{"id":374589,"date":"2026-08-08T03:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/?p=374589"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:44:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:44:15","slug":"man-on-fire-is-back-denzel-washingtons-thriller-now-looks-like-a-streaming-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/man-on-fire-is-back-denzel-washingtons-thriller-now-looks-like-a-streaming-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Man on Fire is back: Denzel Washington\u2019s thriller now looks like a streaming classic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony Scott\u2019s 2004 <em>Man on Fire<\/em> is having an unexpected <strong>2026 revival<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/netflix.en.softonic.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Netflix<\/a>\u2019s new <em>Man on Fire<\/em> series premiered on April 30, climbed to No. 1 on Netflix, and racked up 11 million views in its first four days, according to Netflix.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Netflix\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-icon-s\/p\/bb71af8a-96bf-11e6-8279-00163ec9f5fa\/2746888568\/netflix-logo\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Netflix<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/netflix.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--0\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"0\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\"><\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/netflix.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That spike is sending people back to Scott\u2019s 2004 film, the same one critics tagged with a <strong>39%<\/strong> on <a href=\"https:\/\/rotten-tomatoes.en.softonic.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> and a 47\/100 on <a href=\"https:\/\/metacritic.en.softonic.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Metacritic<\/a>. Audiences saw it differently then and still do now: it earned an A- CinemaScore, and it currently holds an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bigger change is <strong>how the movie lands today<\/strong>. The old debate over it as a divisive mid-2000s thriller has cooled off, and what\u2019s left feels a lot closer to a cult classic.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Denzel Washington\u2019s John Creasy is still the movie\u2019s <strong>emotional center<\/strong>, and if you\u2019re finding <em>Man on Fire<\/em> through the new Netflix series, it\u2019s well worth your time. It also was never a flop. The film made $130 million worldwide against a $60 million to $70 million budget, then pulled in another $123 million from DVD and VHS sales and rentals.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The things Tony Scott took heat for at the time, the cross-processing, the shifting frame rates, the hard cuts, the saturated color, now read more like an auteur\u2019s signature than a liability. Nostalgia has helped too, especially after Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning reunited in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/this-movie-by-denzel-washington-and-spike-lee-is-35-years-old-its-a-masterpiece-and-you-can-watch-it-streaming-right-now\" rel=\"noopener\">The Equalizer 3<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The movie is adapted from A.J. Quinnell\u2019s <strong>1980<\/strong> novel and came after the 1987 Scott Glenn version. If you want to watch it now, Tony Scott\u2019s <em>Man on Fire<\/em> is streaming on services including Netflix and <a href=\"https:\/\/starz.en.softonic.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Starz<\/a>, while the new <em>Man on Fire<\/em> series is on Netflix.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"JustWatch\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-icon-s\/p\/aa7d4c85-2b90-4972-83df-b67575d71127\/761081468\/justwatch-logo.jpg\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">JustWatch<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/justwatch.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--0\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"0\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\"><\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/justwatch.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tony Scott\u2019s 2004 Man on Fire is having an unexpected 2026 revival. Netflix\u2019s new Man on Fire series premiered on April 30, climbed to No. 1 on Netflix, and racked up 11 million views in its first four days, according to Netflix. That spike is sending people back to Scott\u2019s 2004 film, the same one &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/man-on-fire-is-back-denzel-washingtons-thriller-now-looks-like-a-streaming-classic\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Man on Fire is back: Denzel Washington\u2019s thriller now looks like a streaming classic&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9338,"featured_media":374588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[1015],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-374589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374589"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":374590,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374589\/revisions\/374590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374589"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=374589"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=374589"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=374589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}