Reception
The film grossed $77,911,774 in North America and $52,381,940 in other territories, totaling $130,293,714 worldwide. According to Rotten Tomatoes only 39% of reviews (from 158 samples) from critics were positive. Conversely, it received highly positive reviews from audiences with an 89% score. It has an metascore of 47 out of 100 on metacritic based on 36 reviews. Paul Davies, a journal article author, said that the critical reception to Man on Fire in the United States was "somewhat less than kind" because critics did not like the vigilantism that Creasy uses. Davies argues that "most critics missed" Creasy not taking "sadistic pleasure" in the killings since he kills to get information to get to all of the people involved in the kidnapping of Pita Ramos, and does not like harming innocent parties.
A. J. Quinnell had a favorable reception to this adaptation, mainly because the film used many of the book's lines. Quinnell said that usually screenwriters "like to leave their mark on the product." Quinnell added that even though he usually dislikes film adaptations of books, the writers "did a good job with Man On Fire and I loved the chemistry between Creasy and the girl" and "When I first heard Denzel was playing the part of Creasy I missed a couple of heartbeats but he played the part brilliantly. The film is violent and if the anger is not portrayed properly, the result can be awful." The Times of Malta stated that the overall critical acclaim was positive.
This film was adapted by Indian director Apoorva Lakhia for his 2005 film Ek Ajnabee.
Read more about this topic: Man On Fire (2004 film)
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