CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.!—break—>
Film Review: Overall Story of ‘The Equalizer’ Doesn’t Add Up
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CHICAGO – You could call “The Equalizer” a bit of an underachiever. It re-teams Oscar winner Denzel Washington with his “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua for a movie remake of a 1980’s TV show with a cult following, but the film as a whole adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
Washington stars as an ex-CIA agent now living the quiet life by day working in a Home Depot-like store. In contrast, by night he often uses his particular set of skills to help underdogs in need. He gets to be a good guy, while being the baddest badass on the planet. The Equalizer is the kind of guy who could literally mop the floor with half the cast of “The Expendables.”
Yet he certainly takes his time getting going. For the first 25 minutes or so we see him as a combination father figure and life coach – offering helpful advice, platitudes of inspiration, and fist bumps of positivity. He finally sheds the thousand-watt smile and takes on the Russian mob after he steps in to protect a young prostitute (Chloe Grace Moretz, looking nearly unrecognizable), who is beaten up by her pimp.
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![Denzel Washington Denzel Washington](http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/sites/default/files/Equalizer1.jpg)
Denzel Washington is the Title Character in ‘The Equalizer’
Photo credit: Columbia Pictures
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