Man on Fire

Most underrated movie of this decade. I'm almost sure of it. And every time I rewatch it, I gain a new sense of respect for it. So many aspects of this movie appeal to me. I enjoy the cinematography, the action, even the shrewd use of subtitles. Denzel Washington is great and Dakota Fanning is even better. The performances of Marc Anthony in his pre-JLo days and Mickey Rourke in his not-quite-yet-post-addiction days are both fantastic. Anthony is unbearably broken when Denzel confronts him about his involvement in Dakota Fanning's kidnapping. Rourke is in his element playing a snakey attorney who thought it better to be rich than assure the safety of a little girl.

I'm not sure if I've ever seen a Denzel Washington movie that I didn't like. Philadelphia, John Q, Remember the Titans, The Pelican Brief, American Gangster, The Manchurian Candidate, Glory. Everything he's in is great. And Man on Fire is no exception. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it leads all of the aforementioned movies. I'll give it a push up against Remember the Titans and The Manchurian Candidate because the league leader in movie views with substitute teachers and anything with Meryl Streep actually acting and not just playing a goofball are pretty hard to beat.

I mentioned this earlier, but the subtitling in this movie is really great. The whole movie takes place in Mexico and a good deal of the dialogue, even by Denzel, is in Spanish. Subtitles are therefore necessary. Subtitles have a tendency to slow the movie down which can then lead to the movie dragging and becoming unwatchable because of the average bum's inability to read along properly. But the Man on Fire subtitles flow seamlessly with the movie. Words often appear one at a time and on different parts of the screen, thereby becoming part of the cinematographic look of the movie instead of simply a necessity. Also, subtitles are sometimes used highlight important words or phrases that occur later in the movie, even if they're spoken in English and don't need to be translated. It's a pretty cool technique and I can't really think of anywhere else I've seen it used.

Overall, a really, really great movie. It's rewatchable. It's accessible. And Denzel gets to go commando all over corrupt Mexican cops.