THE EQUALIZER

(2014) 131 Minutes, Rated R

Mike's Review: Now this is my kind of movie.  This is in the league of the first Taken with Liam Neeson or Hitman with Timothy Olyphant.  If you enjoyed those movies then you will enjoy Denzel Washington  doing what he does. The fight scenes are very believable with a kind of Matrix style to them.  The story was well done and the character development was pretty well done.  The ending even left it open for a squeal, which I would see in a heartbeat.

Best Scene:  I liked the fight scenes, but I like the ending as well when he says he can help.

Mike's Rating: Worth the price of the Ticket.

Bean's Review: Fairly violent and riveting movie.  Denzel Washington plays an ex-CIA agent/spy, Robert McCall, trying to distance himself from his past career by working at a big box home improvement store and generally living a solitary, simple life.  However, his casual acquaintance with a very young Russian prostitute, Teri a/k/a Alina, played well by Chloë Grace Moretz, leads him back to his past activities and training, as Alina is hospitalized after a severe beating by her pimp, Slavi, played by David Meunier. 

The movie also displayed an underworld, the Russian mafia, that was quite disturbing.  Denzel Washington is quite convincing in his role, which is similar to his role in Man on Fire.  However, the storyline and acting in Man on Fire was better, especially the acting of Dakota Fanning.

 

McCall’s interaction with his co-workers at the store was developed nicely, but his interaction with the ex-director, played by Melissa Leo, or whatever her position was within McCall’s past career, was not, as it was unclear to me of her position in the movie.  Bill Pullman’s role seemed to be a token bit, which is unfortunate.

I enjoyed McCall’s trait of counting down the seconds in disarming/killing the “bad guys”.  Overall, a good, entertaining movie, but not as well acted or developed as Man on Fire or Training Day.

Best scene: quite a few-one that stands out is McCall’s initial encounter with Alina’s pimp and McCall’s obsessive/compulsive behavior with the skulls on the desk.  I also enjoyed his encounter with the “cops on the take”.

Bean’s rating:  borderline Matinee/Full Price-would definitely watch again

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