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The Equalizer (film): Difference between revisions

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The Equalizer
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Antoine Fuqua
Written by	Richard Wenk
Based on	The Equalizer by Michael Sloan Richard Lindheim
Produced by	Todd Black Jason Blumenthal Denzel Washington Alex Siskin Steve Tisch Mace Neufeld Tony Eldridge Michael Sloan Neal H. Moritz
Starring	Denzel Washington Marton Csokas Chloë Grace Moretz David Harbour Bill Pullman Melissa Leo
Cinematography	Mauro Fiore
Edited by	John Refoua
Music by	Harry Gregson-Williams
Production companies	Columbia Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures Escape Artists Original Film
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release dates	September 7, 2014 (2014-09-07) (TIFF) September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) (United States)
Running time	132 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$73 million[2][3]
Box office	$192.3 million[2]

The Equalizer is a 2014 American vigilante action thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua, loosely based on the 1980s TV series of the same name. Written by Richard Wenk, it stars Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo. The film focuses on an ex-Marine and former Defense Intelligence Agency officer who reluctantly returns to action to protect a teenage sex worker from members of the Russian mafia.

Principal photography began in June 2013 in Massachusetts. It was the first film to have Village Roadshow Pictures co-finance the deal with Sony Pictures since Saving Silverman in 2001. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014, and was released worldwide on September 26, 2014 in conventional and IMAX theaters.^[4]

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, Wenk and Fuqua returning.

Plot

Robert McCall is a retired USMC soldier and DIA operative who, after promising his now-deceased wife that he would leave his former activities behind, lives quietly in Boston and works at a Home Mart hardware store. McCall befriends many of his co-workers and helps a security guard trainee named Ralph pass his qualification exam. Unable to sleep, McCall spends some late nights reading in a 24/7 diner where he befriends Alina, a teenage sex worker working for the Russian Mafia.

One night, Alina is hospitalized following a brutal beating by her pimp, Slavi. Hearing of the beating, McCall visits Alina's hospital room and speaks with her friend, Mandy. McCall tracks down Slavi at his office and offers to pay $9,800 for Alina's freedom. Slavi refuses, dismissing McCall as old and impotent. McCall then kills Slavi and four of his men with skillful close combat efficiency by using the men's own weapons, various objects in the office, and his bare hands.

Following the killings, Russian Mafia boss Vladimir Pushkin sends his enforcer, Teddy Rensen, to find and eliminate the culprit. In the meantime, Ralph withdraws his security guard application, going to work for his mother at the family restaurant. When McCall learns the restaurant was set on fire by corrupt policemen as an act of extortion, he confronts and beats the officers, forces them to pay back all the money they have extorted, and threatens to publicize their crimes. Ralph then returns to Home Mart and passes his test, becoming a security guard at the store.

In investigating the murders of Pushkin's henchmen, Rensen questions Alina's friend Mandy, who tells him that "a nice man--a black man" had come to visit Alina in the hospital. Mandy is then murdered by Rensen. An armed robbery occurs at the Home Mart in which a coworker's ring is stolen. After the ring is mysteriously returned, McCall is seen cleaning a sledgehammer with a bloodied cloth and putting it back in the store.

After finding video footage of McCall entering the building where the killings of Slavi and the other gangsters occurred, Rensen visits McCall at his apartment under the guise of a police officer and later makes two attempts to capture him. However, McCall escapes after killing one of Rensen's men and knocking out another.

McCall then visits old friend and fellow former DIA operative Susan Plummer, who uses her resources to give him information on Pushkin and his operations. Plummer informs McCall that Teddy Rensen's true name is Nikolai Itchenko and that he is a former member of the Russian secret police and Spetsnaz.

Stepping up his actions against Pushkin, McCall subdues Frank Masters—a corrupt policeman working for Pushkin—and forces him to help him gain access to one of Pushkin's local money-laundering operations. Once there, McCall holds one of Pushkin's men at gunpoint, subdues his cronies, and orders Masters to inform the police of the money-laundering operation. From Masters, McCall obtains a memory stick loaded with information about Pushkin's illegal activities, which he emails to the FBI. McCall then confronts Itchenko at a restaurant, revealing that he knows his history and pledging to bring down Pushkin's criminal enterprise. When McCall destroys a container ship Pushkin used to smuggle goods, Pushkin orders Itchenko to kill McCall.

Itchenko and his men go to Home Mart and take Ralph and several of McCall's other co-workers hostage, threatening to kill them if McCall does not surrender. After arriving at Home Mart, McCall kills Itchenko's henchmen one by one using booby traps constructed with items in the store; however, he is wounded in the process. After a struggle between McCall and one of Itchenko's men, Ralph comes back to pull the injured McCall out of the store, but is shot in the leg himself. After Ralph escapes, McCall confronts Itchenko and kills him with a nail gun.

Three days later, McCall travels to Moscow and tricks Pushkin into electrocuting himself. After his return to the United States, McCall is politely approached by Alina outside a neighborhood grocery store. Alina has recovered from her injuries and has found a new job. She thanks McCall for giving her a second chance. McCall is inspired to continue using his skills to help people in need and posts an online advertisement, now identifying himself as "The Equalizer".

Cast

Production

In June 2010, it was announced that Russell Crowe was looking to bring The Equalizer to the big screen directed by Paul Haggis, with Crowe attached to play Robert McCall.^[5][6]

In December 2011, it was reported that Denzel Washington would star in the title role of the film version, to be financed by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Escape Artists.^[5][7] Director Antoine Fuqua came on board to direct on March 21, 2013, reuniting him with Washington after their successful collaboration on the 2001 Oscar-winning film Training Day.^[8] Chloë Grace Moretz was announced as a co-star on May 10, 2013; Anna Kendrick, Kelly Macdonald and Nina Dobrev were also considered.^[9] On May 31, 2013, Melissa Leo was cast in the film. Leo previously worked with Washington in the 2012 film Flight, and with Fuqua in Olympus Has Fallen (2013).^[10] Concidentally, Leo actually guest starred in a season one episode of the original Equalizer television series titled "The Defector", in which she portrayed the daughter of a former Soviet agent, who enlists McCall's help to defect to the United States. Marton Csokas was cast to play the villain on May 17.^[11]

Filming began in June 2013 with locations in Salisbury, Hamilton, Chelsea, Haverhill, and Boston, Massachusetts.^[12]

On June 21, 2013, Harry Gregson-Williams was hired to compose the music for the film.^[13] Varèse Sarabande released a soundtrack album for The Equalizer on September 23, 2014.^[14]

The song "Guts Over Fear" by rapper Eminem featuring Sia, with production by Emile Haynie, premiered in trailers for the film.^[15] The song also plays over the closing credits.

Release

Promotion and marketing

The first official image from the film was released on December 6, 2013. Sony originally planned on an April 11, 2014 release date, but pushed it back to September 26, 2014.^[16][17] The first official poster for the film was released on April 16, 2014.^[18] On April 22, USA Today revealed photos from the film.^[19] On May 24, the trailer for the film was released.^[20] On June 12, another official trailer for the film was released.^[21] On July 16, the IMAX poster for the film was released.^[22]

Theatrical release

The film had a premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014.^[23] Sony released the film in IMAX screen theaters worldwide on September 26, 2014.^[24]

Reception

Box office

The Equalizer grossed $101.5 million in North America and $90.8 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $192.3 million, against a net production budget of $55 million.^[2]

The film was released on September 26, 2014, in the United States and earned $12.6 million from 3,236 theaters in its first opening night including the $1.45 million it earned from 2,693 screens from Thursday night showings. On the second day the film earned $13.5 million and $8.1 million on the third day.^[25][26] Its opening day is the third biggest for Washington, tailing behind American Gangster ($15.8 million) and Safe House ($13.6 million).^[27] On its opening weekend the film earned $35,000,000 ($10,816 per theater) and debuted at number one at the box office. The film broke several records at the box office during its opening weekend including the biggest R-rated debut of September, surpassing Jackass Number Two record ($29 million), the biggest IMAX opener of September, the biggest debut weekend gross for Antoine surpassing Olympus Has Fallen ($30 million), the fifth biggest domestic opening for Washington behind the aforementioned American Gangster ($43.6 million), Safe House ($40.2 million), and eventually behind its sequel The Equalizer 2 ($35.8 million) and The Magnificent Seven ($35.7 million). It was also the fourth biggest for a film released in September.^[28][29][30] It earned $3.3 million from 352 IMAX theaters.^[31] Audiences for the debut weekend of the film were 52% male and 48% female, with 65% of ticket buyers over 30 years old.^[32]

The Equalizer earned $17.8 million overseas from 65 territories from 4,500 screens during its opening weekend with $1.4 million of the gross coming from 137 IMAX theaters.^[33] The film broke several September openings record in various territories including the UK, Netherlands, Israel, and Egypt.^[34] Top openings include the UK ($2.9 million), Russia ($2.7 million), Mexico ($1.4 million), Brazil ($1.3 million) United Arab Emirates ($875,000) and Malaysia ($650,000). Showings from Village Roadshow markets grossed an estimate $2.4 million with top openings including Australia ($1.9 million), New Zealand ($180,000) and Singapore ($300,000).^[35][36]

Critical response

OnRotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film holds an approval rating of 59% based on 197 reviews, and an average rating of 5.69/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Equalizer is more stylishly violent than meaningful, but with Antoine Fuqua behind the cameras and Denzel Washington dispensing justice, it delivers."^[37]OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[38] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of『A–』on an A+ to F scale.^{[39][better source needed]}

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Home media

The Equalizer was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 30, 2014.^[40] Later, it was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 10, 2018, 10 days before the second film was released in U.S. theaters.^[41]

Sequel

On February 24, 2014, seven months before the release of the film, it was announced that Sony Pictures and Escape Artists were planning a sequel, with Richard Wenk penning the script.^[42][43][44] In early October 2014, Fuqua said in an interview that there would be a sequel to the film only if audiences and Denzel Washington wanted it. He stated McCall was an interesting character and that the sequel could have more of an international flavor.^[45] On April 22, 2015, Sony announced that a sequel would be made.^[46]

In July 2017, Columbia Pictures announced that a portion of the filming would take place in the Brant Rock area of Marshfield, which took place over two weeks in November 2017.^[47] The Equalizer 2 was released in the U.S. on July 20, 2018.

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Equalizer (film).

• The EqualizeratIMDb
• The EqualizeratBox Office Mojo
• The EqualizeratRotten Tomatoes
• The EqualizeratMetacritic