The Equalizer (2014)

The Equalizer focuses on Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), who has left his mysterious past behind him for a new quiet life. However when he meets a young girl, known as Teri, who is being controlled by a violent Russian mobster - his desire for justice is reawakened.

Overall Review Score

1 out of 10

Review

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, The Equalizer is a 132-minute film based on the Television series of the same name. The Equalizer sees Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), a former killer government operative, adopting a quiet life working for Home Mart. As the film progresses, Robert befriends his co-workers, helps one become a Security Guard and acts as the Equalizer to save a young girl from a violent Russian mobster. Despite, some good action sequences toward the tail end of the film, this 132-minute film starts slow and never recovers. It lacks basic character development, struggles to convince the audience of Robert's mysterious past, and descends into the realm of silliness as Robert uses the contents of Home Mart, in clear disregard for Health and Safety, to defend himself and his friends against the Russian mob - who have come to kill him. As Robert fights them off, he promotes the stores’ hammers, nail guns, and vast array of other hardware. Overall, the Equalizer is a film that simply does not work and is an example of how not to make a film. However, if you need ideas on how to kill with tools or how to navigate your local ‘Home Mart’ store the film is unequally educational.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 1 out of 10

Comments:

While this 132-minute film had a good premise, it ultimately failed to live up to its hype. With very little, if any, character development and villains so 'bad' (not in a good way) you wish they would die already, this film was tedious and mind numbingly boring throughout. The main antagonist Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) even pulled out a shockingly bad performance. The only thing that stopped this film from being a zero was the imaginative / ingenious hunt for McCall in the 'Home Mart' near the end of the film.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 1 out of 10

Comments:

Did I really just watch this film or was it a bad TV advert for 'Home Mart’? How this film ever made it out of the studio will always surprise me. This film, like Home Mart's stock, is full of mistakes and missed opportunities - it had poor action sequences, zero character development, and a Russian mobster who added nothing to the film.

#action #crime #denzelwashington