The Equalizer

Director: Antoine Fuqua Antoine Fuqua

Overview

Based on the 1980s crime series of the same name, The Equalizer stars Denzel Washington as Robert McCall, a former Black Ops commando who faked his own death in hopes of living out a quiet life in Boston. However, when he comes out of his self-imposed retirement to save a young girl named Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), he finds his thirst for justice reawakened after coming face-to-face with a syndicate of brutal Russian gangsters. Afterwards, McCall becomes the go-to man when the helpless require the kind of vengeance they would never find without his skills. ~ Tracie Cooper

Product Details

Release Date:	12/30/2014
UPC:	0043396439825
Original Release:	2014
Rating:	R
Source:	Sony Pictures
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Time:	2:12:00
Sales rank:	4,983

Special Features

Blu-ray exclusives:; Vengeance mode with Denzel Washington & Antoine Fuqua - watch The Equalizer through the eyes of Robert McCall as Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua break down the deadliest moves; Denzel Washington: a different kind of superhero; Equalizer vision: Antoine Fuqua; Inside The Equalizer; One man army: training and fighting; Photo gallery; ; Special features:; Home mart: taking care of business one bolt at a time; Children of the night

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Denzel Washington	Robert McCall
Marton Csokas	Teddy
Chloë Grace Moretz	Teri
David Harbour	Masters
Bill Pullman	Brian Plummer
Melissa Leo	Susan Plummer
Haley Bennett	Mandy
David Meunier	Slavi
Johnny Skourtis	Ralphie
Alex Veadov	Tevi
Vladimir Kulich	Vladimir Pushkin
E. Roger Mitchell	Lead Investigator
James Wilcox	Pederson
Mike P. O'Dea	Remar
Anastasia Mousis	Jenny
Allen Maldonado	Marcus
Chris Lemieux	Jay
Mike Morrell	HM Brian
Matt Lasky	Marat
Shawn Fitzgibbon	Little John Looney
Vitaliy Shtabnoy	Andri
Timothy John Smith	Detective Gilly
Robert Wahlberg	Detective Harris
Steve Sweeney	Counterman
Owen Burke	Thief
Luz Sanchez	Ralphie's Mom
John Romualdi	Agent Mosley
Johnny Messner	P&E Worker
Patrick Coppola	Homeowner
William Xifaras	Laborer
Jenny Johnson	Reporter
Peter Haydu	Bank Officer
Tait Fletcher	Teddy's Guy
Mark Stefanich	Teddy's Guy
Dan Bilzerian	Teddy's Guy
Matthew Leonard	Teddy's Guy
Elisala Baker	Teddy's Guy
Yan Dron	Teddy's Guy

Technical Credits

Richard Wenk

Antoine Fuqua	Director
Howard Berger	Makeup Special Effects
Todd Black	Producer
David J. Bloomfield	Executive Producer
Jason Blumenthal	Producer
Sarah Contant	Set Decoration/Design
Tony Eldridge	Producer
David Esparza	Sound/Sound Designer
Mauro Fiore	Cinematographer
Gregory C. Funk	Makeup Special Effects
Lindsay Graham	Casting
Harry Gregson-Williams	Score Composer
Amy Heinz-Barnett	Set Decoration/Design
Lance Johnson	Co-producer
David S. Lazan	Art Director
Mace Neufeld	Producer
Philip A. Patterson	Asst. Director
Angela Peri	Casting
John Refoua	Editor
David Robinson	Costumes/Costume Designer
Kat Samick	Associate Producer
Naomi Shohan	Production Designer
Alex Siskin	Producer
Michael Sloan	Producer
Ezra Swerdlow	Executive Producer
Steve Tisch	Producer
Mary Vernieu	Casting
Benjamin Waisbren	Executive Producer
Denzel Washington	Producer
Richard Wenk	Screenwriter
Jeremy Woodward	Set Decoration/Design

Editorial Reviews

Denzel Washington is the main reason to see Antoine Fuqua's bold and brutal crime drama, based on the hit but long-forgotten CBS series that ran on the network from '85 to '89, about a former secret agent who dispenses vigilante-type justice on behalf of defenseless, ordinary folks. Washington, who won an Oscar for Fuqua's Training Day, delivers a perfectly modulated, slow-burn performance that lifts this otherwise conventional genre piece into an engaging entertainment that will please the core audience who turned Taken and Liam Neeson's other action-oriented vehicles into global successes. The movie begins with a quote from Mark Twain: "The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why." Apparently, Washington's Robert McCall was born to not only be a guardian angel for down-on-their-luck good people, but also to unmercifully slaughter bad guys with ordinary objects, from corkscrews to hedge clippers, and take delicious delight in doing so -- as he does repeatedly over the film's two-hour-plus running time. The story is simple enough. McCall works at Home Mart, a Home Depot-like store in Boston, where he jokes that his previous occupation was as a Pip, one of the backup singers/dancers for soul legend Gladys Knight. He even does a few cool dance moves to better sell the lie to others. But McCall suffers from insomnia, so each night he heads down to a local diner (that looks like it was designed by Edward Hopper) to sip tea and read classic literature. Another early morning regular is Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young prostitute who dreams of becoming a singer. When Teri is roughed up by Slavi, her Russian pimp (Justified's David Meunier), and lands in a hospital, McCall pays him a visit and offers to buy Teri's freedom for 9,800 dollars. Slavi refuses, of course, but soon wishes he had accepted when McCall kills him and a roomful of his cohorts in a brisk 19 seconds. (McCall times everything, from grooming to gutting bad guys.) Unfortunately, Slavi's boss is the head of the Russian mob, and he doesn't appreciate that his illegal business ventures have been interrupted by the deaths. Soon, McCall is the target of a top Russian assassin. While The Equalizer carries the name of a bygone TV show, its real roots stretch back to such 1970s hits as the Death Wish and Walking Tall movies, in which justice was served with brutal, deadly force. It also plays like a good-old-fashioned shoot-'em-up, in which the audience can't wait until the good guy straps on his gun belt, mounts his horse, and rides into town to dispense with the outlaws. Even the ragged font Fuqua uses for the opening-credits sequence evokes a Western theme. Yes, The Equalizer is predictable and it gets more ludicrous as it goes along, especially in the final, expertly staged set piece in which McCall turns the Home Mart into a house of horrors for the gangsters. It also defies belief that McCall is never questioned by the police in any of the killings, even though he is on surveillance footage and a coworker eventually witnesses his skill with a nail gun. But there is no arguing that this slick, solidly built action yarn delivers the goods. While it may not be as prestigious as Washington and Fuqua's previous outing, it is equally as entertaining.

All Movie Guide - Tim Holland