Tony Scott (The Hunger, Enemy of the State) is often dismissed for the trademark high-gloss visuals he perfected as a director of TV commercials, but no filmmaker in Hollywood today does foreboding better. Denzel Washington plays Creasy, a hard-drinking ex-government operative trying to shake his demons in Mexico City, where he accepts a job as bodyguard to an auto magnate’s young daughter (Dakota Fanning). The first half of the film is moody exposition; then it abruptly shifts gears as Creasy unleashes the relentless killing machine he’s kept locked up inside. Washington’s stoic persona becomes a channel for volcanic force, and a cast of pros—Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Giannini, Mickey Rourke, and Rachel Ticotin—support him with relish. R, 146 minutes.