Jack Goes Confidential: Denzel’s ‘Equalizer’ Evens the Score

In the mid 1980s British actor Edward Woodward played a retired intelligence agent turned private detective on a CBS series called, The Equalizer…

You remember, he was the dude who helped various threatened clients to equalize the odds.

Now Denzel Washington leaves his past behind and steps into THE EQUALIZER’s shoes as widowed Robert McCall dedicating his life to his new job of working at a Home Depot-like store called Home Mart.

At nights Washinton usually stops by a small diner just down the street for a bite and a bit of book reading. And that’s where he meets a young Russian hooker with big musical dreams named Teri. She’s played by Chloe Grace Moretz.

To say that Moretz pimp has a short fuse would be the ultimate understatement. And when she doesn’t perform and jump at his commands, he beats the crap out of her.

Now he’s got The Equalizer’s attention!

Edward Woodward
As “The Equalizer”

Armed with his hidden skills, Washinton serves up vengeance against not only the brutal pimp but against the entire bunch of local Russian mobsters as well.

“When somebody does something bad to another person, you do something about it—because you can.”

And he does it in ultra-violent fashion. Which, come to think of it, so do the Russian mafia creeps.

McCall is a complicated character who evens the score for those who can’t do it for themselves.

With its overlong running time of about 131 minutes, this strong R-rated, TV-to-big screen transformation plays about 15 minutes too long to my thinking.

The film’s slow first act set-up could have easily been tightened up.

But I’m being too picky here as action audiences will probably eat this one up. Cliches and all.

Yeap, balancing the scales for the underdog, THE EQUALIZER reawakens to a score of C+.

Opening citywide.

(Reviewed at AMC Town Center, Leawood)

JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES Friday mornings at 6:40 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. on 98.1 KMBZ and anytime on Facebook.