Man on Fire
With Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony, Radha Mitchell, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Giannini, and Mickey Rourke.
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Washington has chosen wisely, and he hasn’t had to wait long. Since he first caught the public’s attention playing a young doctor on the TV drama St. Elsewhere, he’s tirelessly pursued Poitier’s mantle as the preeminent black leading man in Hollywood. Both actors tried to choose movies that would both enhance their status as black role models and allow them to cross over to a white audience. For Poitier these two goals severely limited the spectrum of his roles; the earnest liberalism of the films that made him a star (Lilies of the Field; A Patch of Blue; To Sir, With Love; In the Heat of the Night; Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?) seemed quaint in the wake of black power, and after his career began to wind down in the early 70s he took a decade-long hiatus from acting.
Perhaps most significant, Washington established himself as a viable action star in thrillers like The Pelican Brief (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), The Siege (1998), and The Bone Collector (1999). Those last four raked in the bucks overseas, grossing a total of $313 million internationally, and even more than Oscar, that’s the prize Hollywood eyes. Washington’s latest action flick, the polished and somber Man on Fire, topped the domestic box office last weekend with a healthy take of $23 million, and if it connects overseas, it may push Washington into the ranks of international box office draws, an unprecedented achievement for a serious black actor.
