The Equalizer, directed by Antoine Fuqua, who made his name with action dramas including Training Day (2001), stars Denzel Washington as Robert McCall. Denzel won his second Oscar for his performance in Training Day and has four other Oscar nominations including those for his roles as ‘Malcolm X’ and Rubin Carter in ‘The Hurricane’. ‘The Equalizer’ had its world premiere at TIFF (2014) and Denzel Washington walked the Red Carpet where we had the opportunity to meet this extraordinary actor. He plays Robert McCall, a man possessed with making sure the world has a balance between good and evil. Robert, a seemingly ordinary man has a deep secret which is hidden behind a compulsive, self imposed, daily routine.Every day after work he hangs out at the same local diner, sits at the same table, brings his own tea and reads a book. McCall meets Elina (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young prostitute hustling to make a living. He develops a paternal connection to her and in an effort to help her live a more normal life he tries to buy her from her Russian pimps. Things don’t go well.

Obsessed with timing and a passion for justice, in defending the weak and oppressed, McCall finds Elina reawakens his passion to protect the vulnerable. His attack on the Russian gangsters causes a disturbance in their organization forcing a higher level of criminal to be brought in to deal with McCall. This gangster is Teddy (Marton Csokasm) a sociopathic, intelligent and malevolent force. He is here to take out McCall so business can get back to normal. As you can imagine a game of cat and mouse ensues and we get to witness the carnage. The cast includes; David Harbour (Masters), Bill Pullman (Brian Plummer), Melissa Leo (Susan Plummer), Haley Bennett (Mandy) and Allen Maldonado. The screenplay is written by Richard Wenk and Michael Sloan who was a co-creator with Richard Lindheim. of the original television series (1985 -1989).

Fuqua is successful at creating tension in some of the scenes in this film but ultimately his villain is just another Russian mobster and McCall a typical hero setting out to right a wrong. However slick and gruesome, there isn’t much we haven’t seen before. I was expecting more from this film. I consider his best film to be “Training Day (01)”. Although he elicits good performances for the most part from Washington and the rest of the cast, I believe it’s the story that ultimately lets him and the film down. Antoine Fuqua’s latest film has a similar tone to his action filled canon of work which include: The Replacement Killers (98), Training Day (01), Shooter (09) and Brooklyn’s Finest (09) to name a few. “The Equalizer” is not his best and unfortunately is a touch generic.

There is nothing fresh here, just the same old revenge story with some inherent twists. It’s a popcorn movie for sure, and action is often best seen on the big screen. Fans of Denzel Washington and young Chloë Grace Moretz will be happy. I leave it to you if this is the kind of movie you want to check out. Opens September 26th, 2014 in theatres.

Chris Murphy