In theaters

MAN ON FIRE, directed by Tony Scott, written by Brian Helgeland, 142 minutes, rated R.

The new Tony Scott movie, “Man on Fire,” is so over-stylized and burdened by its chaotic, quick-cut editing, there’s the sense that the director doesn’t trust his story, his characters or his actors.

This is a film in which even the subtitles are restless – they zigzag about the screen in a jumbled attempt to evoke edgy style. The decision to employ that sort of empty flash is nothing new for the director of “The Last Boy Scout,” “Enemy of the State” and “Spy Game.” Still, while the story behind “Man on Fire” might not be fresh, it’s hardly dead and it doesn’t need the false energy its showy style promotes.

What sells the movie are its performances, beginning with Denzel Washington’s excellent turn as Creasy, a down-on-his-luck bodyguard living in Mexico City who has come to love the bottle more than life itself.

He’s ready to give up on everything when his old friend Rayburn (Christopher Walken) gets him a job with Lisa and Samuel Ramos (Radha Mitchell and Marc Anthony), a sketchy, wealthy couple saddled with rococo taste, bad luck and shady business associates. They want Creasy to protect their young daughter, Pita (Dakota Fanning), from an inevitable kidnapping, and they hire him in spite of Creasy’s admission that he’s a drunk.

Since there wouldn’t be a movie without the kidnapping, onward it pushes to that end, with Creasy failing to protect Pita when it occurs.

Pita is played by Fanning with the same precocious self-confidence she showcased in “I Am Sam.” The girl knows she has talent, which is undeniable, though it must be said that there are moments when she’s so absurdly eloquent, it’s creepy, as if she’s a 110-year-old intellectual caught in a child’s body. George Bush would do well to get tips from her on how speak clearly and effectively.

The last half of the movie is a bloody revenge fantasy, with Creasy rising as an avenging angel to make those responsible for Pita’s kidnapping and possible murder pay the ultimate price. This is the best part of the film, filled with taut action, jolts of humor, a brief yet credible turn by Mickey Rourke, and a fantastic supporting performance by Rachel Ticotin as the renegade reporter who helps Creasy on the case. She’s a natural, someone to look for in the future.

Scott is a competent director, responsible for some of Hollywood’s biggest action films – “Top Gun” and “Crimson Tide” among them. “Man on Fire” might have enjoyed the longevity of those movies had it been content to just tell its story without the mess of slick, computer visuals to muck up the screen. When it does focus solely on story and character, it’s a riveting, ugly postcard of a Mexico City nobody would want to visit, with the words “Having a rotten time – be glad you’re not here,” scrawled on the back.

Grade: B

On video and DVD

LOVE ACTUALLY, written and directed by Richard Curtis, 129 minutes, rated R.

It’s “the absolute torture of love” that the romantic comedy “Love Actually” has in its sights, and the net it casts over the whole sprawling affair is about as broad as it gets.

As written and directed by Richard Curtis, who wrote the popular “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Love Actually” was last year’s busiest, most relentlessly shameless comedy. It also was among the year’s funniest, with an expert cast on hand to help smooth over the rough spots.

The film doesn’t so much star anyone as it co-stars everyone. It’s an ensemble comedy, with some of the highlights including Hugh Grant as England’s disco-dancing prime minister who falls for a foul-mouthed tea girl (Martine McCutcheon); Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson as a couple facing a marital impasse; Laura Linney as a woman torn between her love for the smoky-eyed office stud (Rodrigo Santoro) and her mentally ill brother; and Colin Firth as a famous crime writer who falls hard for his Portuguese cleaning woman (Lucia Moniz).

Adding to the laundry list of subplots are a wheelbarrow of other characters, too many to list here, though the hilarious Bill Nighy must be singled out for his outrageous performance as Billy Mack, a has-been pop singer who launches a holiday comeback. He’s the best part of the movie.

With so much to tuck under its belt, “Love Actually” is hardly as neat as it could have been. Still, since it doesn’t know when to quit or where to begin, it cheerfully bulldozes forward, swinging in and out of scenes with such haste, its characters – all 20-plus of them – sometimes literally can’t get out of each other’s way.

Normally, a movie as scattered as this would wear itself out by the second act. But “Love Actually” defies the odds by becoming infectious. In spite of some horribly cheesy moments, you can’t keep it down. There are a lot of laughs here and as such, the film lifts you up – sometimes way up – regardless of the formula that drives it.

Grade: B+

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, 5:30 p.m. Thursdays on WLBZ 2 Bangor and WCSH 6 Portland, and are archived on RottenTomatoes.com. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.