The Equalizer
Writers: Richard Wenk, Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim (television series).
Cast: Denzel Washington (Robert McCall), Marton Csokas (Teddy), Chole Grace Moretz (Teri), David Harbour (Masters), Haley Bennett (Mandy), Bill Pullman (Brian Plummer), Melissa Leo (Susan Plummer), David Meunier (Slavi), Johnny Skoutis (Ralphie), Alex Veadov (Tevi), and Vladimir Kulich as Vladimir Pushkin.
The film starts off with the humdrum life of Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) a man struggling with OCD, his purpose and events are scheduled, and timed before he gets up in the morning. The life of his fellow co-worker, Ralphi (Johnny Skourtis) who is going for the security position, but his weight is the only issue, McCall (Washington) helps him out by training him physically, and mentally. Afterwards he continues his day at the Home Mart, a utility store where he works, helping others in the process, wherever is needed.
Towards the end of his day he settles in a diner where he reads a book, "Old Man by the Sea," by the great American author, Ernest Hemingway. At the same time each evening, a young girl struggling with her own demons, comes in and chats with Robert (Washington). Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz) tells him about her dreams about being a singer someday, but her line of work prohibits her from ever getting anywhere. Each night she goes out and makes money for her pimps, her work is the sole reason dreams are not in her grasp just yet. Robert (Washington) tells her anything can be done, just change the outcome by changing her direction. The path this young girl is on delivers more pain and anguish than anyone cane endure. Her face is badly bruised, she gives Robert a CD, tells him her real name, Alina, but their conversation was interrupted by a limo that pulled up in front of the diner. Her life is about to take yet another turn, she leaves the diner in a hurry, looking back to her friend, as if letting him know something is very wrong.
The humdrum life of Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) will get complicated the minute he followed Teri (Moretz), his opposition was a man with a strong Russian accent, Slavi (David Meunier) a strong-arm for the Russian mob. The guy throws him a card with his number, telling him to call for services. Robert locates a popular Russian restaurant which the Mob uses as a cover for their operations. finding Slavi wasn't difficult, but telling him about Alina (Moretz) was another story.
Robert gives the Russian an ultimatum, the girl Alina will be set free of her ties to the mob, he has an envelope containing 9,800 dollars, assurance, hoping the Russian will take the money, an easier way instead of what the alternative might be. Sometimes situations don't always go the way you want them to, Slavi not taking the cash put Robert in a very unique position. Robert (Washington) turned and just when he was going to leave, he decides to return to that place, a moment where his actions will lead him to the man he once was. As he turns, he counts, glances at his watch and sets it, he begins to count, and all his actions brings the man who once worked for the Government, a man that killed for the mission, that very person that he promised his wife, he would never become. But, now at this moment this mob has unleashed the very thing, he worked so hard to suppress, the killer inside Robert will cross that threshold. The Russian mob will learn in 19 seconds, a brief moment that only some can experience, the evil and explicit violence, a moment these men will have to endure, 19 seconds of perfection.
Rant: The only thing i have to say about this great action film is wow! If you like "Man a Fire," another awesome film by this really good actor, Denzel Washington, then you're going to really like this film. The movie is written well, and it's characters have good connections that go deep, i mean it drives you nuts when Slavi (David Meunier) gets in your face, he really does play one of those bad guys that you love to hate. Anyway, this film has action, a great story that tells it like it is. Never watched the series, so i really can't make any comparisons, so with that being said, no worries it felt like a series made into a film, don't know if the director wanted that feeling, it was done well, no complaints.
The best scene of the film in my humble opinion is when both protagonist and antagonist sit across from each other in the Russian restaurant. Robert McCall and Teddy which is played by Marton Csokas, what a powerful scene. Two powerhouses together meeting, one brave enough to tell the other the how he felt, which is done with taste. Two guys, one wants to kill the other, and here they are sitting across from each other, to me that scene is the best, overall sequence. Remember the movie Heat, the scene with the two iconic characters sitting across from one another. Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are a force to be reckoned with in that 1995 film, not only was it good, it delivered, and in the case of Equalizer, the director Antoine Fuqua carefully managed to connect the characters to perfection.
Film makers will always try and make films perfect, but what they need to do is to go with the very formula that will always work. Connections, making the characters in the story alive, the magic of film making is that a loved character can always exceed the story. The character must deliver beyond all expectations, and Denzel's character did that. The emotion was all there, it went beyond by explaining the details of his life without a word being said made this film a gem. The action wasn't the core, it was the people he surrounded himself with, it was a well crafted story, delicately handled by the director.
By far this film not only meets my expectations in film, but more. The film brings you to another place, the place of Robert McCall. The end was done well, it continued, did not leave anything open, loved the way the story delivered. Sometimes a series is either to good for it's movie counterpart or the other way around, it all depends on the director, actors, the people in the film that makes the movie flow.
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