That’s not a gun he’s holding.
Well, maybe, but he never really uses one.
External Ratings (as of posting)
IMDB – 7.6/10 from 11,335 users
MetaCritic – 57/100 on 41 critics, 6.5/10 on 61 users
Audience and Scoring:
Ross – 7/10
Weber – 8.5/10
Weber
Revenge porn EVERYWHERE! The best murderer on the planet gets a wild notion to become Totally-Not-the-Punisher and go on a rampage. My score for this one is a tad high…slightly ashamed of it honestly, but this was one of the more enjoyable, over the friggin top movies I’ve seen in a while. (Hint: I watch more movies in a week than I critique here, these reviews are all “currently in theaters” at the time of writing.)
Denzel does what a lot of the, uh, salt and pepper acting crowd are doing these days: let’s make a movie where I (Denzel) get to kick all. the. asses. But this one is outrageous. Select Liam Neeson’s two Taken titles, cram them together sans the abductions, toss in a dash of Man on Fire themes, crank it all up it to 11, and add some seriously awesome sound both in the Intense Music and FX department. That about covers it. The sound was really particularly impressive; solid score fitting an intense action movie, excellent use of surround sound, and some of the best and most accurate weapons FX this side of Heat – which, you know, is acclaimed for its weapons FX.
The story isn’t all that. Not by a longshot. Boilerplate action movie. Bad Guys do bad things, Good Guy returns to a former lifestyle and proceeds to smash their faces, Bigger Bad Guy shows up to clean up the mess, hijinks ensue. It’s paced well and Marton Csokas (LotR: Fellowship, xXx (the good one, with Vin Diesel), Kingdom of Heaven, Æon Flux, et. al.) plays a sufficiently Creepy Russian Dude. Seriously, I was a bit skeeved out during one particular scene. What IS interesting about the story was the dogged insistence and repetition of Denzel’s character to check his watch and use it to time various events. It’s shown briefly in the trailer, but it plays a major – but unspoken – part in how he does what he does. I’ve rarely seen that particular punctuality aspect highlighted so well, especially as it’s done without obnoxiously shoving it in the audience’s face through spoon-fed monologuing or the like.
TL;DR - Equalizer is a solid, enjoyable R-rated action film with just enough story to keep it interesting. While not a masterpiece, not by a long shot, it’s definitely entertaining if that’s what you’re after. If you saw the trailer you get the gist, don’t expect Count of Monte Cristo.
Ross
A movie in which Denzel Washington brutalizes and generally murders a large amount of Russian mafia-types. That’s what The Equalizer is, and it is shameless in executing this. This movie felt like Shoot ‘Em Up but with fewer guns and more melodrama. It’s fun, it’s occasionally ridiculous and it’s good at what it does.
Denzel does his job as the rain man of killing mobsters. He counts seconds and stabs people, all while maintaining his seemingly very calm demeanor. His character isn’t a revelation of cinema, nor is the job he did acting it, but he gets the job done efficiently and effectively despite most of it involving just staring at the camera with a slightly menacing look on his face. Martin Csokas is what you’d expect, a crazy eyed, Russian killer without the slightest ounce of remorse. Chloe Grace Moretz, despite appearing to be a main cast member isn’t featured in a fair amount of the film, at least not all the cool, homicidal parts.
The direction isn’t anything to write home about but the movie is fairly pretty. The sound was fantastic(in IMAX), with music that was sometimes silly in it’s seriousness but never lacking in it’s attempts to set you on edge. Violence was handled quite nicely, being simultaneously brutal and not super-gory. People die in some nasty ways but I never found myself asking if this was just an excuse for fake blood and makeup shenanigans.
In a movie about vengeance and hyperviolence everyone involved did a solid job. It isn’t going to win awards or propel any actors into stardom but it’s a good escape if you’re looking to burn a couple hours. Don’t walk in expecting anything too crazy and you’ll leave like I did, satisfied and content with my purchase.
TL;DR - The characters are typical and decent, the story doesn’t blow you away and everything happens the way it should. Good guy deals with oftentimes surprisingly inept bad guys. This is a fun, good looking, loud action movie with Denzel in it.