Because cinema can’t escape its fascination with well-intentioned men doing the right thing by the wrong means, the cycle of fast-acting, tough-talking heroes keeps repeating. Where many a figure has walked before – Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, Jason Statham and Liam Neeson, to name a few – Denzel Washington now follows, in the latest combination of vengeance and violence. Washington’s shoot-em-up and beat-em-down vehicle not only comes with the flavour of past purveyors of justice, but follows purposefully in the footsteps of a television series in the same vein. From 1985 to 1989, The Equalizer saw Edward Woodward help those in need by proffering his special skills, a task now passed to the film adaptation that shares its name.
Working at a hardware superstore by day and working his way through a list of classic literature by night, widower Robert McCall (Washington, 2 Guns) perfects the appearance of a mild-mannered, middle-aged man of no great ties or secrets. Though fond of keeping to himself, he assists others amiably, aiding colleague Ralphie (Johnny Skourtis, Noise Matters) in training to become the store’s security guard, and lending young escort Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz, If I Stay) a friendly ear over a piece of pie. When his obliging nature – and a hidden penchant for inflicting pain on those who deserve it – spurs him to interfere after Teri takes a beating from her pimp, his brand of retaliation disrupts the operations of ruthless Russian mobsters and crooked Boston cops. Enforcer Teddy (Marton Csokas, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) is dispatched to deal with the fallout, soon discovering that McCall isn’t a problem that can be easily taken care of.
For the first time since Training Day won Washington an Oscar, the actor re-teams with director Antoine Fuqua (Olympus Has Fallen) in another tale that casts the star against type amid a crime-fuelled scenario. Alas, where their initial collaboration benefited from a strong character and naturalistically gritty circumstances, here the opposite is the outcome. Personality in both people and plot is traded for all things bland and broad as well grim and nasty, the former a substitute for substance, and the latter the film’s preferred disposition. After a Taxi Driver-esque set-up, The Equalizer may gain its story and title from one man’s attempt to level the playing field between good and evil, but the feature remains more concerned with cavorting in mirthless mess than considering motivation or meaning.
To be fair, in an effort driven by dispensing with cookie-cutter bad guys preying on the weak, such thoughtfulness is not typically present – though a sense of fun, or at least an awareness that nothing should be taken too seriously, normally is. Fuqua errs by wallowing in solemnity rather than embracing the silliness of the constant scuffles and outlandish set-pieces, his drawn-out cat-and-mouse game lacking even a trace of liveliness. The script by Richard Wenk (The Mechanic) does him little favours as it dwells in dour developments, nor does his visual preference for the drab and bleak in colour, framing and movement. Dark times and deeds begets the same mood, sure; however a film filled with ridiculous kills, ever-predictable progressions and overtly thundering musical cues should have some sense of humour – but not the unintended kind that emanates from opening such a feature with a quote from Mark Twain, nor the uncomfortable type that flows from presenting too much pointless and protracted brutality, either.
Levity certainly doesn’t stem from Washington, as finessed as he always is and recalling his turn in Tony Scott’s Man on Fire, but thanklessly saddled with a role that’s part brooding avenging angel, part murderous MacGuyver. Even as clumsy backstory endeavours to complicate his symbol of retribution, McCall remains likeable by absent distinguishing features; indeed, the character could have stalked out of many a film, and been played by many an actor. Moretz’s hooker with a heart of gold and Csokas’ determined assassin are afforded even less nuance and individuality, shameless stereotyping leaving both rote by design and in performance. The Equalizer might be content with bloated, broad strokes of sloppy details and sadistic punishment in the pursuit of the gloomy greater good, but what fuels the vigilante narrative misfires for the film itself, rendering an already too-familiar effort tedious and trying.
Rating: 1 ½ out of 5 stars
The Equalizer
Director: Antoine Fuqua
USA, 2014, 131 mins
Release date: September 25
Distributor: Roadshow
Rated: MA
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