Review by Joseph Anthony
THE EQUALIZER begins with a Mark Twain quote that reads, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” For some reason, I don’t think THE EQUALIZER is what Mr. Twain had in mind.
THE EQUALIZER begins with a Mark Twain quote that reads, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” For some reason, I don’t think THE EQUALIZER is what Mr. Twain had in mind.
Denzel Washington plays Bob McCall. Simply put, Bob lives a
normal life in Boston. Lives in a small apartment, works at Home Mart (the
movie equivalent of Home Depot), helps friends in need, reads books at his
favorite coffee shop and befriends Russian call girls (you know, that kind of
normal life).
He wants to change the life of Teri, played by Chloe Grace
Moretz (KICK-ASS, HUGO). Teri wants to be a singer, but instead works as a battered-woman
of the night for the Russian mob. After she defends herself against a violent
customer, Teri is badly beaten by her mob boss. It’s heartbreaking, and it
reignites something from Bob’s past. He’s a former FBI agent and killer. And he
is coming out of retirement to take on her abusers.
From here on out its Bob vs. the Russian mob (and a few of
Boston’s PD). While the head of the operation hides out in Russia, his hired
guns fight against Bob. Teddy (played by Marton Csokas) is the top dog. He is
an unhinged, cold-blooded killer, and that’s mostly what happens, killing,
innocent and guilty alike.
THE EQUALIZER is the type of movie that reminds you of how
desensitized viewers and movie-makers have become to violence – watching people
get torn apart in the name of style. Where the implication of killing a bad guy
with a huge mallet and putting it back on Home Mart’s store rack is a
laugh-riot. Where the crowd cheers as the bad-guys are getting impaled with
home gardening equipment.
Washington is fine in the film, of course. The highest
praise he can earn here is that he makes the two plus hours tolerable. But
shower him with compliments, I will not. This role clearly creates no
challenges for the great actor. He smirks, charms and puts on a deadly straight
face when he needs to. All calling cards for Washington, but for the guy
everyone wants to cheer for, Washington’s character actually borders on
unlikable.
Bob can take in a scene at a glance and know exactly how
long the killing will take and the materials in the room needed for it. Cool I
guess, except if Bob is that smart and well trained, why not find a different
way to handle the situation, rather than splattering blood across the room?
The in your face, style over substance violence might make
Zack Snyder (300, WATCHMEN, MAN OF STEEL) proud, but do we really need more
films that portray unrelenting violence as a moral compass to stand behind,
even if the bad guys are really that bad.
Few writers and directors make violence as a moral work. I’m
thinking Quentin Tarantino (PULP FICTION, KILL BILL, DJANO UNCHAINED) where for
every kill there are five laughs and the unwavering sentiment that this is
supposed to be ridiculous. If only that was the case for THE EQUALIZER.
Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN) directs.
He clearly understands using action to reward an audience. In this case, Fuqua
fails to live up to the billing of “director of TRAINING DAY,” a movie also
starring Denzel. The two don’t repeat that success, even more alarming is you
can’t help but feel that they may be trying to start a new franchise here for
Washington. Safe to say, we’d all be better off if Washington used his talents
on more formidable projects (2012’s FLIGHT was some of his finest work
yet).
Ultimately, what we’re left with is a cold and uninspired
film. THE EQUALIZER is a film unwilling to have any fun. It has all
the appearances of an exciting birthday gift. Shiny on the outside, from
somebody we love, but on the inside, socks. 1 out of 4 stars
Thanks for the review i'll definitely take the time to see the film
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't think this is his best film. But I do applaud the role played by him. THE STORY LINE WAS DEFINITELY AN ISSUE....It made Denzel's character look like CAPTAIN SAVE HER!!! Maybe its just me but I think the story could of been more interesting. I guess that's what all that action and killing spree made up for. Lol
ReplyDeleteDenzel's noble vigilante couldn't be a more absurd fantasy figure if he were clad in a comic-book superhero's cape and tights.
ReplyDelete