The Equalizer is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua, loosely based on the 1980s TV series of the same name. It stars Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo.

Purchase THE EQUALIZER on Ultra HD Blu-ray Today!

THE MOVIE:

As Denzel Washington is a near spitting image Edward Woodward, it only makes sense that he take the mantle as Robert McCall in this update of the 80s TV series about a former covert operative attempting to live a quiet life, only to be drawn back into action, in an effort to help those in need.  Okay, so it makes little difference to me that Washington has little in common with Woodward.  With that said, he is a sort of older star that fits the bill.  In this film adaptation of that story, we get to see McCall help a number of people in need, but quickly finds himself at odds with a whole team of Russian gangsters, following his attempts to right the wrongs committed against a young prostitute (Chloë Grace Moretz).  Armed with his wits and a desire for justice, McCall does what he does best to sort things out with his violent opponents, only to then have to worry about cleaning up what he started.

Following more recent ventures into the action world with films like SAFE HOUSE and 2 GUNS, THE EQUALIZER falls short on capitalizing on the cool that comes from Washington’s strengths at being an actor that emits so much confidence at all times.  I say this because the film takes entirely too much time to simply see him coast in a role that does not do much to challenge him as an actor.  If Washington wants to portray another heroic action lead, that is fine, but do it in a film that is 100 minutes, not 130.  At the length this film is, we get some key scenes of Washington using his natural grace to stare down and confront bad guys as well as use his particular set of skills to kill the bad guys in slick-looking (and very violent) ways, but we also spend a lot of time seeing things slow down so we can better consider if any of this matters.

Never the less what we have here is a fun overall flick that allows us to see Denzel in another dimension as he does all his own stunts except for falling etc. as he so put it in an interview with Jamie Foxx.

VIDEO QUALITY:

THE EQUALIZER sure does look pretty on Blu-ray, and in HDR for Ultra HD Blu-ray it looks just a bit sweeter at that.  It is a film with a lot of lower lighting and nighttime scenes, but that doesn’t take away from how gorgeous this AVC-encoded transfer is.  Detail is clear throughout, various textures and flesh tones all come in perfectly.  There is not a trace of error in the picture quality for this film.

AUDIO QUALITY:

The Equalizer arrives onto Ultra HD Blu-ray with an exceptional Dolby Atmos audio track whilst The Equalizer blu-ray disc contains a lossless 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack that is impressive to say the least.  While I was mixed on the movie, I cannot deny that this track will easily pull in the listener, given the careful attention played to sound design, particularly when Denzel goes into action mode.  A great amount of attention is paid to really play up the various channels, as we hear all sorts of audio elements on this track, be it the sounds of the action taking place, the score, the ambient noises, the dialogue; everything sounds crystal clear and is incredibly well-balanced.

SUPPLEMENTS:

Features Include:

All New 5 Never Before Seen Features teasing Equalizer 2.

• Vengeance Mode – Another version of WB’s Maximum Movie Mode, with Sony doing the same sort of PiP idea that means pausing the movie at times to jump into featurettes and interviews, while also putting commentary over certain portions of the film.  This extends the film another 20 minutes, so be ready to get the ‘ultimate experience’.
• Denzel Washington: A Different Kind of Superhero – A look at Denzel’s process to playing this character.
• Equalizer Vision: Antoine Fuqua – A look at what Antoine Fuqua brought to the film.
• Inside THE EQUALIZER – Not nearly enough was done to show how the film and the original TV series were tied together in this standard EPK.
• One Man Army: Training and Fighting – A look at the choreography of the action scenes featured in the film.
• Children of the Night – Chloë Grace Moretz gets the spotlight in this segment.
• Home Mart: Taking Care of Business One Bolt at a Time – In case you needed a little comedy, this is a spoof commercial, featuring Denzel in action.
• Photo Gallery
• Previews
• UltraViolet Copy of the Film

The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visual style, acting, soundtrack and action sequences but criticized its violence and plot. Nonetheless, it became a commercial success with a worldwide gross of over $192 million. A sequel was released on July 20, 2018, with Washington and Fuqua returning. – wikipedia