Slow and clichéd, but with some fantastic action sequences.

Rating: 6/10 (26 September 2014)

Reteaming 13 years after their Oscar-winning Training Day, director Antoine Fuqua and star Denzel Washington deliver another guilty pleasure with this murky revenge flick. Washington plays Robert McCall, a man with a dark past trying to eke out a quiet life until he feels compelled to help a young prostitute (Chloe Grace Moretz – truly horrible) who is beaten to a pulp by her Russian pimp. Trouble is this particular pimp is part of the Russian Mafia's American contingent, so a simple chat over coffee and cake won't do the trick. So after an excruciatingly slow opening 30 minutes, Washington is unleashed in a tense and ultimately bloody confrontation that results in the Russian mob sending over more minions (led by Marton Csokas' sinister sociopath) to be slaughtered in slow motion awesomeness. If the plot sounds a bit clichéd – hooker with a heart of gold, evil Ruskis, one last job, ridiculously inept and indispensable henchmen – that's because it is. Fuqua attempts to imbue his film with dramatic heft, yet he shouldn't have bothered. When delving into character motives, moral choices and grand, thought-provoking themes, the movie stutters and splutters; thankfully the numerous action sequences are of an extremely high calibre. The finale is especially epic, with Mauro Fiore's cinematography and Harry Gregson-Williams' score combining with Fuqua's flair behind the camera to dish out an appropriately hard core climax. More of a rainy-Sunday-arvo-on-the-couch type of film, but if you're a die-hard Denzel fan then you'll likely appreciate this on the big screen.