Man on Fire

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Former CIA operative John W. Creasy (Denzel Washington) arrives in Mexico, seeking solace with old friend Paul Rayburn (Christopher Walken), who runs a security firm in the country. Rayburn convinces Creasy to take on a bodyguard assignment for Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony), owner of a prominent automaker in Mexico City. The mission is personal, as it involves protecting Creasy's young charge, Lupita "Pita" Ramos (Dakota Fanning), whose kidnapping insurance policy requires a dedicated guardian. In this treacherous landscape where one kidnapping occurs every 60 minutes in Latin America and an alarming 70% of victims do not survive, Creasy is hired due to his relatively affordable rate, courtesy of his self-destructive tendencies.

Samuel's reluctance to overspend on a bodyguard stems from his desire to balance the family budget. His wife, Lisa Ramos (Radha Mitchell), has already rejected five candidates, ultimately settling on Creasy due to his American credentials and her intuition that he harbors deep-seated sorrow.

Initially, Creasy keeps Pita at arm's length, struggling with his own demons, including a drinking problem, burnout, and the crushing weight of his past actions as a CIA operative. A near-suicidal attempt only serves to further disillusion him, but eventually, he finds solace in his bodyguard duties, forming an unlikely bond with Pita.

As Creasy's sense of purpose begins to return, he becomes more attuned to Pita's unique talents - her passion for swimming. He starts coaching her at meets, helping her overcome her fear of the starter gun and ultimately claiming victory in a competition.

One fateful day, while waiting outside Pita's piano lesson, Creasy's instincts kick in as he spots a suspicious vehicle circling the area. Federal Police officers block the street, and two men emerge from the car, attempting to snatch Pita. Creasy intervenes, firing his gun into the air to distract them, allowing Pita to escape. He then engages the attackers, taking down three and wounding another, but not before sustaining multiple gunshot wounds himself.

In a desperate bid to protect Pita, Creasy tries to fend off their captors, ultimately killing three and wounding one more. However, his heroics come at a terrible cost: he's critically wounded and arrested by the police for allegedly killing on-duty officers and being involved in Pita's kidnapping.

As Miguel Manzano (Giancarlo Giannini), a seasoned AFI agent, works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure Creasy's safety, he finds himself confined to a veterinary clinic, a makeshift sanctuary from the corrupt forces that seek to harm him. The once-formidable operative lies in recovery, his rugged exterior battered and bruised, as Manzano pays him frequent visits, urging him to share the details of his harrowing ordeal. However, Creasy's silence is a defiant stance against the very authorities he once trusted.

It is amidst this chaos that Creasy encounters Mariana Garcia Guerrero (Rachel Ticotin), a tenacious reporter with a penchant for uncovering the truth. She offers her assistance in unraveling the mystery surrounding Pita's kidnapping, promising to expose the entrenched criminal and police nexus that has left the Ramoses reeling.

The stage is set for a high-stakes game of cat and mouse when Pita's ransom drop, orchestrated by the Federal Police, goes awry. The kidnappers' leader, "The Voice" (Roberto Sosa), is consumed by rage as his nephew meets a tragic end during the botched exchange. In response, he delivers a chilling ultimatum to Lisa Ramos: Pita will forever be lost to her and Samuel as retribution.

Creasy seizes this opportunity to launch a one-man war against the forces responsible for Pita's apparent demise. He sets his sights on the getaway driver, whose registration number was painstakingly recorded by Pita in her diary. A ruthless interrogation yields the desired information, followed by a merciless elimination of middleman "Jersey Boy" (Charles Paraventi), proprietor of the notorious Neza rave.

As Creasy navigates this treacherous landscape, he uncovers a tangled web of corruption and deceit. He tracks down Lt. Victor Fuentes (Jesús Ochoa), a seemingly innocuous officer with ties to the Anti-Kidnapping Division, only to discover that he is, in reality, the head of the criminal syndicate "La Hermandad." This revelation sets Creasy on a collision course with Jordan Kalfus (Mickey Rourke), Samuel's lawyer, who had initially suggested kidnapping insurance.

Creasy's investigation leads him to Kalfus' doorstep, where he finds the lawyer deceased. A cryptic fax containing crucial bank account information serves as a breadcrumb trail, guiding him to Samuel's true whereabouts. With this new information in hand, Creasy hands the ATM card over to Guerrero, tasking her with uncovering the identity of the individual funding this clandestine operation.

As tensions reach a boiling point, Creasy finds himself face-to-face with Samuel (no actor name provided) and Lisa, whose emotions are running hot with rage. The truth begins to unravel as Samuel reveals his motivations for orchestrating the kidnapping: financial desperation born from the debts inherited from his father's failed auto empire, which had once been worth a staggering $7.5 million. Kalfus had allegedly promised Samuel that Pita would be unharmed if he went along with the plan. However, when things took a disastrous turn and Pita appeared to meet her demise, Samuel's anger got the better of him, leading to Kalfus's brutal killing in a fit of rage. Lisa, still oblivious to Samuel's involvement, demands that Creasy take action against him, warning "kill him or (she) will." In a twist of fate, Creasy leaves Samuel a gun and the very bullet he had intended for his own suicide, imbued with a sense of remorse. This time, it is Samuel who loads the weapon, ending his life in a tragic act of self-destruction.

Meanwhile, Guerrero's investigation leads Manzano's team to an unexpected location: the home of Maria Rosas Sanchez (Rosa María Hernández), wife of Daniel Sanchez, the mastermind behind the kidnapping ring. A photo of "The Voice" found at the scene sets off alarm bells, prompting Guerrero to publish a damning exposé that reveals Daniel as the ringleader. The ATM card recovered earlier is revealed to belong to Maria, and Manzano's operatives quickly track down her husband Aurelio (Gero Camilo) at his residence.

Creasy takes matters into his own hands, breaking into Aurelio's home and taking him captive despite suffering a gunshot wound in the process. He then contacts Daniel, threatening to harm his family unless he surrenders. However, Daniel has a shocking revelation: Pita is still alive, and offers to trade her for the release of himself and his brother Aurelio. Creasy agrees to this proposal.

As the stakes reach their highest point, Creasy arrives at the predetermined meeting place, where he reunites with Pita. With tears in his eyes, he bids her farewell, assuring her that she will always be loved before entrusting her back to Lisa's care. Meanwhile, Creasy and Aurelio set out in Daniel's car, but their journey is cut short as Aurelio succumbs to his wounds en route. Simultaneously, Manzano tracks down Daniel and delivers a fatal blow, claiming in the official report that he was killed during the arrest process.