The Equalizer Movie Release, Trailer Stars Denzel Washington Movies for Grownups

' The Equalizer' Denzel Defends the Little Guy

There' s nothing like a little do-it-yourself danger when the odds are against you

Rating: R Running Time: 2 hours, 11 minutes Stars: Marton Csokas, David Harbour, Melissa Leo, Chloë Grace Moretz, Bill Pullman, Denzel Washington Director: Antoine Fuqua If star and director had unleashed a single surprise in their new action flick, The Equalizer, they would have failed at their mission. The Equalizer is not about breaking new cinematic ground. Nor is it about finding meaning or creating art. Instead, The Equalizer is about watching Denzel — older and wiser than those around him — kick bad-guy butt against a backdrop of dark alleys and rusting cityscapes. And that's just fine, because no one does the dead-eyed-hero bit better than Denzel, and few directors choreograph action more deftly than Fuqua ( ). Sony Pictures In standing up for the little guy in “The Equalizer,” Denzel Washington, with rubber mallet and more, coolly takes on the bad guys. Many of us hold TV series , starring as Robert McCall, a former government agent who uses his skills to help ordinary people overcome threats from the rich, the powerful and the mean. This update keeps McCall's name and mysterious background but moves the action from to . By day, McCall toils in a hardware store reminiscent of Home Depot; by night he tracks down evildoers and either a) persuades them to make restitution to the people they've wronged or b) beats them with a rubber mallet and then persuades them to make restitution to the people they've wronged. One night the Equalizer comes to the aid of a young prostitute () who's been roughed up by her pimp. In the process he slaughters a roomful of thugs using his bare hands, the gangsters' own gats and a conveniently murderous corkscrew. But McCall also runs afoul of an Eastern European crime syndicate. Worth noting: Both The Equalizer and , opening within a week of each other, enlist Eastern Europeans as their bloodlusting villains, thus cementing the region as 's current go-to source of malefactors. This should allow Germans, white South Africans and assorted Middle Easterners to breathe easier for a while. (Sorry, multinational CEOs and Wall Street stockbrokers!) AARP Members! The mob's kingpin, ensconced in a palace somewhere in Russia, dispatches ever-larger contingents of hitmen to track down McCall. They are directed on the ground in Boston by a mild-mannered sociopath (), who we know — we just know! — will be the last man standing when the time comes for the ultimate showdown with our hero. During the long chase, McCall eludes assassins in his apartment, outruns their bullets on the street and cheekily blows the kingpin's oil tanker to smithereens in Boston Harbor — occasioning the inevitable slo-mo scene in which Denzel coolly walks away as the gates of hell explode behind him. He also makes a pit stop at the estate of a couple of old friends from the Agency. ( and ; please, God, can they play larger roles in the presumed sequel?) That final shoot-out with the evil henchman comes right when we expect it will, and where: at McCall's big-box store. The setting enables our resourceful hero to avail himself of all manner of home-improvement products in the creation of mayhem. Propane tanks, barbed wire, gravel, sprinkler systems — and, yes, that old standby the nail gun — let McCall bring new meaning to the words "Do it yourself." In his quieter moments, McCall is a voracious reader. That's Hollywood shorthand for "Yes, he's a killing machine, but he's a sensitive killing machine." But it also enables director Fuqua, in a last-minute bid for respectability, to place in McCall's hands a copy of 's landmark 1952 social novel, . Even if you haven't read that experimental manifesto since high school, the image of its distinctive blue cover will remind you of the song the book's unnamed narrator constantly listens to: Louis Armstrong's "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue." For a fleeting moment you wonder if The Equalizer might actually be about something. In reality, though, that literary coda just slaps a bow tie on a pit bull: It may class him up a bit, but at heart he's still a lean, mean junkyard dog. is a writer, editor and movie critic for AARP Media.

Also of Interest br

Visit the for great deals and savings tips Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.