Dull Deus Ex Punchina

Rating: 5/10 (27 August 2015)

We could call The Equalizer a thoughtful extreme action flick because of how much quiet time Denzel Washington explores while on screen.
Carefully arranging small household objects, ruminating over coffee and a newspaper, et cetera, before the butt-kicking action starts between Denzel and a local vodka-favored mob.
What is not thoughtful is a noticeable lack of exposition and character fleshing sequences that might explain precisely what the middle-age protagonist's life story is, and how precisely he can map a fight out in his mind in advance (just like Guy Ritchie's / Robert Downey, Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes) and then Auto-CAD his movements so that he can whip up on, well, let's not spoil it, a lot of people.
I mentally jumped with glee at the chance to follow a strong and quiet Denzel through this film. Once the fisticuffs started cuffing, I couldn't help but glory in each of his (undeveloped) character's triumphs in hand-to-hand combat, and in outfoxing the snarling, tattooed baddies the film sets him against.
But a movie has to be more than a storyboard sketch of a bully story with adults drawn in and a sequence of crunchy, gushing fight scenes. And this is a movie with Denzel Washington. Philadelphia. Glory. The Hurricane. Malcom X. Crimson Tide.
Oily studio types, leave Denzel out of this under-nourishing film- flam approach in the future. Leave the Deus-Ex-Punchina to Steven Segal and projects striving for general mediocrity.
We always complain about too much exposition, we groan, 'Dear God this is duller than George Lucas and his damn metichloriants,' but you know what? Too little exposition is just as frustrating.