New Equalizer Movie Received Mixed Reviews From Major Movie Critics
Columbia Pictures (Sony) released their new action flick, “The Equalizer” into theaters this weekend, and the top critics have submitted their reviews. It ended up pleasing roughly half of them, getting an overall 57 score out of a possible 100 across 41 reviews over at Metacritic.com.
The movie stars: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman, and Melissa Leo. We’ve included blurbs from a couple of the critics,below.
Richard Roeper at the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a nice 88 score, saying: “The Equalizer features some gruesomely creative violence, but it’s equally memorable for the small, gritty moments set in that diner, or on the rough-and-tumble streets of Boston. And most of all, it’s got Denzel going for it.”
Todd McCarthy from the Hollywood Reporter, gave it another nice 80 score, stating: ” Ramping up his style to a more dynamic and elegant level than he’s achieved previously, Fuqua socks over the suspense and action but also takes the time for some quiet, even spare moments to emphasize the hero’s calm and apartness.”
Lou Lumenick at the New York Post, gave it a 75 grade. He said: “There’s nothing hugely original about the script by Richard Wenk (who cowrote “Expendables 2” with Sylvester Stallone), but Washington is a master at putting his own inimitable and stylish spin on even the most familiar situations.”
Susan Wloszczyna from RogerEbert.com, gave it a 75 grade as well, saying: “While some might decry the ludicrous showdown that unfolds in the darkened aisles of McCall’s mega-store workplace, I got a kick out of watching Washington turn everyday hardware supplies into lethal weaponry.”
Mick LaSalle over at the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it a 75 score, stating: “The Equalizer is silly but irresistible, taking situations of inherent gut-level impact and exploiting them for every bit of emotion and tension. It could never have been a great movie.”
Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times, gave it a 70 score. He said: “A tense thriller that also has more on its mind than the familiar genre constraints it operates under.”
Peter Travers at Rolling Stone, gave it a 63 grade. He stated: “The material shows its age when McCall goes all “Taxi Driver” to save a teen hooker (a scrappy Chloë Grace Moretz) from her pimps. But Washington and director Antoine Fuqua, who teamed for the actor’s Oscar-winning role in 2001’s “Training Day,” keep the action humming.”
A.O. Scott at The New York Times, gave it a 60 grade. He said: “Mr. Fuqua, while not the world’s most subtle filmmaker, directs the action sequences with bluntness and clarity and effectively uses his star as an oasis of calm in a jumpy, nasty universe.”
Joe Neumaier at the New York Daily News, gave it a 60 grade. He stated: “The movie is tense and coiled for its first hour, then becomes routine in its second half.”
Ty Burr at the Boston Globe, gave it a 50 score, stating: “This Equalizer is a brooding, brutal origin tale, one that starts well but steadily caves into genre clichés. It’s a B-movie sheep in A-movie clothing, acceptable meathead mayhem as long as you know what you’re paying for.”
Joe Morgenstern at the Wall Street Journal, gave it a 50 grade, stating: “Mr. Fuqua, who did such a fine job directing Mr. Washington and Ethan Hawke in “Training Day,” loses control of an increasingly slapdash script, and the whole movie turns into a slaughterhouse. The question isn’t who wants it — box office action is assured — but who needs it?”
Michael Phillips over at the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 50 score. He said: “For an hour or so The Equalizer glides along and works; in the second hour, plus change, it turns into a shameless slaughter contrivance with a flabby sense of pace. I did like one line: “When you pay for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too.” Washington’s the rain; by the end, the movie is the mud.”
Scott Foundas at Variety, gave it a 50 grade. He stated: “Ponderously overlong and not even half as much fun as it should have been, The Equalizer still gets a lot of mileage out of Washington’s unassailable star presence.”
Lastly, Joe McGovern at Entertainment Weekly, gave it a bad 25 score, stating: “It’s the sign of an empty, depressing experience when the only tension is over Bob’s choice to use a power drill or a weed whacker for his next kill.” Stay tuned. Also, get your favorite Movie stuff, and more by Clicking Here.
