The Equalizer

Director Antoine Fuqua delivered a brutally efficient action thriller back in 2014 that completely updated a classic television concept. You watch Denzel Washington give an incredibly calm but terrifying performance as Robert McCall, a quiet hardware store employee who hides a deeply violent past. We also get a chilling performance from Marton Csokas as the ruthless Russian enforcer Teddy and Chloe Grace Moretz playing a vulnerable young girl named Alina. I always recommend this movie to my friends when they want a smart action story where the hero actually thinks before he punches. The story drops you right into the rainy streets of Boston where ordinary people constantly suffer under organized crime. A closer look beneath the bloody hardware tools and diner conversations reveals a surprisingly deep story about finding a new purpose in life. A structural analysis shows that every precise physical movement by the retired agent directly mirrors his obsessive need to bring order to a chaotic world.

Cinematographer Mauro Fiore shoots this urban action movie to look like a dark and moody graphic novel. You immediately notice how the bright fluorescent lights of the late night diner completely pop against the dark and wet streets of the city. I do get a little annoyed when the camera uses extreme close ups of the eyes right before a massive fight begins. The sudden zoom trick sometimes makes the action feel a bit too much like a cheap comic book instead of a grounded reality. A quick return to the wide shots of the massive hardware store thankfully restores a much better visual tension. The costume department gives Robert simple button down shirts and plain sneakers to completely separate his boring civilian life from the expensive tailored suits of the Russian mafia.

Pay attention to the set design and you will see how the physical rooms completely reflect the mental state of the characters. The pristine interior of the apartment feels very authentic because the sparse furniture and perfectly folded napkins match a man struggling with intense obsessive compulsive disorder. A trip over to the ultra luxurious mafia restaurant offers a totally different vibe entirely. The shiny gold decorations and expensive leather chairs look like a beautiful but completely corrupt fortress built by greedy criminals. My main complaint involves the final showdown inside the giant home improvement store. The perfectly placed nail guns and barbed wire look a bit too convenient and theatrical for a movie grounded in gritty city realism. The choice to put these deadly characters in completely ordinary civilian locations forces a natural tension that jumps right off the screen.

You really have to listen to the quiet ticking of the wristwatch to understand the deadly rhythm of this thriller. My ears constantly catch the metallic click of a stopwatch timer right before Robert completely destroys a room full of armed guards. The editing moves at a very slow and deliberate pace during the first hour to build incredible tension before a sudden explosion of brutal violence shatters the peace. We hear a deeply atmospheric and pulse pounding musical score composed by Harry Gregson Williams, and that bold choice makes the quiet moments of preparation feel incredibly massive. The sudden loud shatter of glass in a totally silent room actually makes the unpredictable fights feel terrifyingly real.

Let us clear up some common mysteries about this massive action hit.

- Is the movie based on an old television show? Yes, the film is a modern reboot of the classic eighties television series starring Edward Woodward, though this version makes the main character much more lethal.

- Did Denzel Washington perform his own fight scenes? The actor trained extensively with real Navy SEALs and actually performed the vast majority of his own hand to hand combat stunts for the camera.

- What book does Robert read in the diner? The main character slowly reads through a famous list of one hundred books everyone should read, starting with The Old Man and the Sea to reflect his own personal journey.

The incredible central performance and the satisfying revenge plot keep me coming back every year, but I cannot deny that the villains feel a bit one dimensional. Certain Russian mobsters act so cartoonish that you almost lose your connection to the grounded reality established in the first act.

Fans of intense action thrillers will definitely love finding the hidden weapon details in these hardware store aisles. If you think you have the eye to spot the stopwatch in our daily guess the movie challenge or just want a fun break from work, test your skills at Flickle. You can also play our popular movie wordle to prove your ultimate pop culture knowledge.