McCall believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.
I could have done without the barbed-wire noose and glass-shard fight on shattered mirrors. But I couldn't have done without Washington, who, like Liam Neeson, has reached a new cruising altitude as a leading man.
– Wesley Morris,
Grantland,
26 Sep 2014
fresh:
It gets sillier as it goes along, but it's never not entertaining.
– Alonso Duralde,
TheWrap,
26 Sep 2014
rotten:
When was the last time you saw a lone hero stride toward the climactic killing ground in slow motion? Yesterday? An hour ago?
– David Edelstein,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
26 Sep 2014
fresh:
Fuqua infuses The Equalizer with a low-key energy and is in no hurry to rush into things.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
26 Sep 2014
fresh:
The director, Antoine Fuqua, relies on small details, which anchor the vigilante-as-saint myth in at least a minimal degree of reality.