The Equalizer (Movie Reviews)

     

"What do you see when you look at me?" Badassery.

     Ever since Olympus Has Fallen made the Action genre matter again, it has restored my faith with all of these movies that have come out in recent years. So what if they don't feature hi-caliber acting or nuisanced stories, they do what they do best, and that's entertain me. Denzel Washington has been familar to this branch of films for a decade. Yeah, there was a past in which he did "Ricohet" & "Virtuosity" back in the 90s, but he got a headstart into this genre before Liam Nesson became a household name in the action game.

     As random as it seems, but The Equalizer is based off an old 80s TV show with the same title from the 1980s. Denzel plays Robert Mc Call,  retired black ops government operative who's just settling into civilian life. Then, one night a friend he meets from a diner gets abused by an escort service that's cover for a massive Russian, it becomes a problem for Mr. Mc Call. And, as they say, it's just the tip of the iceberg from there.

     Waiting for the calamity to take place isn't really a chore for this movie. Yes, it's story formulaic and basic, but all action movies are; it's all about payoff, The things that McCall does to his foes in this are brutal. Also, he used one bullet for the entire film, which makes him way better than America's favorite improvisational ass-kicker MacGuyver. In one scene, for example, he uses a nail-gun to impail a hired gun who's about to kill one of his friends at a mock Home Depot shop; and, I'll just say, the result is simply painful.

     I really enjoyed this movie. There were some writing hiccups and some story issues, but, I didn't care about that, really. If you manage to stick it out for the first 30 minutes, which is meant for developing the story, the payoff is worthwhile, and that's all that matters. As for the side characters? They do what they can, which is fine for me. It's an action movie, not a leading Oscar nominee for "Best Leading Original Villain" with Marton Csoskas being the main man sent to take on Denzel's Mc Call. Also, Chloe Grace-Moretz isn't in the movie for a long period of time, but her role is defined enough that it makes sense for the story.

     Not for the squeamish, but it wasn't meant for them anyway.

4 out of 5

   
  Good: Denzel swag, solid action scenes & nice setting

  Bad: Story & dialogue is basic, but I didn't care about that, really.