The Equalizer (2014)

[ACCA]

We're close Acca......I didn't love it.  But I did like it enough to give it an 8.

 

I really wanted to give this an 8 (or a B+/A-), I did .

 

So much potential, and there were spots of brilliance, but marred by spots of disappointment and mediocrity.

Edited October 8, 2014 by ACCA

[filmscholar]

It wasn't a huge fan of the 80's TV show but I remember it growing up.  But I liked this adaptation.  Sure the slo-mo and the Spider-sense scenes were exaggerated but they worked.  Denzel was quiet yet really good.  It did start off really slow but once it got going it really never looked back and you are sucked into this whole situation.  The main Russian bad guy was so good in this.  I was terrified of him cause he was so evil.  I give the movie a B.  Not better than "Training Day" but still a very good movie.  I felt Chole's character was underdeveloped and she literally disappeared in the middle of the movie.  That last 20 Minutes I will call the Fake Home Depot Massacre, LOL, Loved it.  Huge step up from that generic "2 Guns" he did with Marky Mark. 

Edited October 18, 2014 by filmscholar

[Maxmoser3]

Saw this on Thursday, I really liked this movie especially the action scenes and the acting were both great in this movie. Though I know it's based on a TV show but hey it's a Denzel movie for crying out loud, and also I liked this movie more than I was going to like it though I will admit and that Guts Over Fear song playing at the end credits is still stuck in my head. Overall Denzel fighting the Russian mob pretty good movie and like I had said with Gone Girl one of the better movies I have seen this year, a high B+ from me.

[darkelf]

A passable entry in 'bad-ass Denzel kicks ass' series but not one of the greats. Has some stuff that could have been trimmed and places that could have been better directed and such. Still, as a fan of the 'genre', I had plenty of fun with it.

 

7/10

[acab]

It was very entertaining and fun but let's face it, it was a Steven Seagal movie from the 90's only better directed and much better acted. I loved the Die Hard-in-a-Home Depot at the 3rd act which was brutal and inventive as far as killing goes but the scene afterwards when Denzel goes to Russia was pretty laughable. Still very entertaining and well made. But Denzel can play this role in his sleep. I hope he stetches his acting muscles a bit more with his next movie.

[TheMovieman]

Just got done watching it (on Blu-ray) and for the most part did enjoy it, but as with others, the first 20-minutes were incredibly slow and there were portions in the second act with pacing issues. However, thanks to Denzel Washington and some well choreographed fight scenes, I was able to overlook those flaws.

I just hope when a sequel happens, they get a new director, though one wonders if Washington would appear in one without Fuqua.

***½/*****, (B, 6.8/10, 2.75/4)

[Lordmandeep]

Its another movie where Denzel is a bad ass and is cool.

 

 

People hate on the guy for always releasing mid level thrillers every year, but his movies do well and connect well.

 

B+

[Crusader]

I love B movies as much as the next guy heck I loved John Wick which was straight up b movie goodness and this film does have some paralells but its just rubbish 

 

First off they establish this serious tone and pace it sooooo long that its kinda insulting to the genre ... also while John Wick also had caricature russian characters that movie was sort of having fun like in the sense that you were laughing with the movie and its one dimensional baddies - here it kinda crosses the fine line between and steps into straight up offensive stuff 

 

The action is quite boring and at times nonsensical like how he never picks up a gun even though he has plenty of chances 

 

What Denzel is doing is not acting its simply being him and he's been doing that for the best part of the last 10 years or so ... once upon a time he actually was a somewhat interesting actor 

 

John Wick > this any day 

 

3/10 

 

a pompous b movie - sort of like a paradox 

[Noctis]

My mother will watch anything with Denzel, and she HATED this.

[Webslinger]

A sufficiently badass performance from Denzel Washington makes up for a pedestrian script.

 

B-

[4815162342]

Csokas power.

 

Denzel going to Russia to tie up all loose ends was silly IMO.

[IndustriousAngel]

Took me some time to catch up on this, and wasn'r really worth the wile.

5/10 (C)

It started out ok, there was some character work and I thought the rapport between Bob, Teri and also Ralphie was good. Sadly, after about 30min of relaxed storytelling, they switched genres, and the vigilante "plot" (what plot? He just finishes them off one by one) was neither captivating nor logical, and it even managed to lack tension. The worst thing was that is was so hilarious ... we saw this as a double feature with Deathgasm, which was maybe unlucky for The Equalizer, but once the killings moved to the DIY store we couldn't help but giggle, laugh and finally roll on the floor, and that is probably not what they had in mind.

 

One more case of a movie that has certain strenghts (in this case, the character work) but doesn't know about it and accordingly loses its path along the way.

[mattmav45]

The "been there, done that" saying feels poignant as fuck in this instance. 

 

out time to cement Denzel Washington cinema as a damn genre in and of itself.  Take a mysterious do-no-wrong character, supply a damsel in distress, pit the aforementioned do-no-wrong character against some dastardly villains, and ultimately profit.  As a viewer one would hope the film-makers would take that setup, and ultimately execute it in a way that feels fresh.  Unfortunately for the viewer, such is not the case here.

 

The story centers on a seemingly normal Robert McCall, who works at the Home Depot and seems to be well-liked by every soul he crosses paths with in life.  This just happens to include prostitute Teri, whom he converses with from time to time at a late night diner.  When Robert witnesses Teri being mistreated and abused by her bosses, the writing is on the damn wall.  Specifically, it's time for Robert to attain some righteous justice, and in effect bring down the crime syndicate.

 

Despite the innate mystery surrounding Robert's character, there is a notable attempt to develop and provide depth to the man outside of main mystery surrounding his past.  The attempt is commendable, perhaps, but I'll be damned if I didn't find the execution somewhat goofy.  Rather than simply relying on the mysteriousness of the character, ala John Wick, the film simply tries too hard to humanize and develop Robert, particularly in a film such as this.

 

In addition, the handling of other characters and related dynamics within said characters isn't perfect, and in fact is quite goofy.  The subplot involving security guard Ralphie feels out of place at best, and Teri disappears for the entire film only to reappear during the closing moments.  The villains fail to register the requisite menace and disdain required in a film such as this, and as a result come across as mere cookie-cutter bad guys who are just waiting to be on the receiving of a sharp knife.

 

In the end this is basically John Wick, but with less style and more emphasis on character development.  Unfortunately, the film-makers here failed to realize that what makes Wick such a badass is the lack of character development.  This viewing fails to invest as a superior action offering by way of style or emotional investment.  As a result, it falls into the vast purgatory of films which are neither cool nor emotionally resonant enough to truly be effective.

 

Middling and familiar cinematic viewing.