Lengthy, Boring "Old Ex-CIA agent" vs. Gangs movie.

Rating: Null/10 (13 December 2014)

This is a movie in the fashion of Liam Neeson, Kevin Costner, Pierce Brosnan etc. recent movies, where a retired ex CIA agent "with skills!" confronts and beats the hell out of some foreign criminals.
The main problem with "The Equalizer" is its length and rhythm. It lasts ...2 hours and 12 minutes and there isn't much happening in this movie to justify such a long duration. Compared to "Taken" the action is minimal.
Denzel Washington looks OK at his 60s but his presence and some pseudo-karate-spy moves aren't enough to fill the screen.
The rhythm of the movie is terrible. From the beginning you expect to see the (obvious to come) action scenes but....it is taking too long and the scenes are forced and pretentious.
The direction is poor, the cinematography unnecessary dark and the use of some super-slow-motion scenes near the end ridiculous and without the impact that the creators went for.
There are TONS of clichés like 1 guy vs. 50, Rambo-like improvised traps, lots of "Who are you?" from bad guys who are about to die and the infamous "Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions" scene.
Chloë Grace Moretz is really good as the troubled Russian prostitute but her part is considerably small.
It should be A LOT better but the creators were afraid to take any real chances.
Overall: Don't be fooled by the star-status of Denzel Washington. This is a poor movie full of clichés that it would bore you by its length and poor execution.