Has Anyone Seen "Man on Fire" Yet?

[Lexmark3200]

What did you guys think? As a Denzel fan, I thought he was a bit out of character here; not terrible, but no Malcom X or Training Day......the story was solid, about a bodyguard gone mad with revenge, and played like a Tony Scott film...it had a little bit of Gladiator (specifically because of the music) and Crimson Tide (well, a Crimson feel more than anything with lots of frantic editing) in it. Speaking of editing, the rapid-fire screen shots and pacing got a bit harrowing and can drive you insane. A long film, and the beginning DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGS on.

[Kam]

nothing all that new from the original, the endings are different, and the 2004 version endign is typical hollywood tripe. not sure if it was, but definitely seemed to be an "ending by committee" / "satisfy the lowest common denominator" ending. and even then, was totally unsatisfactory (to me) with what happenned to creasy. the way it was shot was interesting for the intro, but when it continued throughout the entire movie, got old really fast. 30 cuts a minute gets a bit extreme for over 2 hours.

denzel continues to be kick ass, however. does a great job in a predictable story arc. you know the little girl will crack his facade, and yet its still entirely believable when his facade does crack. and the little girl Dakato Fanning is phenomenal! she was great in I Am Sam and is great here too. she's gonna be a serious talent! (hopefully can avoid the stigma of child stars). and already she's worked with six acadamy award winning actors/actresses!!!! that's amazing.

overall, definitely a rental, far better 'tentpole' pictures to spend your money on that are worth seeing on the big screen.

SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS


if they had to end it that way, as cheasy as it was, there was a FAR FAR simpler way to end it. he had a ton of grenades left, cheasily have him hide one on his, intriduce him to The Voice, and boom, everyone dies, everyone's happy. it would be a far more satisfyingly trite ending than having Mr. gonzo detective shoot The Voice in his swimming pool in an addendum shot.
also, not sure if anyone else felt it, but maybe its because i saw the original, but at no time did i actually believe the girl was dead. i believed denzel thought she was dead, but i dont know if they intentionally wanted the audience in on it or not, but i thought she was alive the whole time.



just my 2 cents!!
peace
k2

[Lexmark3200]

nothing all that new from the original, the endings are different, and the 2004 version endign is typical hollywood tripe. not sure if it was, but definitely seemed to be an "ending by committee" / "satisfy the lowest common denominator" ending. and even then, was totally unsatisfactory (to me) with what happenned to creasy. the way it was shot was interesting for the intro, but when it continued throughout the entire movie, got old really fast. 30 cuts a minute gets a bit extreme for over 2 hours.

denzel continues to be kick ass, however. does a great job in a predictable story arc. you know the little girl will crack his facade, and yet its still entirely believable when his facade does crack. and the little girl Dakato Fanning is phenomenal! she was great in I Am Sam and is great here too. she's gonna be a serious talent! (hopefully can avoid the stigma of child stars). and already she's worked with six acadamy award winning actors/actresses!!!! that's amazing.

overall, definitely a rental, far better 'tentpole' pictures to spend your money on that are worth seeing on the big screen.

SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS


if they had to end it that way, as cheasy as it was, there was a FAR FAR simpler way to end it. he had a ton of grenades left, cheasily have him hide one on his, intriduce him to The Voice, and boom, everyone dies, everyone's happy. it would be a far more satisfyingly trite ending than having Mr. gonzo detective shoot The Voice in his swimming pool in an addendum shot.
also, not sure if anyone else felt it, but maybe its because i saw the original, but at no time did i actually believe the girl was dead. i believed denzel thought she was dead, but i dont know if they intentionally wanted the audience in on it or not, but i thought she was alive the whole time.



just my 2 cents!!
peace
k2

Hey Kam,

You know something? I didnt even know there WAS an original of this film....when the hell did it come out? I never knew that.....

[Kam]

it was in 1987 and had a great cast, scott glenn played the creasy role, and also had Joe pesci and danny aiello in it as well. glenn played it similar to denzel in that a LOT was expressed in his face, i saw it a while ago, but from what i remember, he had even fewer lines then denzel did.
the setting takes place in italy instead of mexico and pesci is the walken role of creasy's bud and aiello is the badguy's leader.
i liked the ending of the original better, much darker, and made more sense with the theme of the movie, i thought. don't want to give any spoilers, should definitely check it out if you get the chance. you can see where the "hollywood" ending comes in with the new version over this one.

[Lexmark3200]

it was in 1987 and had a great cast, scott glenn played the creasy role, and also had Joe pesci and danny aiello in it as well. glenn played it similar to denzel in that a LOT was expressed in his face, i saw it a while ago, but from what i remember, he had even fewer lines then denzel did.
the setting takes place in italy instead of mexico and pesci is the walken role of creasy's bud and aiello is the badguy's leader.
i liked the ending of the original better, much darker, and made more sense with the theme of the movie, i thought. don't want to give any spoilers, should definitely check it out if you get the chance. you can see where the "hollywood" ending comes in with the new version over this one.

Wow....I NEVER knew that, Kam....thanks for the info....I will have to rent that.