The Equalizer

Taken + Man On Fire x 2 and you get The Equalizer!! Denzel Washington is in more form than ever and gets my personal Oscar, for Best Actor in an Action Movie (even if he just sits on the toilet for the whole movie, he's got balls). His likability, looks, charisma, skill, ingenuity, focus, military skills and deadly destruction will haunt you throughout the film. What is there to praise here? The excellent cinematography and slow motion effects during the action scenes that strongly rival Korean action movies (the best explosion ever filmed in a movie). A perfect script and dialogues, for the whole film we have the opportunity to hear a plethora of wisecracks and morsels of wisdom, in the next screening I will watch with pencil and paper. The villain, the main bad ass, is a properly smart, cold, menacing and uncompromising mafia boss, he was no doubt a key factor in the success of the film. The action is classy and so distinct you can almost reach out and touch it. The half hour finale was bloodier than any horror film, those who like traps and blood will come into their own as I did. More people died in this film than the number of films I watched in 2014 and there were no few!!! A fully Intelligent, dark and violent revenge ride like there hasn't been in a long time. Whoever humiliates this film flies will be unfriended without mercy! Top 3 movie of the year. (10/09/2014)

A superbly executed action film where Fuqua's ability to direct great scenes and Denzel's ability to carry the entire film shine through excellently. He's exactly the kind of hero you want to root for. What really bothered me was Chloe Grace Moretz's disappearance from the scene for over an hour. And it's not just because I really like that girl; it also harmed the story. (12/15/2014)

After six long years and a second viewing, I have to raise my rating because this film starring Denzel Washington deserves every bit of praise it can get. Antoine Fuqua knew exactly why he cast this legendary actor in the lead role; Denzel delivers perhaps the best performance of his career, following Man on Fire and Training Day. His seemingly unassuming portrayal of an older, innocent-looking guy working at the warehouse completely dissolves when the film unleashes its first action scene, revealing what a top-notch professional Robert McCall truly is. The dialogues are among the sharpest in the genre recently, and you really savor the exchanges (especially between Denzel and Csokas). Martin Csokas stands out as one of the most terrifying villains of late; his expressions truly send chills down your spine at every turn. The action is impactful, unexpected, brutal, and above all, inventive (the finale at the warehouse with the fire sprinklers is one of the most effective scenes in recent years). Sure, it’s exaggerated, but the execution is so precise and perfect at its core that giving it less than five stars would be a grave injustice. For me, it’s a 9/10. P.S. One of the best soundtracks for action films; Harry Gregson-Williams has outdone himself again. (01/11/2021)

Well... no. I can appreciate an action flick with higher formal ambitions from time to time, but I also demand that its contents not strongly irritate me, which here unfortunately wasn’t the case. Equalizer looks good, the performances are fine and the sound design is great, but I found it boring and irritating most of the time. Is it exaggerated? Of course, but it doesn’t matter. Is it narratively dumb and disjointed? Yes, unfortunately very much so. And yet it looks so, so good :/ 60% (02/22/2015)

Slower but all the more focused, subtly escalating and with a perfect performance by the main villain. Washington is approaching the position of an A-list Seagal and soon we’ll see a halo lighting up over his head. I was delighted with the character balance between him and Csokas, the dialogue, Bill Pullman’s small role, more blood than we are used to in Washington movies, and the closing music by Moby. Fuqua is back! (10/14/2014)