The Equalizer (2014)

** ½ out of ****

A couple of months ago I reviewed “John Wick”, a stylish action film that understood that action films are not to be taken seriously. I loved how firmly it's tongue was planted in its cheek. “The Equalizer”, new on video and starring Denzel Washington, could take a few lessons from that movie. “The Equalizer”s biggest drawback is how deadly serious it takes itself, when it should treat itself more like the cinematic fluff that it ultimately is.

It doesn't start out that way – in fact I thought the first half of the film was very promising. Denzel is Robert McCall, a simple fellow leading a simple life, working at Home Mart (it was well into the film before I realized that it wasn't actually a Home Depot) and enjoying classic novels. He doesn't sleep much, and is a regular late night patron of a local diner, where he befriends a teenage prostitute names Teri (Chloe Graze Moretz). They see each other there most nights and have a nodding acquaintance - she clearly leads a pretty crappy life and is intrigued by the obvious “nice-ness” of McCall.

But not all is as it seems (is it ever in an action movie?). McCall is a former Green Beret and CIA operative who gave up the life as a promise to his now-deceased wife. And he fights down his natural urges when he sees Teri abused by her pimp, instead trying to reason with him and buy Teri her freedom. Only when the pimp refuses to listen to reason does McCall fly into action, wiping out the pimp and his whole team, and eventually bringing the entire Russian mafia into a manhunt to find and kill him.

So far, this is all pretty much in good movie fun. And when Russian cleanup man Teddy (Marton Csokas) arrives to take charge of the search for McCall, it looks like it could become even more fun. But then director Antoine Fuqua forgets that it is 2014 not 1985 and that he is not Sylvestor Stallone. Suddenly the movie falls into madly obvious subplots and cliched action sequences (complete with slow motion walks and heavy metal music). There's even a hand-to-hand combat scene with a monster of a man who seems to be unhurt by being stabbed a handful of times (including one in the neck). It doesn't get quite as silly as “Cobra” (1985) but the two films are surely kissing cousins.....

However, it isn't all bad. Denzel is adequate in the role (I hate using that term for any performance of his, but there is no other way to describe this one) and most of the supporting cast do their jobs fairly well. It's the filmmaking itself that comes up wanting – if the director had as much fun with this as Chad Stahelski had with “John Wick” it could have been every bit as enjoyable. As it turns out, it is only a slightly-above-average action film that left me thinking it was a missed opportunity more than anything else. A very mild recommendation from me.