The Equalizer

You gotta problem? The Police can’t help you? Maybe the Police are the problem? Well now you can call the Equaliser, who is back, serving up justice and protecting the poor ordinary folks from criminals, corrupt cops and the like. Whilst it has as much to do with the original TV series as the 2003 version of the Italian Job had to do with the Michael Cain original this is a far superior effort and a well-crafted excellent action movie.

Denzel Washington plays Robert McCall a man who has left his Special Forces past behind him to lead a simple life of working at a hardware store, reading literature and mourning the passing of his wife. Unable to sleep nights he regularly goes to the local diner where he exchanges chit chat with wannabe singer, but working as a hooker, Teri, played by Chloë Grace Moretz. When Teri goes missing McCall goes after the Russian mafia gang that controls her. After trying, but failing, to buy her freedom from the gang McCall tries a different tact, and by different tact I of course mean he kills everyone in the room.

What follows is the gang’s paymasters trying to track McCall down and destroy him, and then destroy him again just to make sure, and after that destroy anyone that may have even said hello to McCall as a warning to others. That is how insanely miffed they are with McCall. However, this Denzel Washington we are talking about here. Destroying anything to do with Denzel is a big ask, and the Russians are of course going to find that out to their cost. As well as having a Russian Mafia gang on his hands McCall also finds time to sort out corrupt cops, a gun toting mugger and other street ne’er do wells that seem to plague the streets of all downtown America.

The dialogue is slick, the action is almost the co-star of this film, and Denzel Washington could make the reading of an electric meter a hit movie such is his charisma. Marton Csokas is excellent as two dimensional mega hard psycho violent Teddy, the Russian hit man sent to kill Washington. These two are ably supported by the rest of the cast. A lot has been made of the fact that this is a reunion between Washington and director Antoine Fuqua who together made the 2001 hit Training Day. This is better, more enjoyable and a sequel is already in the pipeline. Enjoy.