Few actors in Hollywood are as respected and admired as Denzel Washington
. Beginning acting in the late 1970s, Washington has played numerous iconic characters in several acclaimed films over the past five decades. Some of his most memorable early films include Glory (1989), Malcolm X (1992), The hurricane (1999) and, of course, Training day (2001).
Starting in the mid-2000s, Washington became something of an action star. This new phase of Washington's career could largely be considered to begin with man on fire in 2004. A few years later, Washington appeared in The Book of Eli (2010), followed by Safe House (2012), and 2 weapons (2013). It was in 2014, however, that Washington cemented his action hero status, starring in an action film that started a successful franchise.
The equalizer gets a mixed grade for its accuracy
Denzel Washington's fight scene goes too far
An expert on the Russian mafia takes realism points from The equalizer for the way it deals with certain criminal elements, but not everything is inaccurate. Released in 2014 and directed by Antoine Fuqua, the first film in the hit action franchise sees Washington taking on the role of Robert McCall, a former government assassin who takes on the Russian mafia after befriending Chloë Grace Moretz's Teri, a sex worker. The film's action only begins when McCall tries to buy Teri's freedom, with a fight scene after gangsters refuse his offer of $9,800.
In a recent video for InsiderFormer CIA officer and Russian mob investigator Joe Serio analyzes Washington's attempt to buy Teri's freedom and the fight scene that followed. According to the expert, the gangster's refusal of the offer is realistic because Teri is much more valuable to them than $9,800. The fight scene that follows, however, is “ridiculous,” despite being a lot of fun. Check out Serio's analysis and score for The equalizer out of 10 below:
In this scene, Denzel's character is walking into this strip club's gang hangout to buy a sex worker, someone he has befriended, to get her out of the game. The Russian mafia makes countless… they make over a billion dollars from human trafficking, and if they come in and offer $9,800 for a woman, they're going to make more money than that in the entire history of their work. And number two, he can't let her go because of the power and the influence and that game.
I love movies like that. I love The Equalizer, shoot-em-up, kill-em-up, any kind of movie. So the fight scene is totally ridiculous, but he's Denzel Washington and he's the Equalizer, so that's what he has to do. This scene is largely unrealistic. There are some typical Russian mafia moments. I'll give it about five [out of 10].
Our take on the equalizer's lackluster realism score
The action franchise doesn't have to be realistic
Made with an estimated budget of US$55 million, The equalizer grossed US$192 million worldwide, making it an undeniable success. The film also fared well with critics and earned a score of 61% on Rotten tomatoes. The action film did even better, with an audience rating of 77%. The film's critical and commercial success suggests that viewers will not The equalizer franchise for realism, they will see Washington brutally take down criminals.
McCall's ability to kill a large number of criminals in a timely manner is one of the cornerstones of the franchise. Following 2018 and The equalizer 3 in 2023, he becomes even more superhuman, meting out many punishments and often absorbing very little in return. The franchise is silly and unrealistic, but washington remains one of Hollywood's most charismatic movie stars, and it's gratifying to watch him make the world a better place, one violent death at a time.
Source: Insider