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Man on Fire

Play trailer 2:24 Poster for Man on Fire R Released Apr 21, 2004 2h 25m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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38% Tomatometer 167 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
In a Mexico City wracked by a recent wave of kidnappings, ex-CIA operative John Creasy (Denzel Washington) reluctantly accepts a job as a bodyguard for 9-year-old Lupita (Dakota Fanning), the daughter of wealthy businessman Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony). Just as Creasy begins to develop a fondness for the young girl, a bloodthirsty gunman (Jesús Ochoa) kidnaps her. Now, Creasy must pick off a succession of corrupt cops and criminals to reach his ultimate object of vengeance.
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Man on Fire

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Critics Consensus

Man on Fire's solid action and top-shelf cast are undone by a relentlessly grim story that gets harder to take the longer it goes on.

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Critics Reviews

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Andrea Gronvall Chicago Reader Washington has chosen wisely, and he hasn't had to wait long. Rated: 3/4 Apr 17, 2019 Full Review Nathan Rabin AV Club Scott's latest exercise in assaultive excess nevertheless lingers for two and a half hours, like a drunken houseguest who won't leave. Apr 17, 2019 Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media Extremely violent; not for kids. Rated: 1/5 Dec 25, 2010 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies At almost two-and-a-half hours the film really needs more meat on its bones. Rated: 2.5/5 Aug 24, 2022 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com This is a merely average film that had much more potential. Rated: 2.0/4.0 Sep 15, 2020 Full Review Fernando Lopez La Nación (Argentina) A film that ends up being tedious due to its excessive duration, annoying by its formal lack of control. [Full Review in Spanish] Apr 17, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Chris H This is the second greatest movie of all time. Denzel, Christopher Walken, the action, the soundtrack… every part is phenomenal. I am on the edge of my seat every time I watch and forget getting anything done while this movie is on. “A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasey's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece.” Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/07/25 Full Review Audience Member Leider waren die deutschen Synchronsprecher bei einigen Schauspielern so schlecht, das ich den Film abbrechen musste. Aua Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/05/25 Full Review Daniel C. M Essentially two separate movies stiched together to succesfully deliver both the Action and the Thriller in a era where most movies completely forgot what the latter means. For the first 70 minutes, when you are not getting immersed in a great and gripping "lonely wolf" type of drama with one of Denzel's best performances in of his career, alongside Dakota's amazing showcase of what great child-acting actually looks like, you will be biting your nails with the film's consistent and evergrowing threat that something will go wrong very soon, and every scene could end up in disaster; only for that disaster to eventually happen, and then for the other 70 minutes, you will find yourself with a visually brutal and twisty tale of revenge full of action and baddassery while still retaining all of it's previous qualities. My only real gripe with this film is how Christopher Walken's character is wasted and disappears after a little bit in the 2nd half. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/04/25 Full Review Benjamin H Denzel Washington is once again breathtaking in a film that is both a reflective character study and a tense and thrilling action film. The filmmaking style by Tony Scott is nicely illustrating the chaos of our lead character's mind, but it is also a detriment to the movie as a whole. The movie has an uneven flow throughout and the movie becomes more convoluted than it needs to be. I also think that certain key moments within the movie (like seeing who the kidnapper is and how the twist is carried out) could have been executed better. However, i was fond of the ending. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/03/25 Full Review John M I absolutely love this film. There's something about the way it's filmed and Denzel Washington, that makes the story and relationship really beautiful Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/29/25 Full Review Christian K Cements Dakota Fanning into the child actor hall of fame. The movie is almost nothing without her. I do think the editing eventually gets annoying and the middle hour is rough to get through and there is minimal intrigue and forward momentum in the plot. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/20/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Man on Fire

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Movie Info

Synopsis In a Mexico City wracked by a recent wave of kidnappings, ex-CIA operative John Creasy (Denzel Washington) reluctantly accepts a job as a bodyguard for 9-year-old Lupita (Dakota Fanning), the daughter of wealthy businessman Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony). Just as Creasy begins to develop a fondness for the young girl, a bloodthirsty gunman (Jesús Ochoa) kidnaps her. Now, Creasy must pick off a succession of corrupt cops and criminals to reach his ultimate object of vengeance.
Director
Tony Scott
Producer
Arnon Milchan, Lucas Foster, Tony Scott
Screenwriter
Brian Helgeland
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Scott Free Productions, Fox 2000 Pictures, New Regency Pictures, Regency Enterprises
Rating
R (Strong Violence)
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 21, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$77.9M
Runtime
2h 25m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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