Man on Fire (2004 film)

Man on Fire
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tony Scott
Screenplay by	Brian Helgeland
Based on	Man on Fire 1980 novel by A. J. Quinnell
Produced by	Lucas Foster Arnon Milchan Tony Scott
Starring	Denzel Washington Dakota Fanning Christopher Walken Giancarlo Giannini Radha Mitchell Marc Anthony Rachel Ticotin Mickey Rourke
Cinematography	Paul Cameron
Edited by	Christian Wagner
Music by	Harry Gregson-Williams
Production companies	Fox 2000 Pictures New Regency Productions Scott Free Productions
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	April 18, 2004 (2004-04-18) (Westwood, California -premiere) April 23, 2004 (2004-04-23) (United States) October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) (United Kingdom)
Running time	146 minutes
Countries	United States[1] United Kingdom[1]
Languages	English Spanish
Budget	$60–70 million[2][3]
Box office	$130.3 million

Man on Fire is a 2004 American vigilante action thriller film directed and produced by Tony Scott, with a screenplay by Brian Helgeland and co-produced by Arnon Milchan.^[4] It is based on the 1980 novel of the same name by A. J. Quinnell. The film stars Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning in lead roles, alongside Christopher Walken, Radha Mitchell, Giancarlo Giannini, Marc Anthony, Rachel Ticotin and Mickey Rourke in supporting roles. This adaptation shifts the setting from Naples, Italy, to Mexico City, diverging from the earlier 1987 film version of Quinnell's novel, which was also produced by Milchan.

The film follows a despondent, alcoholic former CIA officer-turned-bodyguard, who embarks on a violent revenge spree after a nine-year-old under his charge is kidnapped in Mexico City.

Man on Fire was released in the United States by 20th Century Fox on April 23, 2004. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for Washington's performance and the film's intense action sequences; however, it was criticized for its graphic violence and pacing. It emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, grossing $130 million worldwide against a production budget of $60–70 million. Fanning's performances earned her nominations for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer and the Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film.^[5] Additionally, the film received 2 nominations at the 36th NAACP Image Awards – Outstanding Motion Picture and Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (Washington).^[6]

In 2003, former Force Recon Marine and CIA SAD/SOG officer John Creasy travels to Mexico to visit his old friend Paul Rayburn, who convinces him to take a bodyguard position with Samuel Ramos, a wealthy automaker. Samuel needs protection for his young daughter, Lupita "Pita" Ramos, due to a kidnapping insurance policy that requires a bodyguard to be in place.

Struggling with alcoholism and guilt from his past, Creasy initially contemplates suicide, but a misfired gun prompts him to reconsider his fate. Revitalized by the thought that he is meant to live, he takes on his role as Pita's protector, reducing his drinking and finding solace in the Bible. As he bonds with Pita, teaching her to swim, their relationship flourishes.

However, one day, while waiting outside Pita’s piano lesson, Creasy recognizes a car that has been following them. As two federal policemen block the street, he realizes Pita is about to be kidnapped. In the ensuing chaos, he fights off the attackers, killing four but sustaining serious injuries while Pita is abducted. As authorities investigate, Creasy becomes a suspect, but reporter Mariana Garcia Guerrero questions the narrative. AFI agent Miguel Manzano relocates Creasy to a veterinary clinic to protect him from corrupt officials.

The kidnappers, led by the unseen "Voice", demand a $10 million ransom, which Samuel complies with, aided by Police Lieutenant Victor Fuentes. However, when the ransom drop is ambushed and the Voice's nephew is killed, the Voice threatens the Ramos family, stating Pita will be lost forever as retribution. Manzano warns Creasy about the powerful "brotherhood" involved, comprising corrupt officials and criminals, and Creasy vows to kill everyone connected to the kidnapping.

With Rayburn’s help, Creasy assembles an arsenal and begins his violent quest for revenge. He brutally interrogates the getaway driver for information, leading him to confront several kidnappers and recover incriminating evidence. Guerrero discovers Fuentes' involvement in the brotherhood, prompting her and Manzano to assist Creasy in his mission. Creasy's rampage intensifies as he confronts Fuentes, learning that Samuel's lawyer, Jordan Kalfus, orchestrated the kidnapping to claim insurance money.

He arrives to confront Kalfus at his house but finds his beheaded corpse floating in the pool. Creasy then decides to confront Samuel about his involvement with the kidnapping and he finally confesses to the act: both him and Kalfus agreed to the kidnapping in order to pay off his father's long-gestating debt, and while both expected Lupita to be safely returned by paying off the ransom with the remaining insurance money, the ambush by Fuentes made the plan collapse, with Samuel killing Kalfus out of anger. Despondent over this revelation, Creasy gives Samuel a gun and the bullet he once used in his suicide attempt, leading to Samuel’s guilt-ridden suicide.

Guerrero and Manzano trace the ransom money and uncover the Voice's identity. Creasy captures the Voice’s brother and learns that the ringleader's real name is Daniel Sanchez. They arrange an exchange for Pita, and during the meeting, Creasy, injured but determined, reassures Pita of his love before she is sent to safety. As Creasy's taken away to the Brotherhood, he dies peacefully during the trip; within the same day, Manzano kills the Voice during his arrest.

In an alternate ending, Creasy survives his injuries and confronts the Voice in his office. After a tense verbal exchange, he kills both himself and the Voice in a suicide bombing, mirroring Fuentes' earlier demise.^[7][8]

• Denzel Washington as John W. Creasy, a former CIA operative and U.S. Marine Force Recon Captain, turned mercenary and bodyguard.
• Dakota Fanning as Guadalupe "Lupita" (Pita) Ramos, Creasy's charge.
• Radha Mitchell as Lisa Ramos, Pita's mother, an American expatriate from Texas.^[9]
• Christopher Walken as Paul Rayburn, Creasy's former colleague, who runs a security firm in Mexico.
• Marc Anthony as Samuel Ramos, a wealthy auto manufacturer and Pita's father.
• Giancarlo Giannini as Miguel Manzano, a special agent of the Federal Ministerial Police (AFI). Tony Scott stated "Giancarlo loves women, as did this character."^[10]
• Mickey Rourke as Jordan Kalfus, Samuel Ramos' lawyer. Kalfus and Samuel Ramos's father were best friends, and therefore Kalfus has a close relationship with Samuel. Mickey Rourke stated that Kalfus has "a responsibility to his father, to him, to look out for his well-being."^[11] Therefore, Kalfus "[wants] to be there for him" when Ramos "gets his head underwater a little bit".^[11]
• Rachel Ticotin as Mariana Garcia Guerrero, a reporter for the Diario Reforma
• Roberto Sosa as Daniel Sánchez, the unseen mastermind of the kidnapping plot, known as "La Voz" ("The Voice").
• Jesús Ochoa as Victor Fuentes, a lieutenant in the Anti-Kidnapping Division of the Federal Judicial Police and the head of the criminal "La Hermandad" syndicate
• Gero Camilo as Aurelio Sánchez; The Voice's brother and accomplice.

Other actors in the film include Rosa María Hernández as Maria Rosas Sanchez; The Voice's wife, Charles Paraventi as Jersey Boy, one of The Voice's accomplices; Mario Zaragoza as Jorge Gonzalez; a corrupt policeman and member of the "La Hermandad" syndicate, Carmen Salinas as the guardian, Gerardo Taracena as Colon, Eduardo Yáñez as Fox, and Itatí Cantoral as Evelyn.

Tony Scott, the film's director, initially attempted to adapt the 1980 source novel by A. J. Quinnell into a film in 1983. Journalist Paul Davies speculated that film producers likely doubted Scott's capability to direct a project of this scale, given that his only directorial effort at the time was the supernatural horror film The Hunger (1983), which would be his second film. The novel was later adapted by Élie Chouraqui in his English-language debut, also titled Man on Fire (1987), featuring Scott Glenn as Creasy. This earlier adaptation, similar to the novel, was set in Italy, which was then a prominent center for kidnappings.

When a remake of Man on Fire was first considered, producer Arnon Milchan, who also produced the 1987 version, initially looked at directors Michael Bay and Antoine Fuqua before reaching out to Tony Scott to see if he was still interested.^[12] 20th Century Fox intended for the film to remain set in Italy, with an early draft of the script taking place in Naples.^[13] However, Scott argued that if the setting remained Italy, the film would need to be a period piece, as kidnappings had become increasingly rare there by the 2000s. Ultimately, Mexico City was chosen as the new setting due to its high kidnapping rate and other unspecified reasons.^[12][14] This shift resulted in changes to character names: Rika Balletto was renamed Lisa Martin Ramos, Pinta Balletto became Lupita "Pita" Ramos, and Ettore Balletto was changed to Samuel Ramos.

In adapting Quinnell's novel, screenwriter Brian Helgeland retained much of the original dialogue, a fact that Quinnell noted favorably after the film's release.^[14] The kidnappers in the film, brothers Daniel and Aurelio Sánchez, were allusions to the notorious "Ear Lopper brothers", Daniel and Aurelio Arizmendi Lopez, who were infamous for serial kidnappings and murders. Kevin Freese of the Foreign Military Studies Office remarked that this reference appeared to go unnoticed by much of the audience.^[15]

Henry Bean served as an uncredited script doctor for the film. Additionally, the name of Pita's dog, Sam, serves as a nod to her character's name in the 1987 film—Samantha "Sam" Balletto.

Robert De Niro was initially offered the role of Creasy, and Gene Hackman was also considered for the part.^[13][16] However, Tony Scott ultimately cast Denzel Washington in the role after they had previously collaborated on the action thriller film Crimson Tide (1995).^[17] Marlon Brando was originally the top choice to play Rayburn, having been Scott's first pick for the role of Creasy back in 1983.^[18]

Ricardo Darín was offered the role of The Voice but declined the opportunity.

Scott cited the epic crime film City of God (2002) as a significant influence on the film's style, and he paid homage to that film by hiring actors Gero Camilo and Charles Paraventi for roles in Man on Fire.^[19]

Principal photography for Man on Fire took place in Mexico, primarily in Mexico City, Ciudad Juárez, and Puebla. Interior scenes were filmed at Estudios Churubusco. Marcelo Ebrard, who was the Chief of Police for Mexico City at the time, served as a consultant to the producers, with the hope that the film would raise awareness about the ongoing issue of kidnappings in the region.

Man on Fire opened in the U.S. on April 23, 2004, in 2,980 theaters, grossing $22,751,490 during its opening weekend, with an average of $7,634 per theater, ranking #1 at the box-office. The film's widest release expanded to 2,986 theaters, ultimately earning $77,911,774 in North America and $52,381,940 internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $130,293,714 against a production budget of $60–70 million.^[2][3][20] Additionally, the film performed well in the U.S. home video market, generating over $123 million in DVD and VHS rentals and sales.^[21]

On Rotten Tomatoes, Man on Fire holds a rating of 39% based on 168 reviews, with an average rating of 5.30/10. The consensus notes that "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."^[22] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 47 out of 100 based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."^[23] However, audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A−" on a scale from A to F.^{[24][25][26][27]}

Paul Davies, a journalist, observed that the critical reception of Man on Fire in the United States was "somewhat less than kind," largely due to critics' disapproval of Creasy's vigilantism. Davies argued that "most critics missed" that Creasy does not take "sadistic pleasure" in his actions; instead, he kills to extract information and pursue those involved in Pita Ramos's kidnapping, aiming to avoid harming innocent parties.^[28]

A. J. Quinnell, the author of the original novel, had a favorable reception to this adaptation, particularly praising the film for incorporating many lines from the book.^[29] He noted that he typically dislikes film adaptations but felt the writers "did a good job with Man on Fire," and he loved the chemistry between Creasy and Pita. Quinnell expressed initial shock at Denzel Washington being cast as Creasy, stating, "When I first heard Denzel was playing the part of Creasy, I missed a couple of heartbeats," but ultimately commended Washington's performance, acknowledging the film's violence and the importance of portraying Creasy's anger effectively.^[29]

The cut "Smiling" from the soundtrack of Man on Fire, composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, was adopted as the theme for several television commercials for Omega watches from 2012 to 2013. The soundtrack, featuring 20 tracks, was released on July 27, 2004.^[30]

Additionally, the film prominently features music by Nine Inch Nails, with lead singer Trent Reznor credited as "Musical Consultant." The soundtrack includes six songs by Nine Inch Nails.^[31]

In 2005, a Hindi remake of Man on Fire, titled Ek Ajnabee, was directed by Apoorva Lakhia and starred Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role, renamed Suryaveer "Surya" Singh.^[32] Additionally, the film was also remade in Tamil that same year as Aanai, featuring Arjun Sarja in the lead role.^[33]

• Cinema of the United States
• List of American films of 2004

Wikiquote has quotations related to Man on Fire (2004 film).

• Man on Fire official website (Archive)
• Man on Fire at IMDb
• Man on Fire at the TCM Movie Database
• Man on Fire at the Internet Movie Firearms Database
• Man on Fire at AllMovie
• Man on Fire at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films