I love Tony Scott films; the saturated colours, the moving cameras, the tight pacing, the visual shorthand he used in his storytelling style. I don’t think I ever met a Tony Scott film I didn’t like. Sure I like some more than others, but all of them have his indelible print on them.

Man on Fire is an epic ride, and pairs Denzel Washington with Scott for the second time. And Washington is electric.

The film opens with stats on the kidnapping culture of Mexico, setting the stakes very high before we even encounter the film’s characters. Creasy (Washington) is former military with a bit of a drinking problem, but his friend and colleague Paul Rayburn (Christopher Walken) invites him down to Mexico to work as a bodyguard.

He is hired by by Samuel (Marc Anthony) and Lisa (Radha Mitchell) to look after their daughter, Pita (Dakota Fanning). After an initial reticence, Creasy and Pita form a friendship, which, of course, sets the stage for the horrific events that have to follow.

Pita is kidnapped, Creasy is left for dead, and when the ransom is set to be paid, things go sideways. As Creasy works to recover he is set on a path of vengeance and plans to hunt down everyone involved in what happened to Pita.

Aided by Rayburn, and a reporter, Mariana (Rachel Ticotin) and a federal investigations employee, Miguel (Giancarlo Giannini), Creasy will not be stopped in his pursuit of justice and revenge. And of course, there will be twists and turns, crosses, double-crosses, and a lot of the old ultra-violence as Creasy tears it all down.

Intense emotions and action sequences make this one a powerful piece of filmmaking and whose ending is poignant, emotional, and tough to watch.

It’s been a long time since I watched this one, in fact, it may have been on VHS the last time I watched it. But it remains a fantastic piece of work, demonstrates what a fantastic actor Washington is, and what an amazing director Tony Scott was.

Everything in this one is perfectly balanced, the emotional investment, the action beats, the pay-offs, the resolution, all of it works and combines to tell a captivating story that makes for a brilliant watch.

I think I may have to make sure I’ve seen all of Tony Scott’s stuff now. I’m sure there may have been something I missed, or just need to revisit.