This movie is worth seeing for the absolutely batshit insane, nailbiting finale that was easily one of the most tense half hours I've seen in a film so far this year. Set entirely inside a home goods store, it's insanely violent and creative and I was completely on the edge of my seat. The rest of the movie itself consistently maintains a similar level of tension as you never really know what Denzel's character is capable of. The plot is pretty conventional as are the one-note villains who are mostly caricatures, but Denzel Washington is great as the lead and makes more of an impression in this role than he has in years. Chloe Moretz feels a bit miscast though she makes a noble effort. She's also only in the movie for about 10 minutes. This movie reminded me so much of a superhero origin story at times - it should definitely spawn a franchise. And this is going to be big. It's a huge crowdpleaser and there are so many moments where I could totally see audiences cheering and applauding. It's not a perfect film by any means, but it's stylish, well-made, incredibly tense and has a fantastic central performance. I had a lot of fun with it, especially the last act. B+

Denzel is such a badass in this movie. His hand to hand skills are pretty damn impressive here and I loved the fact that he barley uses a gun to dispatch the bad guys. Nothing too special about the plot or the characters except Marton Csokas can definiely chew the scenery and makes for a solid villain.

Moretz is just there, but her performance isn't bad by any means. The Rambo like finale is tense and lot of fun, although after all the hype I was honestly expecting more gorier kills. It's violent for sure, but it ain't no Raid 2.

Not for the first time, Denzel Washington lends his A-list star power—his regal and stoic gravity—to a mediocre action film. The latest is The Equalizer, a cinematic adaptation of the hit '80s television series. The film reunites the actor with Antoine Fuqua, the director of Training Day, the suspenseful drama for which he won an Academy Award for his captivating performance as a deceitful and volatile detective gone wrong. Any presumed actor/director magic is largely absent the second time, unfortunately. Washington stars as Robert "Bob" McCall, a former soldier and intelligence-agency operative now leading a quiet life as a widower in Boston. He controls his violent impulses. He reads. He is employed at a Home Depot-style store. And when he cannot sleep, he visits a twenty-four-hour diner. Another frequent visitor to the diner is Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a put-upon teenage prostitute and aspiring singer. When she is nearly beaten to death by her pimp and his gang, Bob steps in to deal brutal justice. His actions enrage and frighten the head of the pimp's organization. He in turn sends an elite henchman (a scenery-devouring and slightly low-rent Marton Csokas) from Moscow to Boston to investigate, inciting a broader conflict.

The Equalizer is at its best near the beginning and the end. The early scenes establishing the protagonist's moderation-centric civilian life and teasing his ferocious interior self are engaging, well-acted, and exhibit a welcome patience and restraint. Not restrained in any way, but very exciting is a third-act action sequence set in the aforementioned home-improvement retail store; a long list of their products, including barbed wire and a nail gun, are weaponized before the fight is over. Between these two highlights lies a problematic film lasting an indulgent 130-plus minutes, including multiple one-after-the-other endings*. There is a generic quality to the tattooed, woman-hating, post-Soviet antagonists, and Moretz is underutilized in her role as their victim; once the foul treatment of her soulful and traumatized character sets the plot in motion, she is discarded until an afterthought of a scene near the end. And, to be honest, the film tends to overplay its hand in regard to Washington's natural, hard-edged cool. There are several moments of truly riveting hand-to-hand combat, as well as one or two instances of tantalizing art-of-war mind games, but there is also, for example, a scene finding him almost gliding away in slow motion as a vast explosion engulfs the area behind him. He does not flinch, of course. It is the type of groan-worthy, often-spoofed, more-bad-ass-than-thou image indicating invincibility, and this deflates rather than intensifies the suspense moving forward.

C+

*The sequel-teasing image of Washington's character searching Craiglists (!) for people in need of a local vigilante is hilarious.

This could easily be recut with Denzel as the antagonist in a slasher film.

Still, it is a good B-movie action flick for a lazy Sunday. B+. I wonder if it will be banned in Russia?

A solidly entertaining, deliciously violent Badass Denzel Movie. B

I kind of hated this. I do agree that the finale inside of the hardware store was very good and I loved the use of music there but the nearly two hours that it follows it just incredibly dull and a mash up of movies that are better. I was incredibly disappointed.

C-

Wow.
Denzel's a Badass.

I completely loved the first half, especially the beginning 30 minutes or so. Denzel was just a perfect badass and his relationship with Chloe felt genuine. It didn't really went downhill in the second half, it just couldn't mantain the greatness of the first half. Still, this was a great movie and I hope they're making a sequel.

The Equalizer

A cool and lengthy action thriller. Denzel really excels as a loner bad ass. The great thing about this film is the patience, the non-CG effects and use of weapons to take down the villains. He did it all without guns. Pretty awesome. It was nice to see Bill Pullman. Ok, bad things: I didn't like the periods of slo-mo and close-ups of his eye ball and eye lids, that dragged and made those scenes less cool. The scene in Moscow is a bit much, but I can ignore that. Chloe Moretz was bad and annoying as what looked like an underage hooker girl (how hard would it have been to cast an unknown?). Shame on you Fuqua for using "A New Dawn Fades" from Heat. But you made up for it with the credits song by Eminem; very slick. One thing that is quite funny is that Denzel can seemingly take time off from Home Mart whenever he pleases.

All in all, a good actioner (but it could have been 20 minutes shorter), and I hope more are made in this vein because its what action fans dig and deserve. We know there will not be a sequel, but the third final scene (seriously, it's like they didn't want to end the film) sets that up, and I would definitely watch one if there was. Maybe the Chinese triads next time.

B+

The last scene is so bad. "Hey, Craigslist, anyone need a vigilante? Call me!"

Well, in his defence, all he typed was "Yes". She could have been asking for help on her homework.

B

Denzel is being a terrific badass here, but the vilains are way too one-note and too easy to dispatch for any tension to come up. The final showdown in the home improvement store was really well staged and executed. Man, who knew that this place could be so deadly? It almost became a comic adaptation at that point, but I enjoyed it. The film was too long for its own good, though and Chloe Moretz unfortunately disappears 15 minutes into the film, only to re-appear at the very end. Despite the marketing, her presence in the film is really negligible. Too bad, her interaction with Washington was pretty good. I'd be down for a sequel to this, but I must say I enjoyed Safe House (of Washington's more recent badass roles) more.

Literally everyone. The place sells hammers, power tools, barbed wire, shears etc.

So every time you go there, you think of gruesome murders?

Knowing a place can be deadly isn't the same as visiting a place and thinking of gruesome murders.

Well, it never crossed my mind as "deadly" when I went there.

I worked nights in one for a few years.

I enjoyed it.

7/10 ( B )

Denzel's alright but even his usual stamina can't save this pretty terrible film.

Awesome. I'm not sure why I didn't watch this sooner, but glad I did and it was great. Fuqua disappointed more or less with The Magnificent Seven and Southpaw (forgot he even directed that), but this film was a great follow-up to Olympus Has Fallen, and shows of everything why he's one of the best action directors out there. Denzel is perfect in the role, and it's exactly the type of one-man action film to love. It just does a fine job all around. I didn't like Moretz in the role, but once she was out of the picture and Denzel started his groove with the 5-man assassination the film kicked in full gear and it ended up being an excellent experience. It's no John Wick, but its action I like more of and should just slot in somewhere at the bottom of my 2014 top 10. Looking forward to the 2nd installment now.

A-