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| Courtesy of Sony |
Denzel
Washington is one of the only consistently bankable movie stars that Hollywood
has left. Even if the film itself isn’t very good, viewers know they can count
on Washington to deliver a performance worth savoring. That’s precisely what
happens with The Equalizer, based on the cult 1980s television drama of the
same name, which took in $35 million over the weekend. It marks the actor’s
seventh movie in a row to make at least $20 million. Compare that to actors
like Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp or Will Smith, and you’ll see that number is
staggering.
Washington
plays Robert McCall, an amiable employee of a Home Depot-like store who spends
his time helping his co-workers, conversing with late night patrons at his
favorite diner and reading the classics. However, viewers quickly get the
impression that his life used to be a lot messier. That impression is cemented when
he sees one of his diner buddies, a teenage prostitute named Teri (Chloe Grace
Moretz), get roughed up by her Russian pimp (David Meunier).
After
an attempt to be nice, McCall lays waste to the gangster’s entire operation,
which attracts the attention of the boss in Moscow. He dispatches his most
trusted advisor (Marton Csokas) to clean up the mess. As even the dumbest
viewer might predict, the newcomer underestimates McCall and suffers dire
consequences.
Washington
is solid as always, differentiating McCall from his other stoic action roles by
making him a wounded man who avoids violence unless there’s no other option.
But the film itself is a shallow rehash of several other flicks, complete with
director Antoine Fuqua’s penchant for ultraviolence. As such, the last half-hour
transforms into a gory, R-rated remake of Home Alone, with McCall graphically
dispatching baddies in Home Depot using a variety of traps and power tools.
The
rest of the cast is only there so McCall can have someone to talk to or kill,
which means a talented actress like Moretz is sidelined and Csokas is (unsuccessfully)
tasked with breathing life into the most generic villain in recent memory.
Veteran character actors Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo are good, but they barely
make an impression since they’re only in the movie for a couple of scenes. And
while the 59-year-old Washington is a certainly entertaining to watch in his action
scenes, there are only a handful scattered throughout the flick’s 131-minute
running time.
Audiences
have responded so well to The Equalizer that a sequel is already in the
works. I just hope the filmmakers remember to build a compelling narrative
around Washington’s character next time around.
The Equalizer is rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, including some sexual references.
Grade: C+
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