The Equalizer

For any of you who have been following my blog for a while or have ventured into the archives, firstly a very big thank you for doing so. 2013 now feels like a very long time ago but my point is that the action genre is something I like to write about quite often and to see who does it best today, as well as seeing which films fall flat.

Rare gems such as the Bourne films or John Wick series do not come often but there have been some surprises and Antoine Fuqua offered one with his entertaining remake of The Magnificent Seven starring Denzel Washington. Prior to this, the two had worked together on the 2014 action flick remake The Equalizer and Fuqua managed to bring Denzel back for the 2018 sequel which was a first for Washington.

Not knowing a great deal about this film, I found it on Netflix and wanted to see what made the great actor break this tradition. Was it the character or the setting that felt like there was more to explore? The story stars Washington as your usual middle-aged guy working at a hardware store in Boston but he has a mysterious background that helps him turn everyday tools into weapons, which comes in handy when violent Russian gangsters start to cause trouble.

I will give the film credit that this does look good and Denzel cannot be faulted, he brings a commanding presence to everything he does and this is no different. The problem is the story is just bland through and through, and there was never enough to really make Denzel's character feel like the happened upon hero caught in the chaos. As for the action, it has its moments and it is fun to see Denzel outsmart the generic bad guys but this ultimately felt underwritten and overlong.

The Equalizer was a disappointment for me considering Fuqua's background in the genre. This needed better pacing to add urgency, a memorable villain and a stronger story to engage the audience. Fans of the actor will still find some entertainment as the selfless vigilante but for everyone else this is not worth your time.