The Equalizer

Rating: 9/10 (2 October 2014)

A man believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and has dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. but when he meets a young prostitute under the control of ultra- violent Russian gangsters, he can't stand idly by - he has to help her.
The Equalizer is directed by Antoine Fuqua and stars Denzel Washington. Direction of this movie was discussed for a long time. Indeed it had been told that Nicolas Winding Refn was first approach; which I can perfectly understand as there are some Refn' violent scenes brand throughout the film. I love Denzel Washington, he could make a movie about a man sitting on a toilet for the entire movie ant it would be a good thing to watch. However this film is a little bit more violent than just a man sitting on a toilet (more exciting as well) and Denzel Washington is the one thing that carries this movie along from the beginning to the end; and gives it the credibility it deserves. I really enjoyed the movie on the one hand because Denzel Washington sells every scenes he's in, he makes the over the top violent nature of this movie fun and more acceptable; and on the other hand thanks to Marton Csokas playing a pretty strong villain. Seeing them both interact is one of my favourite part of this movie. My favourite scene is in fact both of them having a pretty deep and serious conversation in a restaurant. This movie is violent, which can turn off some people. I have to admit that some violence may be over the top and unnecessary sometimes, as well as some side plots. For instance, Chloë Grace Moretz' character bring him back into this world and totally disappear for the whole movie. As an older bad ass character Denzel Washington is extremely compelling and endlessly watchable. But I was expecting to learn a little bit more about him though. I like roles like this, played by actors like him or Liam Neeson as well; they are good and smart, nothing about those guys is uncool. Finally, The Equalizer is totally aware of itself, there is no deeper meaning, no Oscars nomination pretending. This movie knows what it is, it knows what it wants to do and does it that's all.
Overall The Equalizer is really entertaining. I loved it. The action is good, Denzel Washington is great, the villain is strong, but the story has some holes in it.