Man on Fire

*** Attention Spoiler ! *** Tony, si un bon réalisateur d'action, mais avec (des voix familières suspectes) la présence vocale de Lisa Gerrard, tu ne te débrouilles pas avec une histoire intelligente de rédemption d'un homme. Du moins, dans le cas de ce sujet, emballé dans une interprétation excentriquement pop. Tu échoues complètement dans la construction dramatique de l'histoire. Dans la première moitié, tu m'émotionnes, tu me fais tomber amoureux de la petite héroïne, puis tu veux que je ressente une catharsis en éliminant ses bourreaux sans verser une seule larme pour elle. Ton héros se venge non pas pour la sauver, mais pour les mêmes raisons pour lesquelles Van Damme se débrouillait dans les années 80. Et la deuxième moitié du film devient simplement une lame d'action terne sans lien dramatique avec l'histoire précédente. La "surprenante" chute est alors seulement le dernier clou dans le cercueil qui donne une impression contradictoire. Mais un énorme atout, à côté de Denzel Washington et quelques séquences en clip de Man on Fire, a - Dakota Fanning. (02/10/2004)

Tony Scott is back in form at last. He didn’t hesitate to incorporate epileptic editing, violence and outstanding actors into a raw story about a girl being kidnapped. With a different cast, this might have collapsed like a house of cards, but when the main protagonist is played by Denzel Washington as a devotee of the “dark side", this clearly leaves no room for any humor. Especially when revenge tastes best when it’s cold blooded, isn’t that right? (10/08/2004)

Classic American Rambo revenge morality covered with the skin of a top techno-thriller form. The lemonade motif of the pursuit of justice and the pursuit of the last shudder of love in the soul of the bestial good guy didn't really irritate me, because Denzel Washington, the killer with a human face is good, and Scott even serves the loving relationship with little Pita in a tolerable way. The dumb content is clearly overridden by a selective form, a high-tech camera, perfect editing, and a clip-like incorporation of a musical undertone. Maybe if the story didn’t take itself so deadly seriously and some of the really forgettable dialogues were left out, Man on Fire would have been a very good, low-value film. Especially thanks to the directing and technical implementation, I was quite interested in the story, but I was definitely not satisfied. There's something infantile stupid about it, and Tony Scott can pull any sort of fat rabbits out of his hat, but this fact can't be disguised. A stupid action film in a selective guise with good acting. (17/02/2007)

Scott overdid it, he exhibited too much for my taste. His nervous camera games were too frequent, even annoying, I would say. The simple script was not devoid of logical nonsense, but the ambiguous ending was quite a pleasant surprise. Washington repeats himself as an actor, essentially performing a variation on his Oscar-winning Training Day (you're right, sepp). It was nice to see Walken in a different than his traditionally villain role, and I was pleasantly surprised by the leading girl who gave a very convincing and natural (for a child) performance. Finally, a cool line from a conversation Washington (about to assassinate one of the bastards) has with an old man: "In the church, they say to forgive." – "Forgiveness is between them and God. It's my job to arrange the meeting.” (28/10/2004)

Although I didn't believe it, Tony Scott is capable of a sensitive and unique approach. In other words, he indulges in flashy playfulness only in action scenes and when bringing together a large sad bear and the cutest film child of recent times, he lets the camera stay still and lets the atmosphere take effect. Thanks to this, sensitive moments stand out and twists are filled with emotions to the breaking point. A perfectly crafted filmmaking, created with love, to which the story naturally adds itself. 90%. (02/09/2007)