This was unintentionally hilarious, pure garbage. And yet I found it entertaining, a fact that makes me feel dirty.
Really though, it's as if a couple of teenagers came up with the story, the emphasis of which was to give each and every evil Russian henchman their very own unique, elaborate and gory death. The movie would have been 30 minutes shorter if Denzel would only pick up a gun.
Denzel puts in a typically Denzel performance, the evil Russians are all terribly evil and that's just about it. Think Home Alone meets the Bourne Identity, thought up by gruesome pre-pubescent teenagers.
Another remake by Antoine Fuqua is The Equalizer, based on the 80s TV show starring Edward Woodward as a former intelligence officer turned vigilante. Denzel Washington takes on the role of Robert McCall, and because this is a movie, he's got to be a little more of an action man than Woodward was (with some kind of high performance OCD), and he's got to take down an entire arm of the Russian mob. That's fine, because the action is frequently sidelined - you often see the aftermath only - in favor of showing McCall's planning abilities and how he can't help but help the downtrodden. This is really an origin story, and I particularly enjoyed the slow-burning first act that just shows his character's random acts of kindness which will eventually ramp up to extreme measures. The harsh violence is far less interesting, and I'll admit to my eyes glazing over during the climax which was a whole lot of people shooting each other in the dark. Entertaining enough, if little more than that.
An enigmatic, meticulous middle-aged man with a helping tendency and a special set of fighting skills, springs to action when a young neighborhood hooker is harmed by the Russian mob for whom she works for. It is good old fashioned vengeance and vigilante justice from thereon.
The film features lot of violent action scenes choreographed in a stylized manner and with a pulsating background score featuring kickass tracks.
Denzel Washington plays a role which is tailor-made for say, Jason Statham. The swagger is missing but Denzel's typical intensity and style while delivering his lines is brilliant as always. Chloe Grace sparkles in a brief cameo. This young girl is maturing into a fine woman.
My parents love this film, so I decided to watch it with them on our family holiday. Oh boy, this was a tough one to get through! Normally I don’t mind action films, but I don’t even know what this was trying to be.
Another vigilante hero story, loved every minute of it, it's my guilty pleasure and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Denzel is always a pleasure to watch as well...
The issue with making an action movie is that unless you spend a great deal of time making it unique then it just falls straight into the large pit of forgettable action movies, and that's what happened here. Having action scenes filmed in the dark is also a serious misstep unless handled with the utmost care.
I really enjoyed this - it's basically a Charles Bronson movie but with Denzel. If you enjoy the genre there's no reason you won't enjoy this, and the final sequence is superb.
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Comments 1 - 15 of 23
MrDoog
This was unintentionally hilarious, pure garbage. And yet I found it entertaining, a fact that makes me feel dirty.Really though, it's as if a couple of teenagers came up with the story, the emphasis of which was to give each and every evil Russian henchman their very own unique, elaborate and gory death. The movie would have been 30 minutes shorter if Denzel would only pick up a gun.
Denzel puts in a typically Denzel performance, the evil Russians are all terribly evil and that's just about it. Think Home Alone meets the Bourne Identity, thought up by gruesome pre-pubescent teenagers.
michi
One of the other commenters hit it spot on: "Think Home Alone meets the Bourne Identity".Marasmusine
Ably demonstrates why heroes are boring when they don't have a vulnerability. 30 minutes too long.missdaisy14
I've seen much better action movies. But surprisingly, I enjoyed watching it. It's pretty much.. an "okay" movie.Siskoid
Another remake by Antoine Fuqua is The Equalizer, based on the 80s TV show starring Edward Woodward as a former intelligence officer turned vigilante. Denzel Washington takes on the role of Robert McCall, and because this is a movie, he's got to be a little more of an action man than Woodward was (with some kind of high performance OCD), and he's got to take down an entire arm of the Russian mob. That's fine, because the action is frequently sidelined - you often see the aftermath only - in favor of showing McCall's planning abilities and how he can't help but help the downtrodden. This is really an origin story, and I particularly enjoyed the slow-burning first act that just shows his character's random acts of kindness which will eventually ramp up to extreme measures. The harsh violence is far less interesting, and I'll admit to my eyes glazing over during the climax which was a whole lot of people shooting each other in the dark. Entertaining enough, if little more than that.soypinguinita
home alone meets rambo, enjoyed every gory kill. it was ok and fungenesis_pig
Liked the film, but still misses the Woodward's action man image.I'd have loved to see the tv show adapted by David Mamet, love what he did with Spartan.
aussieflickfan
Nice old fashioned action/payback movie. Similar to MAN ON FIRE thematically. Go see it for a Denzel fix.lmkmoviemaniac
An enigmatic, meticulous middle-aged man with a helping tendency and a special set of fighting skills, springs to action when a young neighborhood hooker is harmed by the Russian mob for whom she works for. It is good old fashioned vengeance and vigilante justice from thereon.The film features lot of violent action scenes choreographed in a stylized manner and with a pulsating background score featuring kickass tracks.
Denzel Washington plays a role which is tailor-made for say, Jason Statham. The swagger is missing but Denzel's typical intensity and style while delivering his lines is brilliant as always. Chloe Grace sparkles in a brief cameo. This young girl is maturing into a fine woman.
catherinefrances
My parents love this film, so I decided to watch it with them on our family holiday. Oh boy, this was a tough one to get through! Normally I don’t mind action films, but I don’t even know what this was trying to be.dippygirl78
Another vigilante hero story, loved every minute of it, it's my guilty pleasure and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Denzel is always a pleasure to watch as well...armyofshadows
Moves way too slow. where tf is my Denzel badasseryDisneyStitch
The issue with making an action movie is that unless you spend a great deal of time making it unique then it just falls straight into the large pit of forgettable action movies, and that's what happened here. Having action scenes filmed in the dark is also a serious misstep unless handled with the utmost care.Toljus
I really enjoyed this - it's basically a Charles Bronson movie but with Denzel. If you enjoy the genre there's no reason you won't enjoy this, and the final sequence is superb.Wargasm
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