What do you see when you look at me?

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2018)

Mark Twain once said; "The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why." "The Equalizer" opens with this quote. This quote reveals the purpose of the film and what to expect from it. In the first 10 minutes of the story, we get an intense character depiction of Robert "Bob" McCall (Denzel Washington). This description is very important for the development and progression of the film. Robert is a perfectionist and overly organized. He lives alone and works at a construction store. He has insomnia and when he can't sleep, he goes down to a 24/7 diner where he drinks tea and reads. In the beginning of the film he reads The Old Man and The Sea from Ernest Hemingway. If you know this book, you can easily relate the old man to him. His inner thoughts and dilemmas are similar to the old man's. Actually, in the first 10 minutes of the film, director Antoine Fuqua tells you more or less everything you need to know about Robert. After this point, nothing surprises you in the means of his life and actions. During his visits to the diner, he creates a special bond with a young Russian hooker Alina (Chloe Grace Moretz). They mostly discuss about the book and its effects on the real life. One night when Alina is beaten up and sent to hospital, he visits the Russian Mafia, who are selling her, and offer them $9800 to let her go. They refuse the money and after a little talk he kills all the five men in the room brutally in 19 seconds. The film actually starts after this point. This scene proofs that Robert is not an ordinary man, but a professional killer.
"The Equalizer" is a one man show. It is one man against the Russian mafia. This time, an American hero saves a Russian girl from the Russians. I normally hate this kind of stories where Americans are the good guys and Russians are the bad. Cold war is over and they keep making films like this. However, this one time, I will pass on this fact because the story is much more complex than just the Americans and Russians. Also, the main actor is one of my favorite actors of all time. I know this approach is not professional but I am not a professional critic anyway. As I said Robert is a highly trained killer. Through the story, we find out that he is a retired CIA black ops operative. He tries to live a quiet life, but this kind of guys can never be left alone. The more they try to stay away from trouble, the more trouble finds them. "The Equalizer" is a story of a guy like that.
The story of "The Equalizer" is like a chess game. Both sides are trying very hard to win. They both think before they act and there is a constant attempt for anticipation of the opponent's move. This is the strongest point of the story. "The Equalizer" has the same idea as in John Wick or Taken series. There is one man against everyone else. The film is action packed and highly entertaining. It is maybe a little brutal but this doesn't change the course of the film. The soundtracks are equally beautiful. "The Equalizer" was loosely based on the 80s TV series of the same name. A couple of days ago, "The Equalizer" 2 was released, and tonight I am going to see it. This was the main reason why I have seen "The Equalizer" for the third time. After tonight, I am going to write also about the second film. No matter how cheesy they can get, I like stories like this. People like Robert are revengeful. No matter how good and fair they are, once you do something bad to them or to their loved ones, they never hesitate to go until the end.
Denzel Washington's performance is outstanding and it sets the limits for the film. In films like "The Equalizer," leading role performance is as important as the story itself, because everything is based on this performance. To be honest, I don't recall a bad film from Denzel Washington. I find a lot of similarities between him and Morgan Freeman. Washington's performance is not the only outstanding performance in the film. Marton Csokas, as Teddy Rensen/Nicolai Itchenko, puts an amazing performance as the villain of the film as well. He plays a highly trained sociopath. His performance makes an enormous difference. When both the good and the bad guy's performances are harmonized with a good story, you get to see a film like "The Equalizer."