Not your average action film.

Rating: 8/10 (28 September 2014)

Let me begin this review by saying that I've never seen the Equalizer TV show, so this review will be based on how I thought of the movie alone. This isn't the first time director Antoine Fuqua and actor Denzel Washington have worked together. Training Day was a film that produced a Best Actor for Denzel, so I was particularly excited for the two reuniting in an action film. However, this ain't your average action film. Fuqua really knows how to direct compelling action with an artistic framework. He's not like other directors who feel the need to unnecessarily shake the camera to hide the atrocious fight choreography and create cheap adrenaline, he actually uses the action to tell the character's story. You learn more about Washington's character through his fighting than you do through his dialogue. The film also had a strong antagonist, played by Marton Csokas, who had as much screen presence as the protagonist himself, which most action films lack, however, like I said before, this ain't your average action film. All that and a riveting action sequence that takes place in a hardware store should be enough to get your blood pumping for days on end.