Since there were two major sequel releases this past weekend, I decided to share two Throwback Thursday Reviews coinciding with both films. I'm a little late on this one due to the hub-bub of San Diego Comic Con, but I've already published my reviews of Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and you can expect my review of The Equalizer 2 soon. This week, I aim to review Teen Titans Go! To The Movies and complete my Mission: Impossible series of reviews with reviews for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, and the upcoming Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Additionally, I will be likely be sharing my thoughts on You Were Never Really Here and Love, Simon sometime before my post disclosing my best and worst films of the year so far. I've also decided to push that post back one last time to give my other reviews some breathing room.
'The Equalizer' Review
The Equalizer trails Robert McCall, a man who's put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to starting a quiet life. But when McCall meets a young girl who has been exploited and manhandled by violent Russian mobsters, he comes out of self-imposed retirement and hones his particular skillset to fight for the helpless.
Based on an '80s television series, The Equalizer was written by Richard Wenk and directed by Antoine Fuqua. While Fuqua's direction is slick and stylish, this vigilante thriller is firmly grounded in reality and McCall's humanity as well. If it weren't for his exceptional skillset, McCall would be no different from the "Average Joe," and this is communicated quite well as the hum-drum of his ordinary life unfolds at the start. He makes do working at a Home Mart, motivating those closest to him, and reading through each book on the list of 100 books everyone should read. He really does seem like a normal guy till everything goes south. It's a slow burn to get to the real action, but the wait is worth it because of everything it does to develop McCall and instill an understanding of his surrounding community.
Although the jump-cut edits are excessive at times and it's therefore more difficult to follow the fight choreography, the action in and of itself is gritty, gruesome, and particularly enjoyable to watch. The jump-cuts were probably done to mask Denzel and his stunt double, but they also detract from the flow of the sequence and are quite jarring. In that regard, The Equalizer is hardly different from any other run-of-the-mill action flicks to be released in the last ten years.
What sets The Equalizer apart from today's action-thriller landscape is having an actor of Denzel Washington's caliber front and center. While hardly his best work, Washington brings a calm, stoic demeanor to McCall that contrasts wonderfully with the brutality on display. Washington also pairs nicely with whoever he's sharing the screen with, whether it be Chöe Grace Moretz, Johnny Skourtis, Melissa Leo, Bill Pullman. Haley Bennett, or David Harbour.
Opposite Denzel, Marston Csokas relishes in the villainy of playing a Russian mobster. While certainly not a ground-breaking portrayal or even a well-rounded role from a writing perspective, Csokas elevates his material tremendously and makes for a menacing antagonist despite his nonthreatening name of Teddy.
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