John Creasy
Denzel Washington as John W. Creasy.
A man can be an artist...in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasy's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece.
Rayburn couldn't have said it better.
Prior to his gig as a bodyguard to nine-year-old Lupita 'Pita' Ramos, John W. Creasy really didn't give a flying f-ck about living. The former C.I.A. operative had taken up the bottle, having become disillusioned with his life.
That is, until he accepted the job working for Mexican businessman Samuel Ramos to protect his daughter, following a string of kidnappings around Mexico City, targeting the children of rich people and holding them for ransom.
It is during his tenure as Pita's bodyguard that Creasy begins to break out of his shell.
Then she gets kidnapped and he gets shot for his troubles.
As expected, Creasy gets super King Kong-omega-pissed and decides to wreck Mexico City in search of the girl who showed him that life was worth living.
And boy, does he ever.
Those 16 years as a C.I.A. agent sure come in handy. From the kidnappers themselves to the crooked police chief, Creasy leaves no stone unturned, not to mention the property damage he left in his wake. He even discovers that Ramos himself orchestrated the kidnapping in an attempt to get the insurance cash.
In the end, Creasy finds Pita, but as a result of numerous gunshot injuries, he dies as a result of his wounds. But he went knowing that Pita would be safe.
You gotta give mad respect to Creasy.
Trivia: Harrison Gregson-Williams did the music for the movie. He is best known as the guy who did the music for the Metal Gear Solid series.