Man on Fire

MAN ON FIRE (2004) - April 27, 2004
Oh man, I am torn. This was a good movie. There's no doubt about that. But the thing is, it could have been an EXCELLENT movie. Four stars, even. But Tony Scott, with his super-duper-overblown sense of "style" (style, in this case, meaning a LOT of fast cuts and grainy film stock) tries his hardest to ruin Brian Helgeland's excellent script. He doesn't, and that's a testament to how good the script was and how good Denzel Washington was. Because Sweet Jesus, this movie was so stylistically over-the-top, even Oliver Stone would be like "whoa buddy, you've got to calm down." The movie got of to a shakey (literally and figuratively) start, what with the super-crazy direction. And then for the first half hour or so, it seems like the Denzel Washington character is simply the cliched "grizzled alcoholic with a checkered past" (which he was, to a certain extent). But then he starts to become more of a character, and less of a cliche, and of course all the revenge stuff starts kicking in. And that stuff was pretty awesome. THAT'S what I wanted the Punisher to be. Gritty and unforgiving -- simply going to the bad guys' homes one by one and taking them down. But of course, Tony Scott never lets you forget that you are watching a movie; he is always there in the background, tugging at your shirt and shouting in your ear. "Wasn't that great!? 27 cuts in two seconds! Bet you thought it couldn't be done! What a great director I am!" Note to Tony: you could learn a thing or two (or three or four) from your brother. I only wish he had directed this movie. ***