Man on Fire is the latest TV series to bring a beloved action movie from the big screen to the small screen. Though technically based on the novel by A. J. Quinnell, Netflix’s new take on Man on Fire clearly draws a lot of inspiration from the 2004 version of this story starring Denzel Washington. 2004’s Man on Fire became a beloved modern action classic, still considered one of Washington’s best of the genre.
Now Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is stepping into the role of John Creasy, a troubled Special Forces soldier on a mission of revenge. Man on Fire looks to bring the same intensity and visceral action that the movie delivered. However, it is not the first show to bring back a popular action movie, and some of these adaptations might have been forgotten by even the most devoted action movie fans.
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon helped popularize the buddy-cop action movie starting in the 1980s, with its funny, wild team-up between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. It also helped launch a franchise comprising three sequels. However, it took them nearly 30 years to deliver a television spinoff. CBS’s Lethal Weapon starred Clayne Crawford as the wild cop Martin Riggs and Damon Wayans as the older Roger Murtagh.
Lethal Weapon was hampered by behind-the-scenes issues, as Crawford was fired following the second season and replaced with Seann William Scott as a new character. The show never equalled the humor or action of the movies and felt like any other cop show on television.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Smith might have become more of a tabloid magnet with its stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but it was still a hit action movie that was popular enough to get its own television reboot. The original movie starred Pitt and Jolie as a married couple who are also super spies hiding their secret lives from each other.
The show took an interesting new approach, starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as spies who are posing as a married couple, only for a real relationship to evolve between them. The Prime Video action series ended up being an even more exciting story than the movie, using the premise to explore the different phases of a relationship until its inevitable end.
Taken
Taken is the movie that helped to launch the unlikely action movie career of Liam Neeson. Prior to 2007’s Taken, Neeson was known as a dramatic actor, and his casting as a CIA spy on a relentless mission to save his kidnapped daughter was surprising at the time. However, Taken ended up being a surprise hit, and Neeson transitioned into the action genre for the next couple of decades of his career.
The movie had two underwhelming sequels and one television prequel. NBC’s Taken starred Clive Standen as young Bryan Mills as he began his career as a spy while also on a mission of revenge. Without Neeson, the show lost a lot of what made the movie special, and the action never matched the joy of seeing Neeson kick butt.
Hanna
Like Taken, Hanna is another movie that turned an acclaimed actor into an unexpected action hero. Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan starred in the movie as a young girl raised in the wilderness by her father (Eric Bana), trained to one day take on the CIA operative (Cate Blanchett) who has been hunting them. The movie was an interesting and intense action thriller with some spectacular sequences.
The story was remade for the small screen on Amazon Prime Video, starring Esme Creed-Miles as the titular young hero. The show explored the mythology of the story in a deeper way, embracing the spy thriller elements of the story. It also managed to be a solid hit, running for three seasons.
Training Day
Man on Fire isn’t the only Denzel Washington movie to get a TV remake. Training Day is the movie that won Washington his second Oscar with his iconic performance as Alfonso Harris, a corrupt LAPD detective taking his new rookie (Ethan Hawke) on a ride through his first deadly day on the job. CBS took its own stab at the story with Justin Cornwell as a young cop who is assigned to partner with and expose the corruption of a maverick detective, played by Bill Paxton.
Given that Washington’s performance was such a pivotal part of the movie, the show was always lacking without it, despite some great work from Paxton. Also, being on network television took a lot of the edge off the brutality of the movie. Sadly, the show was canceled after one season, following the death of Paxton in 2017.
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