The Equalizer

Denzel and Antoine do their best

Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is your seemingly ordinary old man, working his 9 to 5 and going home to set about his own affairs. His routine is such that no one would think to look at him twice. Part of his routine is going to his favorite diner and having hot tea, where he sees Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz). Teri doesn't hide who she is (a hooker), doing what she can to survive. One day Robert sees her boss handle her a little too roughly, the next day she is in the hospital clinging to life. This sets him off to take up a life he thought he left behind, and bring justice to the scum that did this to her.

So, I didn't see the show this movie was based off of (big surprise) so I have to see this movie from the perspective of people born in my generation or younger. As it stands, the story here was nothing to write home about. Nothing we haven't seen a thousand times before. Simple. Man is older and has a past he thought he could get away from. Man sees something that sets him off to take up his old habits. Basically this man, was written to be your every day immortal bad ass. As I said walking out of the theater with my friends "we don't have the opportunity to see any more John McCains." Let me elaborate. This is the same generic movie of bad-ass, put into a situation he knows, and comes out on top because the people underestimated or weren't prepared for him in some other way. A John McCain is an every man put in an extraordinary situation and comes out on top despite his short comings with a little help from luck. The later scenario is more appealing since we can identify with the every man and don't see that type of movie twice a year (at least). The aforementioned is less appealing simply because there are just so many versions of that story out there. Yes, this movie just so happened to give the bad-ass guy Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.Yes, the bad-ass guy is awesome and a good director can put us in their shoes, letting us escape reality for a little bit; but, even the best director can't polish a terd into a diamond. Luckily, this director polished a terd until it smelled better, and wasn't quite as offensive.

The direction by Antoine Fuqua did exactly what I expected from it, engrossed me in the parts I was supposed to be engrossed in. This man is a damn good director and you barely hear his name as much as more publicized directors, which is a shame. The action scenes keep you invested, and have most people pumping there hands in the air begging for more. He took a seemingly unimportant explosion scene and turned it into  a slow motion thrill ride that lasted just the right amount of time. There are a few minutes that feel like they trailed on a bit too long. It does seem like he was going for a bit more of an artistic approach to action (as he does with some movies), but ultimately he won the day in mind again. The movie was still merely serviceable but he, and the cast, saved this movie from the bargain bin.

Denzel Washington does what Denzel Washington does again, and breathes life until an utterly contrived, boring, tired character. The man very rarely has misses that are noticeable, so whenever I praise his performance I feel like I am just being redundant. I'll leave his performance as this "you like good acting with a cliche storyline? Go see this." The other parts of this cast weren't too far behind in the acting department. It is like Denzel brings out the best of the cast around him or something. Chloe Grace Moretz is still the rising star she has been since we first saw her, and I have seen enough of her to say that I would like to see more in the coming years. She has reached the point where people can't stereotype her as "the child actress" any more, she is growing into something special. Marton Csokas was intimidating as the villain here. Very stoic, very ruthless, ultimately believable as the guy you want to cross the street to avoid. The only real problem I saw in the cast was with Johnny Skourtis, fortunately he had the excuse of "lack of experience" so for his first major role he did fine. Nothing to write home about, overacted a little too much; but, completely fine. I just wish he would have been more of a background character.

In the end, this movie did not disappoint, but it didn't necessarily blow me away either. It completely lived up to the mediocrity I thought it was going to be.  There are things that push it above and beyond what most movies of this caliber end up being; but I wouldn't rush out to see it. I hear a lot of talk from people on if this should be a franchise. My answer is: no. We tried it with Taken and now they can't seem to find the kill switch. Same thing they did with the Bourne series. Basically, I had to see this movie because I did a review on Training Day Thursday, and I'm just waiting to see Boxtrolls. Mark this occasion down as the time my hopes were high for a movie, and we'll see what it does when I review it.

Final Verdict: Rent it Solid acting and directing, put this just slightly above the line of mediocrity. The action scenes are intense enough to hold interest, and the camera work is as impressive as ever. Everyone did the best they could with the crap script they were handed.