MovieChat Forums > Man on Fire (2004) Discussion > man on fire vs taken

man on fire vs taken

posted 15 years ago by don-miguel
69 replies | jump to latest

very similar films in my opinion, 'taken' edges it on the imdb rating with 7.8, maybe i have to rewatch taken, but i thought man on fire takes the edge with cinematograghy and character development..

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jcallows 11 years ago

nope. 'taken' is 'man on fire' with a brain. liam neeson uses several clever techniques to track down the kidnappers. denzel washington, aside from looking up owners of license plate numbers and atm cards, basically beats information out of people. 'taken' does a better job of convincing us that liam can take on a violent, criminal organization all by himself than 'man on fire' does with denzel.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jcallows 11 years ago

'man on fire' was more like 'the professional' than 'taken'. 'man on fire' was good but 'the professional' and 'taken' were better. 'taken' was smarter, tighter, more suspenseful, more graphic and more satisfying.

[–] waldomarek 11 years ago

can't be compared really, besides that it's both about kidnapping and a guy who proceeds to kick some major ass for revenge/saving the girl.

in taken the girls seriously had it coming due to their stupidity, here the little girl was taken and there was little she could've done to avoid it.

[–] Marahmeh81 11 years ago

MoF

Movies I've watched recently:
Children of Men - 7/10
Man on a Ledge - 5/10
Serenity - 6/10

[–] spyretto 11 years ago

I thought Taken was pretty bad but Man on Fire takes the edge on senseless violence and stupidity.

[–] There-Can-Be-Only-One 10 years ago

I have just recently seen them both, and the similarities didn't even occur to me. I think they are both so very different, and I like different things about each one.

Taken scared me to my core when she was "taken."
Man on Fire never scared me.

Taken never made me laugh.
Man on Fire had some humor.

Taken never made me cry.
Man on Fire made me cry like a baby at the end.

The father in Taken seemed too detached and unemotional, though I got that it was necessary for him to stay focused to do his best.
Man on Fire had some fantastic chemistry between Denzel and Dakota.

The daughter in Taken was a little bit annoying.
The daughter in Man on Fire was so charming.

Taken's lead makes me hot, and watching him kick ass made me even hotter.
Man on Fire was amazing, but he's not on my hot list.

I think overall I liked Man on Fire better, but it was too long and I don't see myself watching it again. Taken, on the other hand, I would watch again (and again) for Liam Neeson.

[–] mr-something 10 years ago

Man On Fire (but Taken is still good).

[–] PotatoMonsters 10 years ago

It's a tie. People who claims Man on fire was more intelligent is *beep* stupid tho.