You will be equalized!

Rating: 7/10 (1 October 2014)

Greetings all, I happened upon this film having seen very little advertising save for the odd television teaser, from which I discerned a Taken-esque format. And to my pleasure this delivers very much like the first Taken did. I could draw more comparisons with the wonderfully brutal fight scenes but we all know this formula by now.
My main praise must go to Denzel Washington who charismatically plays the introverted, unsuspecting lead. He brings a weight and dignity to the role that may have been lost had some one else filled this position.
The action is very convincing, with deafeningly loud gunshots and uncompromising hand-to-hand choreography that really leaves you in awe. Although there is a purpose for his actions, I did find it hard to justify some of his killings, especially since he appears remorseful over past wrongdoings.
As supporting casts go this was not star studded, and nor did it need to be, with nameless henchmen receiving their fair share of fisticuffs left, right and center. I must give a hand to Martin Csokas, who adopts the lead psychopathic villain with such grace, and a reasonable Russian accent.
For me the downside of this film was Chloe Grace-Moretz. Perhaps it was because of the lighter films in which I'd seen her feature, but I found her a hard pill to swallow as a Russian-speaking prostitute. In fact it left me a little uneasy at the sight of it.
As a sucker for a soundtrack I was very aware of the particularly entertaining, gritty musical pieces that featured within. They grew in decibel as the drama did and the main theme left me wanting more. It was somewhat reminiscent (in places) of Electro's suite in The Amazing Spider-man 2. Highly recommended.
Overall I would very much recommend this film, most definitely if you are a fan the first Taken, which this will undoubtedly be compared to. But more so for it's ability to be a decent standalone action thriller, if not ever so slightly predictable.