Review of The Equalizer (2014) by Nick M — 04 Feb 2015

The Equalizer breaks one of the golden rules of cinema: show don't tell. So often are we told that Robert McCall is a badass, and yet so rarely do we actually see it. There are precisely two fights in the movie, and they equate to about 30 seconds of actual action.

So maybe they weren't trying to be just an action movie? The film doesn't work as a character piece other, with the main character providing no back story or reason for his actions. The script is made up of little more than excuses to have the protagonist kill somebody (usually off screen).

The writing that is there is sloppy, uninteresting and lacks the punch that made movies like Taken far more fun. It doesn't help that the lighting was so poor at times that you couldn't see what was happening.

If you want to see a top notch assassin movie, go watch John Wick. He would kill Denzel any day. 2 out of 5 stars.