All buildup, all payoff. Reuniting with his Training Day star is director Antoine Fuqua, who lets no scene go to waste as he sets protagonist McCall on a calm, calculated rampage against organized crime and others. He lets no dialogue go to waste either, and Richard Wenk’s polished, unpretentious screenplay certainly deserves such treatment. No spiraling, multi-layered storytelling here: just a man, everything about who he is, and nothing about who he was.
Real people! Moretz plays Teri with gut-wrenching inner pain; Csokas relishes his slimy lines with cold glee; you can almost smell David Harbour’s punk rogue cop as he digs his own grave. And Washington himself betrays no fear as a man too disgusted by his opponents to feel disgusted by his treatment of them.
High-octane character study. Robert McCall is a fascinating character, and even during the film’s violent action, the viewer is looking at his indescribable face. Props to veteran composer Harry Gregson-Williams for capturing him with his subtle, haunting score: whether McCall is lancing a gangster’s neck with a power drill, or helping a coworker get a job as a security guard, it’s the same low-burning, consistent hum: the desire to reward good and punish evil that pushes his life forward day by day.
The Equalizer fails to live up to its name by standing
a good head-and-shoulders above typical action fare.
