instead of the same old story line where a girl gets kidnapped and someone has to find her, he goes more in depth on the relationship between the girl and the man that must save her. There is a much more emotional feel to it.

In the film, Denzel Washington plays John Creasy, a retired war veteran who has nothing left to live for. His best friend, Rayburn (played by Christopher Walken) sees how distraught he is and offers him a job. This “job” that Rayburn has for Creasy is to be a bodyguard to a little girl named Lupita Ramos (Dakota Fanning).

At first, when Creasy accepts the job, he is very quiet and wants little to do with the girl. But, as the movie flows on, he begins to treat her more like a daughter. Even Lupita begins to treat him like a second father. You begin to see the connection between the two.

But, about a quarter way into the movie, everything goes downhill. Lupita is kidnapped and presumed dead and Creasy is mortally wounded. Everyone is suspecting each other.

When Creasy rises from his hospital bed, his demeanor quickly changes from a quiet yet caring bodyguard to a enraged and psychotic bodyguard. He vows to the mother and father of the child that he will try to find out what happened and that he will kill anyone who tries to stop him. And that is exactly what Creasy does. He kills and he kills and he kills some more until he finds out what he’s looking for.

Tony Scott does a wonderful job as director. The scenery in the movie is amazing and the script is very well written. One interesting aspect of the movie is the subtitles. Yes, even those little words at the bottom of the screen that tell you what people are saying when they speak in a different language are interesting. The subtitles grow in size depending on how loud the character is speaking. For example, if someone is talking regular, the subtitles are regular. But, if someone is screaming at the top of their lungs, then the subtitles will take up the entire screen.

Denzel Washington makes a wonderful comeback to Hollywood after appearing in the boring and forgettable films “Antoine Fisher” and “Out of Time.” He makes a wonderful hero that action lovers will always remember. Even Dakota Fanning does an amazing job in the movie as Lupita.

If you want to go to the movies, sit down and enjoy watching a blow em’ up movie filled with shoot outs and explosions, I strongly recommend that you go see “Man on Fire.” You won’t be wasting you’re money.

OVERALL GRADE: A

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