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Man on Fire (2004)
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Movie Review by Seth C 
July 14th, 2006
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Director Tony Scott has a very particular and interesting vision when directing, so much so that he's made it his own. The abnormal editing of quick cuts and distorted images that you'd think would hurt the stories he's trying to tell are, in actuality, adding more to them. It's a style of filmmaking that a lot filmmakers these days are stealing from Scott, who actually may have originally stolen it from director Oliver Stone, who, now that I think about it, may have likely took it from Dennis Hopper's "Easy Rider" and the other psychedelic flicks from the late '60's (NOTE: This is Hollywood, folks, were people steal everything from someone that came before them, but then pawn it off as their own). Hell, even Tony Scott's older brother, the more known Ridley Scott, bit the style for his 2001 masterpiece "Black Hawk Down," yet no matter what, for me it's always been the younger Scott who I have been drawn to.
The first film that got T-Scott's name out to the world, I believe, was 1986's "Top Gun," however my first introduction to the man was the Bruce Willis-Damon Wayans pairing that was the underrated, yet always entertaining "The Last Boy Scout." In 1993, Scott put his balls out on the line when he directed "True Romance," which was based on a script by the then up-and-coming Quentin Tarantino. "Romance" was gritty, violent and, in my opinion, very courageous. It was also a sign of what was to come from the director.
With "Man on Fire," Scott shows more on the screen then he has before; that is in the sense of more distortions and what I'm sure many will find to be an unnecessary use of subtitles. However, for me, I sat in my theater seat in awe of the braveness Scott was showing at taking a Hollywood film starring Denzel Washington, one of Hollywood's best and most important actors, and putting an alternative spin on it. This isn't a Hollywood film; This is a Tony Scott film.
"Man on Fire" is simply a film on fire that I honestly don't think is going to reach it's audience until five years or so down the road when it's DVD is beginning to collect dust. This film is a real pleasant surprise and it shows that no matter who it was Scott stole his style from originally, he's now made it his own and he has done more with it than any one who came before him.
So, with another terrific, somewhat gritty performance from Washington and another, as usual, perfect performance from young star Dakota Fanning, Tony Scott's "Man on Fire" excites me to no end at what tricks this director still has up his sleeve.
- SCF
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 | Justin
Jul 15, 2006 8:16 PM
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| Great job! I agree with your point that Tony Scott has created his own signature style as a director. His films sear on the screen, and he achieves high energy levels seldom matched. As for this movie, I felt that Washington wasn't totally believable in the role, but it was a tough, emotional film nonetheless. |
 | Jessica
Jan 31, 2007 12:34 PM
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| This is a awesome movie ... I loved everything about it ! Good Work!! |
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