Man on Fire

Despite its brutal violence and strong language, Man on Fire challenges its audience's taste for vengeance and relies on some surprisingly complex spiritual themes | Andrew Coffin

Fox recently unveiled three collector's edition DVDs of 2004 films: I, Robot; The Day After Tomorrow; and Man on Fire. Critics savaged all three last year, and the first two deserved the abuse—but the last was perhaps one of the most underappreciated films of the year.

Man on Fire (rated R for language and strong violence) is brutally violent and contains some very strong language, but also challenges its audience's taste for vengeance and relies on some surprisingly complex spiritual themes.

The film stars a ferocious Denzel Washington as John Creasy, an ex-CIA agent at the end of the line. His nerves are frayed, and he deadens his guilt-ridden conscious through drinking. "Do you think God'll forgive us for what we've done?" Creasy asks Rayburn (Christopher Walken), a former associate whom he visits in Mexico City.