You always know going in the type of Denzel movie you're about to watch. And then, despite the films plot, genre or even quality, his performance always manages to give you a little something extra, a little something you didn't expect. Going into The Equalizer maybe you're expecting Training-Day Denzel. Possibly a slice of classic Tony-Scott Denzel. Or maybe a trend-riding Taken Denzel. In reality, Equalizer Denzel is greater than the sum of these would-be individual parts. And as for that something extra, as a man who no one can pin down, delivering so much by doing so little, and revealing a lot by saying not much, we get into his head but are left out of his mind. We're both drawn in and kept out.
Equalizer Denzel could be described as the tortured child of Dirty Harry and The Driver. Quieter than Eastwoods anti hero and kinder than Goslings brooder, he slowly and meticulously sits on the edge of everyday life, content with making friends and keeping his secrets close to his chest, until witnessing things he can't ignore. Far from the anger of Batman, the arrogance of Bond or the amnesia of Bourne, Equalizer Denzel is simply anonymous and aware of the needs of those he befriends, utilising his particular set of skills (wink wink) to protect and serve the common man. All this is conveyed in the simplest of gestures, ticks and an infamous collection of stares.
The setup is fairly standard, and the comparisons to certain kidnap thrillers are inevitable, but as a whole the film is not what you'd expect. While not far off the generic 'gotta save (insert Important Person's name) bang-bang find Big Bad Guy more-bang everyone's dead' plot, the delivery sets it apart. Not afraid to involve An Actual Story featuring some Actual Characters and a henchmen roster that barely hits a dozen, there's more tension building set up than actual out and out action. Which isn't to say it's either too talky or too slow, the build ups are so expertly crafted than when the violence hits it really smacks you round the head. And in slo-mos and close ups and the eking out of every drop of tension - and blood - the money shots are well worth the wait. There is a classic design mantra - show or tell, don't show and tell - and many times The Equalizer completely eschews the telling in order to not just show but dangle bloodily right in front of your face.
The director, Antoine Fuqua, must get a large amount of credit for this, and for having the courage to make a film that mirrors his protagonists personality - unafraid to be quiet when needed and unwilling to be pressured into delivering unnecessary exposition. It's a tactic that works and imbues Equalizer Denzel with even more mystique to go along with his stoic silences. The direction is as smooth and gorgeous as you'd expect from a Hollywood product yet grounded in the tight and unremarkable spaces it's set in (which is another cipher for Equalizer Denzel - highly controlled and hidden in amongst everyday scenarios and places).
The film is too long, and slightly baggy in places. The pace gets lost on occasion, ironic considering the focus on control. But Fuqua knows action, and when it hits it really hits, and he's obviously been allowed to trust his creative instincts, including the decision to leave the films bright young thing out for two thirds of the movie - Chloe Grace Moretz' Russian call girl Alina more a catalyst for reaction than a macguffin to be rescued - and it's a brave and refreshing decision to drop her part way through to leave a more internally personal (and more interesting) objective than the usual rote revenge or save the damsel mission.
Overall it is a visceral and engaging film, surprising and original, classily made with a central character expertly realised in a top class performance. Welcome to the world, Equalizer Denzel.
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Director: Antoine Fuqua
Featuring: Denzel Washington, Chloe Grace-Moretz, Marton Csokas, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo
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