This is an action movie written by Brian Helgeland and directed by Tony Scott. It was released on 23rd April 2004. It is two hours and twenty-six minutes long. Its distributor is 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. The movie is about a former CIA operative whose life has lost meaning because of his past experiences. He gets a job as a small girl’s bodyguard in Mexico City. The two become friends, and the strong bond is realized when she falls victim to kidnapping, and the bodyguard sacrifices his life to get her back.
The movie stars Denzel Washington as John W. Creasy, Dakota Fanning as Lupita Martin Ramos, Marc Anthony as Samuel Ramos, Radha Mitchell as Lisa Martin Ramos, Christopher Walken as Paul Rayburn, Giancarlo Giannini as Miguel Manzano, Rachel Ticotin as Mariana Garcia Guerrero, Mickey Rourke as Jordan Kalfus, Jesus Ochoa as Victor Fuentes, Mario Zaragoza as Jorge Ramirez, Gero Camilo as Aurelio Rosas Sanchez, Angelina Palaez as Sister Anna and Roberto Sosa as Daniel Rosas Sanchez, among others.
When former CIA operative John Creasy travels to Mexico to see his former colleague Paul Rayburn, he is already a man who sees his life as meaningless because of the horrendous experiences he had as a CIA assassin. He has even turned to drink to drown his frustrations. Rayburn urges him to take up a bodyguard’s job to a nine-year-old girl, Lupita Martin.
In Mexico, kidnapping cases have soared and Lupita’s parents, Samuel Ramos and Lisa Martin Ramos, have seen the need to hire a bodyguard for her. Creasy is not willing to take up the job, but since he has nothing else to do, he accepts it reluctantly.
Lupita likes her new bodyguard and tries unsuccessfully to make him warm up to her. Creasy acts aloof, cold, and unfriendly towards the girl despite her persistence to befriend him. She even writes how much she loves him in her note book. One night, Creasy tries to shoot himself after drinking heavily, but fortunately, his gun does not fire.
After this incident, he decides to embrace life and change his attitude. He considers the failure of his gun to fire as another chance that he has been granted to continue living. This impacts positively on his relationship with Lupita as he finally gets close to her and is even concerned about everything she does. He even helps her to hone her swimming skills, and consequently, she wins a competition. This cements their friendship even further.
One ill-fated day, Lupita is kidnapped as Creasy is about to pick her from her piano classes. A gun fight ensues between Creasy and the kidnappers, and he kills four of them, but he gets wounded, and the kidnappers take off with the girl. Creasy is hospitalized.
The kidnappers, through their leader Daniel Sanchez, demand a ransom of ten million US dollars for the release of the girl, and Lupita’s parents are ready to deliver the money, but the exchange is botched as a Mexican crime organization ambushes them, and the money gets stolen. The kidnappers consequently make it clear that they will not release Lupita (Helgeland, 2004).
Creasy does not wait to recover fully, and he leaves the hospital with the motive of avenging Lupita’s abduction. He collects an assortment of weapons, which he plans to kill everyone who was a party to the kidnapping and then starts his investigation. At the crime scene, Creasy meets with Mariana Guerrero, a newspaper reporter who gives him the name of the driver of the vehicle used by the kidnappers. Creasy tortures the man by cutting off his ear, and he reveals the whereabouts of his associates.
Creasy finds the kidnappers in a club where he kills two of them. He gets information on how the kidnappers pay their employees. He also learns that the ex-wife of Daniel Sanchez was the one who used to deposit into the kidnappers’ bank account. Creasy abducts Victor Fuentes, an Anti-Kidnapping official who was involved in the kidnapping and inserts a bomb into his rectum. Victor reveals that he stole some of the ransom money, while the rest might have gone to Samuel’s lawyer, Jordan Kalfus.
Victor dies when the bomb goes off. Creasy confronts Samuel Ramos, Lupita’s father, who gives a shocking confession on how he agreed to his lawyer’s plan for his own daughter’s abduction, to pay some debts with part of the ransom money. But Samuel kills his lawyer when the ransom money gets stolen, and his daughter is not released. When Samuel reveals this information, he borrows Creasy’s gun and kills himself.
Creasy goes to the house of Daniel’s ex-wife where he tortures Aurelio Sanchez, Daniel’s brother by cutting off his four fingers. Creasy then arranges a meeting with Daniel over the phone by threatening him that he would kill his family. Daniels tells Creasy that Lupita is alive and promises to release her on condition that Creasy surrenders himself and releases Aurelio, an arrangement to which Creasy agrees.
Creasy and Lisa Martin go to the exchange location to meet Lupita. She is released by the kidnappers as Aurelio is released by Creasy. Creasy then yields to the kidnappers after hugging Lupita goodbye and sending her off to her mother. As the kidnappers drive him away, Creasy dies (Helgeland, 2004).
This is a remarkable movie, and Denzel Washington’s and Dakota Fanning’s performance is extraordinary. The movie creates a spirited setting, and it takes time to develop the stars. The author flawlessly builds up this vengeance thriller; it truly articulates the passion of true retaliation.
John Creasy’s revenge mission is justified; his best friend, who assisted him in realizing life’s meaning is in danger. It is enjoyable to see the skill and zeal with which Creasy ferociously takes his victims down, one by one. The movie contains unrivaled thrill, and it keeps the viewers on edge throughout.
Tony Scott perfectly builds up a compelling love account between a young girl and her bodyguard. He expertly combines suspense, drama, action, laughter, bloodshed, and unconditional love. The two lead actors display an incredibly honest and warm bond. The casting is superb such that the actors don’t just seem to play the characters’ roles, but they incarnate the characters. Dakota Fanning displays the ripeness and insight not common in her age. She is smart and good-natured.
The story has several lessons to offer. The passion and tenacity with which John Creasy avenges the abduction of his friend demonstrate the vigor with which we should strive to achieve our goals once we set them. It also teaches that we should be selfless and make sacrifices to help our friends. Lupita’s attempts to befriend Creasy are touching, especially coming from a child of her age, and it shows that we should always try to seek reconciliation and harmony with the people we relate with.
This movie is a must-watch for anyone. This engrossing story will keep viewers glued to the screen from the beginning to the very end. It will leave you immensely entertained and is definitely worth your time.
Reference
Helgeland, B. (2004). Man on fire. Web.