'The Equalizer': The hero's invincibility becomes a little silly
Fans of the mid-1980s TV series 鈥淭he Equalizer,鈥� which starred Edward聽Woodward, now have to contend with Denzel Washington in the title聽role. Robert McCall (Washington), a former George W. Bush-era intelligence operative, has聽retreated to a quiet under-the-radar life working in a Home Mart mega-store. The actor exudes a formidable force field even when he鈥檚 sipping聽coffee by himself in an all-night Boston diner that looks like a dead ringer聽for the one in Edward Hopper鈥檚 鈥淣ight Hawks.鈥�
Robert takes a paternal interest in a teenage prostitute (Chlo毛聽Grace聽Moretz) who gets severely roughed up by her pimps in the Russian mob.聽He goes after them with a cool but unstoppable force. When the Russians聽send in their top fixer, Teddy (Marton Csokas, scarily effective), Robert聽goes after him, too.聽
In the unduly gory set pieces, Antoine Fuqua, who also directed聽Washington in his Oscar-winning performance in 鈥淭raining Day,鈥澛燽orrows a lot from Tarantino and Hong Kong action directors like John聽Woo. At almost no time is McCall in any real danger, despite the parade聽of thugs and killers and corrupt cops on his trail. His invincibility is聽Zen-like, and also a little silly. This is a kid鈥檚 fantasy of how to be bigger聽and badder than anybody else.聽As for Washington, no doubt he now has his very own franchise. Grade:聽B- (Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, including some sexual references.)
