‘The Equalizer’: Denzel Washington leaves moviegoers anxious for a sequel

Photo by Scott Garfield, courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment

Here we have a clean cut guy and a bookworm who works at a DIY retailer in Boston in the Antoine Fuqua-directed crime drama, The Equalizer. When insomnia hits, he retreats to an all-night café where he indulges a young, Russian prostitute Alina, aka Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), with light but encouraging dialogue, and there’s absolutely nothing creepy about him.

An otherwise likable dude, it’s not until a ruffian preys on the helpless, an uncontrollable force emerges from within Robert McCall (Denzel Washington). A force that has been dormant since he retired from the CIA. Bob the builder, as this critic affectionately renames him, transforms into a fusion of The One and Terminator, who exacts vengeance which at times is too gruesome to watch but is appeasing.