

In the film, Creasy doesn’t enjoy a happy ending. In Mexico City, a former CIA operative swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect. Creasy changes his identity and elopes with a woman he fell in love with. In the novel, Pinta passes away after the exchange goes wrong. The ending presents the most significant discrepancy between the book and film. Italy has a low rate of kidnappings, which prompted the filmmakers to look for another location. Quinnell based the book in Italy, but the film’s creators chose Mexico.
Man on fire movie#
The movie and Quinnell’s book differ on some pointsĮx-marine John Creasy stars in the book and the film, but the film changes the kidnapped girl’s name from Pinta to Pita. Quinnell used the above incidents to craft his fictional kidnapping novel. Two out of the nine kidnappers apprehended spent time in prison. The kidnappers released Getty’s grandson five months after the abduction. Getty agreed to pay $2.2 million after the kidnappers sent him one of his grandson’s ears. He also suspected that his grandson staged the kidnapping for an easy payday. Getty refused to pay, citing the safety of his thirteen grandchildren. Kidnappers picked Getty’s grandson in Rome and demanded a ransom of $17 million.

Paul Getty’s grandson also inspired Quinnell. The kidnapped son died, but the rest of the kids remained safe. The businessman refused to pay the ransom, fearing that the Triad would target the rest of his children. The events in Quinnell’s book are fictional, but the author drew from real-life events to write the book.įirst, he drew from the tragic kidnapping of a Singaporean businessman’s son by The Triad. Quinnell is a pen name used by novelist Philip Nicholson to write the 1980 novel Man on Fire. The book inspired Brian Helgeland and Tony Scott to create the 2004 film. Man on Fire is based on a novel of the same name by A.J.

Following Pita’s kidnapping, John starts a bloody rampage that eliminates everyone standing in the way of Pita’s rescue. John Creasy, Denzel’s character, forms a bond with the family’s 9-year-old daughter Pita Ramos. He plays a damaged former Marine who works as a bodyguard for a wealthy family. Man on Fire was a critical flop, but few found fault with Denzel Washington’s performance. It also put up a decent showing in the box office. Man on Fire received poor ratings from critics but became an overwhelming fan success. The novel had previously been adapted into a feature film in 1987. Reportedly, he shot three different endings for this movie.Thanks to Netflix, Man on Fire, a 2004 action film starring Denzel Washington, has become a trending internet topic in 2021. Man on Fire is a 2004 action thriller film 4 directed by Tony Scott from a screenplay by Brian Helgeland, and based on the 1980 novel of the same name by A. Director Tony Scott throws in a lot of tiresomely faddish tricked-up shots, using the subtitles as a part of the frame and putting a countdown to a time bomb in the corner of the screen. Even with all of the explosions and shootouts, the movie feels bloated and much too long at nearly two and a half hours. A character says that Pita showed Creasy "it was all right to live again," and another responds, "And the kidnappers took that away." The violence is excessive, with too many bad guys and too many drawn-out scenes of torture, especially one elaborate set-up involving a bomb inserted into a man's body.įor a guy who is supposed to be a superstar of killing, Creasy seems rather careless about things like evidence and innocent bystanders. MAN ON FIRE is not willing to assume that viewers can figure anything out for themselves and pounds every point several times. Two of today's most talented and charismatic screen performers are lost in an over-big, over-loud, over-heated, over-long, over-everything mess of a story about revenge.
