Ramos is impressed with Creasy's résumé, which includes a variety of counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism activities. However, Creasy has since become uninterested in life. He is burned out from all the deaths and horrors he has been involved in. Creating alcoholism to ease Creasy's past burdens. Creasy is not interested in bodyguard work and even less with the youngster, but he needs a job. Creasy's initial impatience slowly fades as he finds himself opening up to the child. He replaces her parents in their absence, giving her advice and coaching her in her swimming lessons and competitions. He helps her overcome her fear of starting guns, turning it into an eagerness to move at the sound of one. Pita gives Creasy an emblem of St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, saying she bought it for him with her own money.
Shortly after delivering her to a piano audition, Creasy notices a suspicious vehicle driving past and a pair of police cars blocking off the surrounding street. As Pita emerges from the building and freezes, Creasy pulls out his gun and fires a shot into the air, similar to a starting gun, startling her to running away. During the gun battle, four of the attackers are fatally shot, including two corrupt police officers. The battle leaves Creasy seriously wounded and unconscious, allowing the surviving kidnappers to grab the child. Shortly after the kidnapping, gang leader Daniel Sanchez demands a dead drop ransom of ten million dollars in exchange for Pita. The drop goes badly, a corrupt police gang called “La Hermandad” ambushes the kidnappers, and the money is stolen. "The brotherhood" exists within most all municipal police forces. Sanchez notifies Pita's parents that the child will not be released, and everyone assumes she is dead. It is during this time that the police chief while unconscious in his hospital bed, claiming he has murdered two judicial police officers, makes Creasy into public spectacle. Rayburn shows up at the hospital after hearing the news and aids in helping Creasy escape to a safe house to further recover from his injuries. After Creasy recovers from his wounds, he returns to Pita's home and promises her mother that he will kill everyone who was involved in, or profited from, the kidnapping. Creasy kidnaps and tortures several "La Hermandad" members, forcing them to reveal the names of the people involved in the kidnapping ring. In addition, Ramos admits setting the whole kidnapping up in order to get insurance money, as he was bankrupt. He then commits suicide with a gun provided by Creasy. With Rayburn's help, Creasy buys a variety of guns, explosives, and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. He uses the weaponry to kill a number of corrupt Mexican police officers and high-ranking law enforcement officials who were involved in the kidnapping. After Creasy learns where Sanchez lives, he fights his way into Sanchez's apartment. Although Creasy is wounded in the gunfire, he gains the upper hand, and captures and tortures Sanchez's brother and ex-wife.
To save his brother, Sanchez admits that Pita is alive, and offers to exchange her for his brother and Creasy - A Life for a Life. Creasy agrees, and travels with Pita's mother to a remote rural area to make the exchange. After Pita runs to her mother, Creasy is hustled into a car, which speeds off. As Creasy succumbs to his gunshot wounds, he drops the emblem of St. Jude that Pita gave him. An epilogue reveals that Sanchez was killed during a police raid that same day, his location discovered by special operations police who were electronically following Creasy's movements and actions.
The movie was filmed in Mexico City in the 1980’s – they government of Mexico placed a ban on the movie for five years after its release. The story is a true one. There is a child that is kidnapped nearly every day. Denzel’s character of Creasy is relevant to a man, which had done the very same actions and was from a similar background.
To this day, it’s my favorite movie as there was more within this movie and although it came out as labeled as fiction – yet after its release it was obvious that the character of Creasy had existed. The areas of this movie that I truly love are the bond Creasy had with Pita – which ironically brought him back from his own plights. As well as the indication of gangs which are within all areas and walks of life. Most of all the conviction that Creasy had in doing justice within a country where there is no justice. I don’t think he was the lamb that was lost. I think that Creasy and the story were a true one - by the means of ethics of integrity & humility.
Again John Creasy was not a lost man he took care of a situation within Mexico that would have taken much more man power than one.
The merit within this movie was of merit and how this man found himself while he was a bodyguard for a sweet angel. As the quotation up above indiates,
"Be Not to Overcome Evil with Evil, Overcome Evil with Good."
