As a fan of the ‘80s television show, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the film version of “The Equalizer,” an above-average actioner that manages to maintain the heart of the series while beating an air of superhero mystique into its storyline pulse.
Denzel Washington plays Robert McCall, a reserved man living in solitude within an urban environment. McCall leads a quiet life in an ordinary job; his inability to sleep routinely leads him to a diner in the early morning hours to sit quietly while reading a book and drinking tea. While this inability to sleep and his solitary life may hint at a past he’d rather not remember, McCall’s precision in preparing his tea by meticulously folding a tea bag into a napkin brought from home and arranging his place setting at the diner is more an ordered conditioning than O.C.D. After striking up a conversation with Teri (Chloe Moretz), a young escort who also frequents the diner at the same time as McCall, McCall learns of Teri’s ambitions for a life beyond her circumstances. Unfortunately, a better life for Teri means breaking off her employment as an escort for the Russian mob. After Teri breaks an arranged date, the Russians try to physically break Teri. They are confronted by McCall, who tries to buy Teri’s freedom. The mobsters naturally refuse McCall’s financial offer and the precision and dark past that was only hinted at in McCall’s character suddenly becomes painfully evident- extremely painful for the Russian mobsters.
While the Russians seek retribution, McCall also befriends Ralphie (Johnny Skourtis), a co-worker who also seeks a better life for himself by career advancement within their company. With McCall’s help, Ralphie trains to secure this advanced position but these dreams are discarded when Ralphie abruptly quits to help his family with their restaurant. When McCall learns the family is prey to crooked cops extorting the family, he is once again forced into using his previously discarded talents to dispense justice.
As with the television series, the real heart of “The Equalizer” is the belief that knowledge is never wasted and innate talent is never lost- a good man can call upon these talents, no matter how unsavory they may be, for the betterment of his fellow man. One of the questions I ask myself in watching a movie is whether it would have been better or worse in another’s hands. While the story stands up, Washington and director Antoine Fuqua (reteaming after 2001’s “Training Day”) are talented enough to elevate the material. With Washington’s assured performance as McCall (he’s covered this same territory in 2004’s “Man on Fire”) and Fuqua’s action-savvy direction (“Shooter,” “Olympus Has Fallen”), “The Equalizer” simply benefits from both of their knowledge in doing these types of films. In the story of a skilled man standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves (the exploited and extorted in “The Equalizer”), Washington and Fuqua do admirable work. While a sequel to “The Equalizer” and another reteaming of Washington and Fuqua in a remake of “The Magnificent Seven”- again, a set of skilled men defending those who cannot defend themselves- are rumored, I would want to see both of these projects come to fruition given their work with this film.
While most times a movie like this can be a deviant diversion, “The Equalizer” has a good heart that fills its chambers and beats with the blood extracted from those who brutalize the downtrodden. Its pulse is far from weak.