Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

The Equalizer
2014

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Johnny Skourtis, Vladimir Kulich

Robert McCall is an unassuming mystery man who keeps mostly to himself. As it turns out, some years ago this black ops veteran made his dying wife a promise that he would not use his skills again, but when a prostitute he knows is beaten up, he cannot help but start smashing some heads. This loose adaptation of the 1980s TV series starring Edward Woodward gets to a surprisingly subdued start. For the first intriguing fifteen minutes, it is unclear where the story is heading, but then it takes the path well trodden by Taken and stubbornly stays on it for two incredibly dull and monotonous hours. It is impossible to care about anything when the hero is a stone-faced, sadistic vigilante who'll use any tool available (cork screw, drill, barb wire, nail gun) to inflict maximal pain on his enemies, who in turn are slimy Russian mobsters without any detectable human qualities. Followed by The Equalizer 2 (2018).