John Creasy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is in dire need of a lifeline. Once an incredibly skilled Special Forces Mercenary, Creasy lost his entire team on a risky mission in Mexico City, and their deaths weigh heavily on his conscience — the intensity of his PTSD makes him sleep with a bag on his head, as if to deny the senses and memory of the world around him. Since the publication of A.Q. Quinnell’s 1980 thriller novel, John Creasy has been the “man on fire,” but before he’s thrust back into the fray, that fire remains on the inside — and it’s burning him alive.
In the new Netflix TV adaptation of Man on Fire, redemption arrives in the form of Paul Rayburn (Bobby Cannavale), an old buddy from his Special Forces days, who lives with his young family in Rio de Janeiro. His security firm has been hired to protect President Carmo (Billy Blanco Jr.) from terrorist attacks, but the real test of Creasy’s mettle is yet to come — a Rio skyscraper is destroyed in a devastating explosion, witnessed only by Paul’s now-orphaned teenage daughter, Poe (Billie Boullet). Creasy swears revenge on the bombers while also assuming the role of protector for Poe. But despite operating as an untrusting lone wolf, he’s soon depending on local favela residents like taxi driver Valeria (Alice Braga) and the nebbish young Livro (Jefferson Baptista) to ensure Poe’s safety.
