Another step in Hollywood’s plan to remake everything that ever existed in the following decade, The Equalizer (2014) is a major motion picture adaptation/reboot of the 1985 television series of the same name. The series focused on Robert McCall (played by legendary British actor Edward Woodward, who also starred in The Wicker Man), an ex-secret agent who, now retired, offers his services as an “Equalizer”, which basically amounts to him solving other peoples life problems, often through beating up addicts and street hoodlums. The show is mostly remembered for a plethora of notable guest stars and it’s theme song, which became a hit for its composer Stewart Copeland, the drummer for The Police. The show was even briefly shown in The Wolf of Wall Street, but has never had an extremely large fanbase calling for a remake. But we got one anyway.
The 2014 film follows a plot very similar to the standard episode structure of the series. In the film, Robert McCall, this time played by Denzel Washington, aims to take down a Russian organised crime ring  in order to save Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz) from being forced into a life of prostitution, using the skills he learned as a covert agent. So for the most part the plot is pretty standard, but it is good to see stereotypical Russians back as the villains again after a long period of evil corporations or stereotypical Arabs. Going up against McCall is a Russian enforcer/investigator played by Matron Csokas, who’s basically Chigurh from No Country for Old Men. Actually, he’s almost exactly Chigurh. Seriously, apart from the haircut and the clothes, they’re written and performed almost exactly the same way.

Denzel Washington and Marton Csokas share a drink.


Strangely similar supporting roles aside, this movie is all about Denzel. He adds a surprising amount of believability to a character who might seem like a satire of action heroes in the hands of a lesser actor, and delivers a performance that lends an astounding amount of credibility and interest to what is an otherwise run-of-the-mill plot. Chloë Grace Moretz shows she’s quite capable of playing a very vulnerable character, but her performance is minorly sullied by her sporadic appearances throughout the movie. It seems as though all her screentime was filmed in one or two days, restricting the character to few locales and situations. Csokas turns in a well intentioned performance, but what seems like an interesting character just under the surface is covered up by a total lack of development.
Director Antoine Fuqua, who gave Denzel his Best Actor Oscar with Training Day (2001), shows us highly polished and realistically gritty sets and fills them with a good helping of stylized violence. Following along with Americas completely insane rating system, we see very little blood in order for the film to be assured a PG rating, but nonetheless the violence is still interesting enough to hold your attention. Using the same slow motion planning idea that was made popular in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes (2009), McCall envisions his attacks with scientific accuracy before executing them in a single seamless motion. Most of the other action scenes in the film are dedicated to showing different aspects of McCall’s skills, including his ability to hide a night, and make effective weaponry only using stuff available in a hardware store.
The soundtrack for the film is noticeably lacklustre with ill fitting electronic music serving no purpose is poorly inserted into most of the film. Half the time it doesn’t even seem to sync up with what’s going on on screen. The films overall tone is another sore spot, as it isn’t cheesy enough to be funny, and isn’t serious enough to be meaningful. At points, it seems as if the film my be trying to make a poignant point about something, but it’s lost in another studio blockbuster. Overall, the film is nothing special, and a strong performance fro Denzel and some excellent cinematography and direction can’t save a bland and clichéd script.
Verdict: An excellent Denzel Washington isn’t enough to keep this movie from turning into a generic blockbuster.
6/10
The Equalizer is in Australian cinemas on September 25.