The Equalizer - Discussion Thread - Spoilers Likely

[Joel_Kirk]

I haven't seen the movie (too busy lately!) but I definitely intend to since it has two performers I like: Denzel Washington and Chloe Moretz. While director Antoine Fuqua is hit-or-miss, this particular film looks like it might be interesting. And yes, I am familar with the 1980s show this film is based on, and I hope that the film adaptation utilizes the cool score from that television show in some way.

Note: This film opened September 26th in a few countries, particularly the U.S. where I live, and looks to open outside the U.S. in a few more countries this October.

 

[Admiral2]

"A", as in "A fantastic movie."

An update of the old eighties TV series, this movie does a fine job of placing Denzel Washington in the role of Robert McCall, the retired intelligence agent trying to live a quiet life devoted to helping people whenever he can. This help ranges from helping a friend at work pass the secuirty guard test to taking on the freakin' RUSSIAN MAFIA on behalf of a girl he only knows from meetings in a diner.

(By the way, are directors so in love with the painting "Nighthawks" that they are duty-bound to recreate it in at least one scene in every movie? just asking...)

I like to call Denzel's approach to the role "Monk meets Bond" because Bob McCall has a certain OCD quality to him. Not overwhelming, but he lives his life in a very orderly fashion, and applies this sentinment to his hand-to-hand (he maps out exactly how he's gonna take out five guys in a room, then does it step-by-step.)

Chloe Moretz is great, of course, and the guy playing the fixer from Moscow could give Christoph Waltz competition in the focused villain department.

Well worth the duckets, people.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Great movie.

I loved the episodic structure of the movie, as perhaps a nod to the original series. He helps person A, helps person B, helps person C -- all while dealing with the larger plot.

Big chunks of this movie are left to the imagination (we only see the aftermath) and I think the technique is fairly effective. My favorite example is him selecting a hammer from the tool aisle *cut to the next day* the ring is returned, he dutifully cleans the blood off the hammer and returns it to its original spot on the rack. A quick, bare-bones sub-plot that works as a clever bit of business without detouring the main plot with a side adventure.

Denzel Washington plays the main character as a very authentic older man. His actions are more considered and deliberate, not a lot of wasted movements or flourishes with this guy. He isn't showy or spontaneous, more of a planner and strategist. It should also be mentioned that he is a complete and total badass.

The ending was another nice nod to the original series while also setting up (what I hope is) a new film franchise for Denzel Washington.

 

[Borgminister]

Any similarities to Edward Woodward?

Might catch this, brings back memories.

 

[Forbin]

It sounds like they actually did justice to the series! I'm surprised.

 

[Admiral2]

Any similarities to Edward Woodward?

Might catch this, brings back memories.

Specifically to Woodward? Gotta say no.

But to the series? As stated above, it's the series in microcosm. Denzel McCall helps a lot of people and is set up to keep doing it.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. It's by no means a classic and takes a little too long to get going. But when it gets going, it's a decent actioner. Fuqua handles the wince-making fight scenes with aplomb and there's imaginative use of hardware tools. Even if the end is a little redolent of Home Alone for adults. The villains, in particular Teddy, are the nastiest and most hissable crew outside a Jack Reacher novel. In fact, in some ways this is a better Reacher movie than the (still pretty good) Cruise movie.

But above all, this is Washington's movie. I always imagined them casting someone like Dalton, Brosnan or Neeson to follow Edward Woodward. But ethnicity and nationality be damned, Denzil is way more convincing than any of them would be and it doesn't matter a bit that Robert McCall is no longer a white Brit. In some ways, this McCall is like a less self-destructive Creasy from Man on Fire. But with his hints of OCD, his subtle grief for a lost wife, his earnest perusal of the 100 books you must read, his insomnia and his understated ordinary working man's clothing, Denzil invests him with more personality than Neeson's Brian Mills could ever have. The man is one of the great stars of our time and I think the overly-slow first 45 mins would've been much harder to watch with most other stars of his age in it.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

Based on what I've heard, I expected less, but was pleasantly surprised when I saw this yesterday. (I gave it an A+ and was surprised this was from the same guy who gave us White House Down).

I didn't find any lags or any open plot holes or issues. Everything that was on the screen or everything that the characters did was justified in the story.

Denzel Washington definitely sells the rebooted Robert McCall as someone who has a mysterious past and who knows how to read people (especially those up to no good) before he dispatches knowledge or justice.

Special note to Haley Bennett, who was lookin’ pretty good. I assumed she wasn’t exactly Russian, but she played the part well and I believed her character. So much that I didn’t like what eventually happened to her…

Of course, I thought Chloe Moretz was cool. I, and a lot of fans after Kick-Ass pigeonholed the actress and expected her to portray, well, ‘kick ass’ characters who were always tough. However, here in The Equalizer, she is one who needs saving; she’s a victim. While we could say the female roles in the film are pretty much those who need saving in some way, there are males - the character Ralphie and others who McCall works with - who need saving at some point as well. Now, it’s stated that Moretz’s character did ‘hit back’ one of her client’s but that lands her in the hospital. Hence, Moretz’s character is just one individual who represents those who don’t have the power to continue to stand up to those with influence or money or some dirty means to brush wrongdoing under the metaphorical rug.

Yeah, I may be buying this one on blu-ray.

I hear there is talk of sequels, but Fuqua and Washington don’t do sequels. (Hmmm….)