[Movie Review] The Equalizer (2014)
Director: Antonie Fuqua
Writer: Richard Wenk
Runtime: 131 min
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington as Robert McCall
- Marton Csokas as Teddy
- Chloë Grace Moretz as Teri
- David Harbour as Masters
- Bill Pullman as Brian Plummer
Review: by Anthony and Lee
We are big fans for Denzel Washington movies, partly because they're good and partly because of the Denzel-isms. So, we were excited to see him in what appeared to be a typical Denzel movie.
The Equalizer told the story of Robert McCall, a man who, despite his secretive and interesting past, appeared to lead a monotonous, humdrum life, dependent on routine. Over the daily course of his ordinary life, he built into the lives of his coworkers and other regulars of his routine, and when something happened to disrupt those lives due to an imbalance of power with the corrupt local crime syndicates, Robert set out to even the odds.
What We Liked:
Of course, Denzel as Robert McCall was the focal point of the movie, and rightfully so. It was what we came to see. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Denzel did not actually run the entire gamut of his idiosyncrasies. While he pulled his chin to his chest and set his lips in his typical serious pout quite a few times, he didn’t shake his head like a “trembling Saint Bernard,” or “guarantee” anyone anything. We obviously would have enjoyed all of those things, but he did a good job of keeping in line with his pretty serious character.
The supporting actors weren’t so bad themselves. While Chloë Grace Moretz was no show-stopper as Teri, or Alina, Johnny Skourtis was endearing as the overweight co-worker, Ralphie, who Robert takes under his wing to train to be a security officer, and Marton Csokas was definitely entertaining as the sociopathic Teddy, the fixer sent by a Russian crime lord to find and eliminate a certain “problem.”
The story was the real winner in this case, however. It was just nice to see straight-laced Robert coldly and calculatingly eliminating problems for the individuals for whom he’d grown to care. The trailer led us to believe that the entire movie revolved around the one hooker, Teri/Alina, and Robert’s quest to right the wrongs done to her, but, while that was the central problem because of its far-reaching effects, the movie was full of smaller acts of “equalizing” that Robert would undertake on behalf of, for the most part, his co-workers and their families. One such act was not depicted on screen, which was a letdown, but it was only that one. The rest were awesome.
Those scenes were awesome, of course, because of the great action sequences. It wouldn’t be fair to call them fights, considering the fact that no one ever really stood a chance. It was entirely amusing to watch.
What We Didn’t Like:
The action sequences were really entertaining. We won’t take that back. However, the one at the end had a grown-up Home Alone feel to it, and parts of the movie were very predictable.
At times, the violence was a bit graphic as well. That may be a great thing for some people, but we were literally cringing at the thought of what was going to be done to one poor, unfortunate hooker who dared lie to Teddy.
Summary
The Equalizer was a solid, entertaining Denzel Washington movie with decent acting and lots of violence.
User Review
( votes)Images Courtesy of IMDB
