Man of Fire: Yahya Abdul-Mateen has the sacred fire (review)

The Watchmen and Wonder Man actor makes a sensational action hero, who saves this ordinary thriller from the limbo of the Netflix catalog.

Twenty-two years after Tony Scott’s cult adaptation, AJ Quinnell’s novel resurfaces with a new Netflix version. Not quite a remake, it offers a new adaptation of the novels by AJ Quinnell, takes the basics (a broken man, a protective relationship with a surviving child and revenge in the sights), but quickly moves away from them to adopt a more contemporary logic in a totally different universe.

Here we find the character of John Creasy, former special forces and traumatized ex-CIA mercenary, who must dive back in to avenge a murdered friend, and protect his orphaned daughter. Here he is caught up in a political conspiracy in Brazil, and ready to use the gun as much as possible, to find the culprits and kill them, without further ado.

We are always a customer of these stories of burning revenge, which have the gift of giving a little thrill when the hero – who has nothing left to lose or almost – begins to destroy the bad guys without the slightest remorse, in a surge of justice never better served than by oneself. Pure action thriller in 7 episodes, nervous and effective, this Man on Fire 2026 does exactly what we expect of it. And nothing more.

The project never tries to overcome its status as a stupid, mean action series, which was already, basically, its glass ceiling. In the midst of this assumed brutality, there is not much. The series seriously lacks a consistent emotional core to give meaning to the violence and prevent the whole thing from sinking into a simple exercise in style.

In fact, Man on Fire functions mainly as a showcase for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. His charisma is constant. Revealed in Watchmen (the HBO series), the actor exudes a magnetism reminiscent of that of Denzel Washington at the turn of the century. He plays a vulnerable and lost savior (as he had already done a few weeks ago in Wonder Man on Disney+) but also capable of impressive power as soon as violence breaks out. Standing at 1.91 meters tall, the imposing American carries everything on his shoulders, like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Steven Seagal in the brainless action films of the 1990s.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II thus establishes himself as a first-rate action hero. And that’s probably all we’ll remember from this lackluster adaptation, as the series struggles to find its own identity, weighed down by a laborious script and a direction haunted by the specter of Tony Scott, without ever finding its energy or signature.

Man on Fire, in 7 episodes, currently available on Netflix.