Man on Fire Blu-ray delivers stunning video and great audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
In Mexico City, a government operative/soldier of fortune who has pretty much given up on life, reluctantly agrees to take a job to protect a child whose parents are threatened by a wave of kidnappings. He eventually becomes close to the child and their relationship reawakens and rekindles his spirit. When she is abducted, his fiery rage is unleashed on those he feels responsible, and he stops at nothing to save her.
Anyone who was involved, anybody who profited from it, anybody who opens their eyes at
me,
I'm going to kill 'em.
Ever since the famous "tear" scene in Glory that earned him a much-deserved Oscar for
Best Supporting Actor, Denzel Washington has become one of Hollywood's leading men,
headlining numerous films including Malcolm X, Crimson Tide, Courage Under Fire, and Remember the
Titans. Washington has recently taken the lead in several conventional action movie
roles, but his part in Man on Fire marks an impressive tangent in the actor's career as he
tackles a gritty, take no prisoners, alcoholic character with blood in his eyes and ice in his veins.
Washington is certainly one of the most gifted actors of this generation and his ability is on full
display here in a performance that builds on what he demonstrated in the vastly underrated Training Day. His
performance in Man on Fire is as good as any in his career, revealing a new level of
acting we've only seen
glimpses of in the past. As the character of Rayburn, portrayed by Christopher Walken, might
say, this is the performance where Washington "paint(s) his masterpiece."
Tell me what I need to know and I'll kill you fast.
As the film begins, the audience is told that there is one kidnapping for ransom every sixty
minutes in Latin America. After one particularly high profile kidnapping case, wealthy families
begin to hire bigger, stronger, and more experienced bodyguards to protect their children.
Rayburn (Christopher Walken) is friends with a wealthy man named Samuel (Marc Anthony,
Bringing Out the Dead) in Mexico City who is married to an American woman named Lisa
(Radha Mitchell, Silent Hill). The couple have a
daughter, Pita (Dakota Fanning, War of the Worlds) whose status as the young and
beautiful daughter of wealthy parents makes her a particularly tempting target for kidnapers.
Rayburn recommends to them as a new bodyguard a man named Creasy (Denzel Washington,
Deja Vu), an ex-military man, now mired in
alcoholism, with an
impressive resumé nevertheless. Curiously, Samuel is accepting of Creasy's battle
with alcohol and hires him. Although Pita admires Creasy and wishes to begin a friendship,
Creasy demands that she leave him alone to do his job. The two bond nevertheless, and Pita
finally becomes the target of a kidnapping attempt. The perpetrators are successful and leave
Creasy for dead. He eventually recovers only to find Pita is presumably dead after a botched
exchange, and he vows revenge on anyone and everyone involved with her kidnapping and
death.
Man on Fire is a tough, uncompromising film with an incredible story, fine acting, great
action, and excellent direction from veteran Tony Scott (Enemy of the State). He has created a
gritty, rough, unforgiving, unrelenting, and bloody masterpiece in this film. His quirky and
unconventional style of filmmaking lends itself well to copycats, of which there are plenty, but
he's mastered the technique. It lends a hard edge to the more frenetic and dangerous sequences
in his films, and it raises the palpable tension and fear where applicable. With Man on
Fire, Scott
takes his time setting up the characters and their relationships. This serves two purposes. First,
this allows us to get to know both Creasy and Pita and allows them to form the bond needed to
really drive the story along and make us believe that Creasy has the motivation to literally stop at
nothing to punish the criminals behind her kidnapping. Second, waiting 45 minutes to present
the first real action scene results in a more powerful impact and a sense of unexpected danger
and
urgency, especially with its ramped up violence and hyperactive style of
shooting which add to the almost horror-like quality of the sequence.
This is a story that's very easy to lose oneself in. It's taut and at times frightening, showing
audiences a side of the world few will ever experience in brutal and excruciating detail. As Creasy
unravels the truth behind Pita's kidnapping, the film becomes a cornucopia of torture as Creasy
will cut off fingers, blow up bodies, or shoot anyone who gets in his way or doesn't offer up
enough information to satisfy him. One cannot blame him for his actions; he's dealing with what
could best be described as the scum of the Earth. The bond he forms with Pita naturally leads a
man such as him, with nothing to live for and nobody to love but her, to do whatever it takes to
punish those responsible. Man on Fire is an excellent film that just might scare you
more than any "true" horror film could ever hope to.
Man on Fire has a very unique look to it. Although presented in 1080p, some viewers
may
be taken aback by some of the gritty and less than pristine looking photography used throughout
the film. Rest assured, this 2.40:1 high definition image looks exactly as director Tony Scott
intended. The film sometimes looks extremely grainy with overly saturated colors, giving it a
gritty
and dirty look and feel. Like with my review of 28 Days Later, I cannot fault an image for
staying true to the source material, and this review is no exception. The look adds rather than
detracts from the impact of the film, and the image as a whole on this release is phenomenal.
Most of
the film is shot in a traditional style, and when we don't see excessive grain or overly processed
colors and photography, Man on Fire looks as good as any disc I've seen. Flesh tones are
spot on, black levels are deep and natural, and the image sports a mostly naturalistic and lifelike
clarity high in detail and sharpness. Some of the outdoor scenes are gorgeous as evidenced by
the mesmerizing
greens of the trees and foliage. A scene where Pita competes in an outdoor swimming match
represents one of the most lifelike images I have seen on Blu-ray. This is a wonderful image from
Fox, a
studio whose name is becoming synonymous with fine Blu-ray transfers.
Man on Fire's DTS-HD MA audio track was impressive, but not quite as hard hitting as I
expected. As one might expect, this soundtrack is pretty standard stuff until the action kicks in.
Throughout the early part of the film, the movie is mostly dialogue driven with some subtle yet at
times mesmerizing ambience emanating from the rear channels. Dialogue reproduction is accurate
and distortion free, presented at an appropriate volume in comparison to the rest of the track.
Music reproduction is also uniformly excellent with crisp highs, an impressive midrange, and deep
lows. Sound sweeps all around the room with a pleasant and naturalistic flow, creating a perfect
harmony of action, music, dialogue, and sound effects. When action sequences work their way
into the film, the sound is powerful yet slightly restrained in comparison to some other Blu-ray discs
with excellent and extremely hard hitting gunshots and explosions, such as 3:10 to Yuma and Mr. Brooks. Nevertheless, the action is
engrossing and frightening and the good sound effects and excellent music add to the power and
terror of each scene.
Fans of Man on Fire will have to hang onto their DVD copies if they want access to any
special features. Fox has chosen to include only four theatricals trailers on this disc. 1080p
previews for Man on Fire, The Sentinel, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Entrapment are the only extras available. A film as terrific as Man on
Fire deserves better treatment than this.
Man on Fire is a relentless film of extreme violence and terror that is ultimately brought
forth because of greed and hate but also because of love and compassion. It's not until Creasy
finally finds a person with whom he can enjoy life that he finds a reason to live, and when that is
taken away from him, he reverts to a nearly primitive state of consciousness where he becomes
hellbent on retribution and blood. Tony Scott's direction is both masterful and brutal in its visual
style. This is a well crafted film that may upset some viewers but is nevertheless a modern classic
tale of revenge for all the right reasons. This Blu-ray disc is marvelous visually and very good
audibly, but Fox has chosen to bypass the supplemental materials completely. Therefore, fans
may be reluctant to upgrade, but the difference in quality is, to me, worth the price of the disc.
Recommended.
