In The Equalizer 2’s wake, the sequel to be released on July 20, 2018, I felt compelled to review this action thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua, a genre’s specialist. After movies like Training Day (2001), starring Denzel Washington as well, Olympus Has Fallen (2013), and Southpaw (2015), to name just a few, Fuqua is well-established as a very talented director. He is also a producer and an actor, so, the package is almost complete. Antoine Fuqua doesn’t need to write his own scripts because there is enough talent for that at Hollywood and elsewhere.
The Equalizer – Plot
Robert McCall is a black guy working in a hardware store, like Home Mart. He has precise habits and seems extremely calculate in everything he does. Calm, elastic like a feline, smoothly talking, he helps around and advises everyone in need.
Denzel Washington in The Equalizer
[source for all pics: imdb.com]
You have to guess that there’s more than that with him, but even if you watch the movie, you’ll never know exactly what he represents. I’m not going to spoil that either. He has the habit of drinking his own tea in a small Boston pub, probably close to his living quarters. He also carries a book with him, usually by a classic author. McCall develops a whole ritual in the pub, when he takes out his bag from his pocket, carefully folded in a paper tissue, when putting his book precisely at the table’s edge with the title visible from that side, he rearranges the cutlery, last taking the spoon which he puts in the mug at the exact moment the waiter pours the hot water over his tea, etc. He starts reading, and sometimes answer a girl’s questions about his book’s subject.
Denzel Washington and Chloë Grace Moretz in The Equalizer
The girl who asks the questions, Teri, is a very young hooker, handled by a Russian mobster named Slavi. One evening, the girl didn’t come at the pub. The bartender says something about her being hospitalized at an ER section somewhere, McCall went there, and he finds out more from another prostitute who was closer to Teri. From now on we start to learn a little more about this mysterious character, who, among other extra activities, trained a colleague for his security guard exam. You’ll find more by watching the movie yourself, it’s a pity the trailer is so revealing.
Cast
Denzel Washington is Robert McCall, a very mysterious guy with autistic habits who works in a corporate hardware store. Marton Csokas is Teddy, a problem solver. Chloë Grace Moretz is Teri, a very young hooker. David Harbour is Masters, a guy you’ll learn that he’s actually a cop. Haley Bennett is Mandy, Teri’s friend, another hooker. Bill Pullman is Brian Plummer, a friend with a big house, where you come and go with the helicopter. Melissa Leo is Susan Plummer, Brian Plummer’s wife, McCall’s family friend, now retired or just working higher in the US government’s structure. With such a house, she seems to have been very well paid. David Meunier is Slavi, a pimp and a Russian stupid criminal. A little exaggerated in his stupidity. Johnny Skourtis is Ralphie, a colleague McCall is helping with his life goals and not only.
Denzel Washington again in The Equalizer
As I already mentioned, The Equalizer is directed by Antoine Fuqua. Written by Richard Wenk, Michael Sloan, and Richard Lindheim. Sloan and Lindheim wrote the scripts for the television show with the homonymous name and a totally different plot.
Trailer
The Equalizer has a very catchy trailer. A little bit mixed and somehow revealing, but with such a name, as The Equalizer, one can expect some Jack Reacher or John Wick action type.
Trivia and More
The movie premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, in September 2014. It was a commercial success, even if some critics said that it lacks a good plot and script. Anyway, it grossed almost four times the production’s budget. Of course, the script was sometimes superficial, but I’ve seen worse. Chloe Grace Moretz wasn’t the first option for Terry, Anna Kendrick has been considered at the time, as well. I think Marton Csokas was good in his role, but for a former Spetsnaz, his body appearance should have been improved. Showing his Satanist tattoos was not enough to explain his cruelty. Usually, those tattoos are symbols of his mafia branch, like the Japanese Yakuza. You can learn more from Mark Burnell‘s Chameleon, a novel I liked quite a lot, and from David Cronenberg‘s A History of Violence.
I hope you’ll enjoy it, is much better (even wittier) than John Wick for example. Denzel Washington’s increasing charisma makes The Equalizer even more watchable.
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