Some of my favorite movies are about ordinary dudes who turn out to be a nightmare for anyone dumb enough to cross them. Pierre Morel’s Taken twisted Liam Neeson into the patron saint of revenge. Then came John Wick with an angry Keanu Reeves to perfect that very specific formula.
More recently, Nobody proved there’s still plenty of mileage left in watching a highly dangerous man decide retirement isn't for him, especially when you add a bit of levity to it. But Denzel Washington just hits different. Having starred in the 2004 masterwork of action, Man on Fire, Washington knows perfectly well how to captivate as a tired ex-soldier pushed to the brink.
While it might not have the same Tony Scott flair, 2014’s The Equalizer still carries that satisfying dad-action energy — but in this film, Washington’s kills feel even more visceral at times. It may not be the pinnacle of the genre, but it’s still one of my dad’s favorites, and it just dropped on Netflix, making now the perfect time to revisit one of Washington’s best characters. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, who previously teamed up with Washington for Training Day, The Equalizer takes inspiration from the 1980s television series of the same name.
Unlike the show's private detective, who uses his particular set of skills to help people who have nowhere else to turn, Washington instead steps into the role of Robert McCall, a quiet Boston hardware store employee who spends his nights reading books at a local diner. When a teenage diner regular (Chloë Grace Moretz) runs into serious trouble with the Russian mob, McCall is forced to fold back into the person he long abandoned to protect her. Half the fun of The Equalizer is watching Washington sit perfectly still while everyone around him has absolutely no idea they’re about to have the worst night of their lives.
McCall is quiet, polite, and almost boring on the surface, right up until someone slights one of his acquaintances or pushes him too far over the edge. Washington plays that reversal with an incredible combination of warmth, restraint, and menace. It’s the kind of performance that makes even the most ridiculous action-movie violence feel completely convincing — and, trust me when I say the kills can get over the top.
When McCall finally decides to return to his old life, The Equalizer becomes exactly the sort of excessive action movie you hoped it would be. McCall isn't simply a guy who's good at shooting people à la John Wick. He's methodical, calculating every option while memorizing his surroundings, turning whatever happens to be nearby into a deadly weapon.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
