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There are two film versions of Man on Fire. Two Mans on Fire. The first, released in 1987, bellyflopped. It didn’t start off in good shape and hasn’t aged well, but the cinematography is pretty and Scott Glenn is solid in the lead. The discerning googler can find the whole thing on YouTube. The second version of Man on Fire, released in 2004, was directed by Tony Scott.
Plot twist. Scott was actually supposed to direct the first version. In 1983 he’d lobbied hard to make the film, only for the producers to shrug and (probably) ask, “Who the fuck is Tony Scott?” Scott made Top Gun instead. It was the highest-grossing film of 1986. That’s who the fuck Tony Scott was. Twenty years later, he got his shot at Man on Fire. He took it. Not only is Tony Scott’s version the better film, it’s also his masterpiece.
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We can’t discuss “Tony Scott’s masterpiece” without the True Romance argument. It’s a fair argument. True Romance is a great film. But my counter is this: True Romance isn’t a Tony Scott film. True Romance is a Tarantino film. It lives almost entirely in its dialogue. Not to take anything away from Scott. The shots, the set-ups and the style are strong, and he keeps things fast and visceral. He reworked Tarantino’s narrative and took out the downer ending. Scott did great work with True Romance. But mostly people remember True Romance for the quotes. Same for The Last Boy Scout, and any of his Simpson/Bruckheimer films. They weren’t pure Tony Scott films. Not the way Man on Fire is a Tony Scott film.
Man on Fire is an intensely personal film. I don’t want to speculate on the nature of his demons, but no doubt Tony Scott had his share. Perhaps it’s better that this film arrived at his door when it did. When he was older, more experienced. When he could make the film he wanted, without compromise. Tony Scott battled his demons in Man on Fire. You can feel it in every frame. He put everything he had into this film.
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Based on the bestselling 1980 thriller of the same name by British author A.J. Quinnell, Man on Fire follows Creasey, a military operative turned alcoholic burnout turned bodyguard who goes after the men responsible for kidnapping his young charge. In Scott's Man on Fire, Denzel Washington plays Creasy. Christopher Walken plays his best friend slash arms dealer, Rayburn. Dakota Fanning plays his charge, Lupita “Pita” Ramos. Mickey Rourke, Radha Mitchell, Marc Anthony, and Giancarlo Giannini also feature.
The performances tower. Everyone is on fire here. Actors always turned up for Tony Scott. He was the one who began Mickey Rourke’s career encore years before Darren Aronofsky and The Wrestler. Walken, Cruise, Hopper, Pitt, Redford. Everyone liked working with him and they liked watching him work. It was a joy to see their director hang from a helicopter to get the perfect shot. His enthusiasm bred great performances.
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The script isn’t perfect, but then no script is. This is Hollywood. Scripts, even the best ones, get rewritten. Maybe Denzel’s people requested changes. Maybe a line wasn’t sounding out right and they tried something else instead. The dialogue snags and sticks in places; every now and then it jabs. Try watching Denzel deliver lines like “revenge is a meal best served cold” without flinching. It’s not just the dialogue. If you look closely, between the explosions, the second half is practically perforated. It doesn’t always make sense. But hey, life doesn’t always make sense. Tony Scott knew that. Life is chaos. He took that chaos and painted with it.
Tony Scott was an artist. Like his big brother, Ridley, Anthony Scott studied at the Royal College of Art in London. He had his art credentials. He had receipts. But unlike Ridley, who tends to get stuck in his head, Scott the Younger was unencumbered by expectation. Ridley had already made Alien and Blade Runner when Tony came to town, tempted away from his art by Ridley’s promise