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Was 'Man on Fire' Based on a True Story? The Truth Behind the Movie

The 2004 hit action movie 'Man on Fire' is a straightforward action fan's favourite. But was the Denzel Washington vintage based on a true story?

Sara Belcher - Author

The vintage motion movie Man on Fire is arguably one of Denzel Washington's very best roles so far and anyone who is watched the movie will simply agree.

Released in 2004, the movie has the whole lot an motion lover may need: a kidnapping, mafia-like involvement, and a cold ex-special agent who finds himself studying to open up right through the movie. 

But is Man on Fire based on a true story? Or were there different resources of inspiration for this action-packed hit? (Warning: huge plot spoilers forward).

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'Man on Fire' is based on a novel of the similar name.

The 2004 movie Man on Fire was in truth based on a novel by way of the similar identify, which was published in 1980. The writer, Philip Nicholson, revealed the novel underneath the pen title A. J. Quinnell.

While it is unclear where the inspiration for the novel got here from, according to AMC, the creators of the movie took some liberties and drew from real-life occasions. 

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According to the post on the leisure network's website, Pita's (Dakota Fanning) kidnapping was based on a identical kidnapping of a girl, whose family concept she was useless for 3 days ahead of discovering her. While this plot point may be clearly impressed through A.J.'s story, it is unclear if the two pieces of inspiration are comparable.

Some of the characters, like Fuentes (Jesús Ochoa), were based on genuine people as smartly, and there is if truth be told an organization of corrupt police officers referred to as La Hermandad.

It's imaginable the scriptwriters took extra liberties when pulling from A.J.'s plot, including in plot points based on genuine events to make the movie extra plausible.

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How do the novel and the movie differ?

If you've got read the book, you can easily see where the plot points and persona descriptions align between the two pieces. Both the novel and the e-book apply a guy named Creasy (Denzel Washington) who is employed as a private bodyguard for a wealthy circle of relatives's daughter. Creasy is affected by alcoholism in the novel and the movie but learns to show himself round and attach again with the daughter he's assigned to offer protection to.

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In the e book, the daughter's name is Pinta, while in the movie, her name is Pita, despite the fact that that is a delicate distinction.

Pita/Pinta is kidnapped in both variations of this story, though A.J.'s model of the story has a less-than-happy ending for the daughter, who's killed by means of her kidnappers.

Both stories follow Creasy as he seeks revenge on her kidnappers, vowing to avenge the handiest particular person he's attached with in a very long time. As in the movie, Pinta's father is the one who allowed his daughter to be abducted for insurance coverage money.

Denzel's demise in Man on Fire the movie is a heartbreaking one, however in the novel, Creasy reveals a peaceful end by means of faking his loss of life to run off with a woman he fell in love with. While that is a drastic distinction compared to the movie's ending, in every piece's method, there is a completely happy ending for any person.

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Merlyn Hunt

Update: 2024-06-09