Haven't I Seen This Before: The Equalizer.

Watch my youtbe review HERE!!!

Denzel Washington is considered one of the finest actors of our time; he is able to go from Oscar nominated roles to popcorn fare like the many action movies he has done in the past. You can easily compare his action roles to that of Liam Neeson's; both men have become big action stars in their later years. This Denzel Washington action flick is directed by Antoine Fuqua who actually got Denzel his Academy Award for 'Training Day' but also made last year's 'Olympus Has Fallen' which I thought was quite terrible. The cast also includes Chloe Grace Moretz, Marton Csokas, David Habour, Haley Bennett, Melissa Leo and Bill Pullman.

The Equalizer is based on the Edward Woodward TV show from the 80's though this acts more as an origin story than an adaptation of any episodes. The film follows Robert McCall (Washington) who befriends a young prostitute (Moretz). After she is beaten into a coma he decides to take the law into his own hands and take down the Russian Mob. Now if you think this sounds familiar you wouldn't be wrong. This film seems extremely similar to several films Washington has done before along with films Liam Neeson has done too, making it very generic and unoriginal.

Now this doesn't mean it's a bad film, in fact it's pretty decent and really well made. The cinematography and score is good and the actors are all pretty solid. The action is pretty thrilling but unfortunately the film takes itself too seriously to make it entertaining, in fact it's rather dark. This is a film I'm sure general audiences are going to enjoy but unfortunately for me it's not one I can say I did. I don't think it's a bad film but it's not that great either.

The film has quite a few problems. First off it doesn't really make Robert a character; he is OCD, used to work for the government and helps people...that's all you find out about who he is, oh and he had a wife once. Of course this isn't a character drama but it would have help when it comes to caring about what happens in the film. The film is also over-long; it has too many sub-plots which kind of work for the finale of the film but they add to many endings to the film to wrap up each story. But the biggest crime is the unoriginality of the film.

Unfortunately we've seen this type of movie over thirty times before this decade alone and it's getting rather grating. The film does nothing to differentiate itself from films like Man On Fire, Taken and Safe House nor is it masterful enough be like Taxi Driver. But in the end it's still a pretty decent flick and though I'm likely to forget about it in the coming weeks if you like well made action  flicks I'm sure you'll have a good time with this one.

3 out of 5 stars.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.