The Equalizer
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAntoine Fuqua
Written byRichard Wenk
Based on
The Equalizer
by
  • Michael Sloan
  • Richard Lindheim
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMauro Fiore
Edited byJohn Refoua
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
  • September 7, 2014 (2014-09-07) (TIFF)
  • September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) (United States)
Running time
132 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$55–73 million[3][4]
Box office$192.3 million[3]

The Equalizer is a 2014 American vigilante action film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Richard Wenk.[1][5] It is the first installment of The Equalizer trilogy and loosely based on the 1980s TV series of the same title. The film stars Denzel Washington in the lead role, along with Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman, and Melissa Leo. In the film, a retired U.S. Marine and DIA agent reluctantly returns to action in order to protect a teenage trafficking victim from members of the Russian mafia.

Principal photography took place in Massachusetts from May to September 2013. The world premiere for The Equalizer was held at 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014, and it was released in theaters worldwide on September 26, 2014. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $192 million worldwide. The sequels titled The Equalizer 2 was released on July 20, 2018, and The Equalizer 3 was released on September 1, 2023.

Plot

Robert McCall, a former U.S. Marine and DIA / DCS officer, now lives a quiet life in Boston, where he works at a hardware store. He helps his colleague Ralphie train to become a security guard. Unable to sleep, Robert often spends late nights reading at an all-night diner. Over time, he has befriended Teri, a teenager sex trafficked by the Russian mafia. The pair often talk about the books he has been reading and Robert’s goal to read the one hundred books his wife had made a goal of reading.

One evening, Teri shares that her real name is Alina and that she dreams of becoming a singer. Robert and Alina take a stroll but Alina’s pimp Slavi abruptly arrives, severely beats Alina, and forces her into a car. His driver hands Robert a business card for their escort service before driving away. A few nights later, a badly injured Alina is admitted to the intensive care unit at a nearby hospital. Upon hearing the news, Robert travels there and learns from her friend Mandy, another prostitute, that Slavi is responsible for her condition. He finds Slavi and his men at their restaurant and is bluntly refused when he offers to buy Alina's freedom. Robert expertly kills the men and leaves. Unbeknownst to him, Slavi and his men were part of a much larger syndicate led by Russian oligarch Vladimir Pushkin. Teddy Rensen, Pushkin's enforcer, arrives in Boston to investigate the attack. Aided by Boston Police Department detectives on Pushkin's payroll, he canvases rival gangs in the area, nearly beating Irish mob lieutenant "Little John" Looney to death to send a message.

Robert continues exacting vigilante justice on criminals he encounters. He blackmails two corrupt police officers into returning racketeering money to Ralphie's mother, and beats a gunman with a hammer after he robs the hardware store, taking a coworker's heirloom ring from her mother. Teddy kills Mandy after learning that she concealed information about Robert and lied about her friendship with Alina. He visits Robert at his apartment, posing as a police detective, but Robert does not fall for the guise. Teddy flashes a picture of the strangled Mandy before walking away, offering it as a warning. Teddy and his mercenary group fail to abduct Robert on two occasions. Robert travels to visit his former DIA colleague Susan Plummer and her husband, Brian. Until now, it was long assumed that Robert had died in a long-ago bombing incident. He asks for Susan's help in identifying Teddy. She informs him of Pushkin's operation and that Teddy's real name is Nicolai Itchenko, a Spetsnaz operative turned Russian secret police agent. She also reveals that Nicolai murdered two of the Boston PD detectives and that another one of them, Frank Masters, had not been heard from in days.

Robert tracks Masters down and threatens him into helping take down one of Pushkin's money laundering warehouses. Masters and Pushkin's men are taken into custody when the police arrive, and they find a note left by Robert to "follow the money." He confronts Nicolai again, threatening to do more damage if he continues to pursue him. He later destroys two of Pushkin's oil tankers. In response, Nicolai abducts Robert's coworkers at the hardware store to force him to meet. To Nicolai's surprise, Robert skips the meeting with Nicolai and instead kills the men guarding the hostages. Nicolai arrives with his men, but Robert stealthily annihilates all of them one by one with improvised weapons collected throughout the hardware store. As Nicolai is about to kill Ralphie, who stayed behind to help, Robert kills Nicolai with a nail gun.

Three days later, Robert finds Pushkin at his Moscow mansion, killing all his guards and tricking him into electrocuting himself to death. Sometime later, following her recovery, Alina runs into Robert and shares that she has started a new life with the money that was left at her hospital bed, money she believes to be hush money. She has no idea it was from Robert. Inspired to continue helping others, Robert posts online ads as The Equalizer.

Cast

In addition, Robert Wahlberg and Timothy John Smith play the crooked Boston Police Department detectives.

Production

In April 2005, it was announced producer Mace Neufeld had partnered with Michael Sloan, co-creator of The Equalizer, with Sloan and producer Tony Eldridge having come up with the idea for adapting the series to film while working on another project.[6] In December of that year, The Weinstein Company had acquired the rights to develop the film.[7] In June 2007, it was reported that Michael Connelly and Terrill Lee Lankfor were hired to pen the screenplay with Paul McGuigan slated to direct.[8]

In June 2010, it was announced that Russell Crowe was trying to bring The Equalizer to the big screen directed by Paul Haggis, with Crowe intending to play Robert McCall.[9][10]

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.[9][11] 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.[12] Chloë Grace Moretz was announced as a co-star on May 10, 2013; Anna Kendrick, Kelly Macdonald and Nina Dobrev were also considered.[13]

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).[14] Coincidentally, 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.[15]

Principal photography began in May 2013 at various locations throughout Boston including Haverhill, Hamilton, Ipswich and Swampscott.[16] Filming wrapped in September 2013.[16]

In the scene where McCall attempts to suffocate Masters in his car, it is a Jaguar XJ6 revealed in the shot of the hose into the tailpipe. The Jaguar was famously used in the original television series.

On June 21, 2013, Harry Gregson-Williams was hired to compose the music for the film.[17] Varèse Sarabande released a soundtrack album for The Equalizer on September 23, 2014.[18]

The song "Guts Over Fear" by rapper Eminem featuring Sia, with production by Emile Haynie, premiered in trailers for the film.[19] 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. On August 6, 2012, Sony had originally planned on an April 11, 2014 release date, but on July 5, 2013, the released date pushed back to September 26, 2014.[20][21] The first official poster for the film was released on April 16, 2014.[22] On April 22, USA Today revealed photos from the film.[23] On May 24, the trailer for the film was released.[24] On June 12, another official trailer for the film was released.[25] On July 16, the IMAX poster for the film was released.[26]

Theatrical release

The film's premiere was held at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014.[27] Sony released the film in theaters worldwide on September 26, 2014.[28]

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. Its net production budget was estimated between $55-73 million.[3][4]

The film was released on September 26, 2014, in the United States and earned $12.5 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.[29][30] Its opening day is the third biggest for Washington, tailing behind American Gangster ($15.8 million) and Safe House ($13.6 million).[31]

On its opening weekend the film earned $34.1 million ($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.[32][33][34] It earned $3.3 million from 352 IMAX theaters.[35] Audiences for the debut weekend of the film were 52% male and 48% female, with 65% of ticket buyers over 30 years old.[36]

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.[37] The film broke several September openings record in various territories including the UK, Netherlands, Israel, and Egypt.[38] 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).[39][40]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Equalizer has an approval rating of 61% based on 206 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10.[41] 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."[41] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating, the film received an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[42] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on a scale ranging from A+ to F.[43]

Writing for RogerEbert.com, Susan Wloszczyna gave the film three out of four stars, stating: "If The Equalizer lacks gravitas, it is fairly sturdy as far as pure entertainment goes ... And this film acts as an origin story with an ending that suggests a new franchise is afoot."[44] Common Sense Media gave an expert review of 3 star rating with parents and kids giving an average of 4 stars.[45] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three out of four stars, positively commenting on the pacing, further describing that it is "in no hurry to rush into things".[46] For The Globe and Mail, Liam Lacey gave a two-and-a-half stars out of four, welcoming the idea of sequels to The Equalizer, "just to watch Denzel finding new ways of getting even."[47]

Geoffrey Macnab for The Independent favorably compared the film to Washington's films with the late Tony Scott. However, Macnab criticized the plot, claiming that it "makes no sense whatsoever". Nonetheless, he left a rating of three stars out of five.[48]

Home media

The Equalizer was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 9, 2014, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[49] Later, it was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 10, 2018, 10 days before the sequel was released in theaters.[50]

Sequels

The Equalizer 2

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.[51][52][53] 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.[54] On April 22, 2015, Sony announced that a sequel would be made.[55]

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.[56] The Equalizer 2 was released in the U.S. on July 20, 2018.

The Equalizer 3

In August 2018, Fuqua announced his plans to continue the film series. The filmmaker expressed interest in the plot taking place in an international setting.[57]

By January 2022, a third film was officially confirmed to be in development, with Denzel Washington returning in the eponymous role. Fuqua will once again serve as director, while principal photography scheduled to commence some time in 2022, with Washington announcing that it would be the next movie he films.[58][59][60][61][62][63] In June 2022, Dakota Fanning was cast in a supporting role. Written by Richard Wenk, the movie will be produced by Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch and Denzel Washington. The project will be a co-production between Sony Pictures, and Escape Artists Productions.[64] The film was released theatrically on September 1, 2023.[65]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Equalizer (2014)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ "The Equalizer (15)". British Board of Film Classification. September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Equalizer (2014) - Box Office Mojo". September 26, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  4. 1 2 FilmL.A. (May 2015). "2014 Feature Film Study" (PDF). FilmL.A. Feature Film Study. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Equalizer (2014)". AllMovie.com. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  6. ↑ "'Equalizer' aims at bigscreen". Variety. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Weinsteins in biz with 'Equalizer'". Variety. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Connelly aboard 'Equalizer' for Weinsteins". Variety. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Schaefer, Sandy (October 25, 2012). "Denzel Washington’s ‘Equalizer’ Secures Start Date; Lining Up Directors". Screen Rant.
  10. ↑ "Russell Crowe Looking To Bring Back The Equalizer". The Film Stage. June 15, 2010. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Sony sets 'Equalizer' redo with Denzel Washington". Variety. December 13, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  12. ↑ Fleming, Mike (March 21, 2013). "Antoine Fuqua Eyes 'Training Day' Re-Team With Denzel Washington In 'The Equalizer'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  13. ↑ Fleming, Mike (May 10, 2013). "Chloe Moretz Getting Lead in 'Equalizer' Movie With Denzel Washington". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  14. ↑ Fleming, Mike (May 30, 2013). "Melissa Leo Joining Denzel Washington In 'The Equalizer'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Marton Csokas to Play the Villain in The Equalizer". Comingsoon.net. May 18, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  16. 1 2 Phelps, Jonathan (August 14, 2013). "'The Equalizer,' Denzel Washington, make way to Ipswich". Massachusetts Film Office. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Harry Gregson-Williams to Score 'The Equalizer'". filmmusicreporter.com. June 21, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Varese Sarabande to Release Harry Gregson-Williams' 'The Equalizer' Score". filmmusicreporter.com. July 31, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Hear Eminem and Sia's Triumphant New Duet 'Guts Over Fear'". Rolling stone. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  20. ↑ Schaefer, Sandy (July 28, 2013). "'The Equalizer' With Denzel Washington Gets Its Release Date Pushed Back". Screenrant. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  21. ↑ Billington, Alex. "First Look: Denzel Washington from Antoine Fuqua's 'The Equalizer'". First Showing. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  22. ↑ McDaniel, Matt (April 16, 2014). "'The Equalizer' Poster: Denzel Washington Is on His Way". Yahoo!. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  23. ↑ Alexander, Bryan (April 22, 2014). "Denzel Washington evens the score as 'The Equalizer'". USA Today. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Watch The First Trailer For Denzel Washington As 'The Equalizer'" Archived May 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Indiewire. May 24, 2014.
  25. ↑ Fleischer, Adam (June 12, 2014). "Check Out Eminem's New Song In 'The Equalizer' Trailer". MTV. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  26. ↑ Anderton, Ethan (July 16, 2014). "Denzel Washington Has a Nice Gun on 'The Equalizer' IMAX Poster". firstshowing.net. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  27. ↑ "TIFF.net | the Equalizer". Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  28. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (June 25, 2014). "Imax Finds 'The Equalizer' For September 26 Worldwide Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  29. ↑ Anita Busch (September 26, 2014). "Box Office Late Nights: 'The Equalizer' $1.45M On Way To Nice Weekend For Sony". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  30. ↑ Saperstein, Pat (September 27, 2014). "Box Office: Denzel Washington's 'The Equalizer' Scores With $36 Million Debut". variety.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  31. ↑ Scott Mendelson (September 27, 2014). "Box Office: Denzel Washington's 'The Equalizer' Nabs $12.6M Friday". Forbes. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  32. ↑ Scott Mendelson (September 28, 2014). "Box Office: Denzel Washington's 'The Equalizer' Opens To $35M Weekend". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  33. ↑ "TOP OPENING WEEKENDS BY MONTH". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  34. ↑ Scott Bowles (September 27, 2014). "Sunday Box Office: 'The Equalizer' Nabs September Records; 'Maze Runner,' 'Boxtrolls' Take Youth Vote". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  35. ↑ Brent Lang (September 28, 2014). "Box Office: 'The Equalizer' Debuts to Smashing $35 Million". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  36. ↑ Pamela McClintock (September 28, 2014). "Box Office: Denzel Washington's 'The Equalizer' Scores $35 Million Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  37. ↑ Pamela McClintock (September 29, 2014). "International Box Office: 'Maze Runner' Beats 'Equalizer'; 'Lucy' Nears $400M Globally". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  38. ↑ Scott Mendelson (September 28, 2014). "Box Office: Denzel Washington's 'The Equalizer' Opens To $35M Weekend". Forbes. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  39. ↑ Nancy Tartagloine (September 28, 2014). "Int'l Box Office Update: 'The Equalizer' Clocks $17.8M In Debut; 'Maze Runner' Races To $91M Cume; More". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  40. ↑ Brent Lang (September 28, 2014). "'The Maze Runner' Tops Foreign Box Office for Second Week". Variety. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  41. 1 2 "The Equalizer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  42. ↑ "The Equalizer Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  43. ↑ Hamedy, Saba (September 28, 2014). "Denzel Washington's 'The Equalizer' tops 'The Boxtrolls' at box office". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  44. ↑ Wloszczyna, Susan. "The Equalizer movie review & film summary (2014) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  45. ↑ "Parent reviews for The Equalizer | Common Sense Media". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  46. ↑ Berardinelli, James. "Equalizer, The". Reelviews Movie Reviews. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  47. ↑ Lacey, Liam (September 26, 2014). "The Equalizer: Denzel Washington fights the good fight yet again". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  48. ↑ Macnab, Geoffrey (September 25, 2014). "The Equalizer, film review: The plotting makes no sense whatsoever". The Independent. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  49. ↑ "The Equalizer - DVD Release Dates". OnDVDReleases.com. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  50. ↑ "High Def Digest | Blu-ray and Games News and Reviews in High Definition". ultrahd.highdefdigest.com. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  51. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (February 24, 2014). "Sequel to Denzel Washington Thriller 'Equalizer' Moves Forward as Sony Brings Back Writer Richard Wenk". thewrap.com. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  52. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (February 24, 2014). "Sony Developing THE EQUALIZER 2 Following Positive Test Scores; Dwayne Johnson Expected to Star". Collider.
  53. ↑ "'The Equalizer 2′ Moving Forward After Positive Test Screenings; Denzel Washington Expected To Return". Flicks and Bits. February 24, 2014. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014.
  54. ↑ Lang, Brent (October 1, 2014). "'Equalizer' Director Antoine Fuqua: 'I Don't Believe I Should Filter the Violence'". Variety. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  55. ↑ "'Equalizer' Getting Sequel". Variety. April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  56. ↑ Whitfill, Mary. "Denzel Washington to film new movie in Brant Rock".
  57. ↑ Holmes, Adam (August 2, 2018). "Will The Equalizer 3 Happen? Here's What Antoine Fuqua Says". CinemaBlend. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  58. ↑ Morales, Wilson (January 12, 2022). "Exclusive: Denzel Washington Will Start Shooting The Equalizer 3 With Antoine Fuqua In 2022". Black Film and TV. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  59. ↑ Welk, Brian (January 12, 2022). "Denzel Washington to Return for 'The Equalizer 3,' Antoine Fuqua in Talks to Direct". The Wrap. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  60. ↑ Colangelo, BJ (January 12, 2022). "The Equalizer 3 Already Has A Script, And Denzel Washington Is Returning To Star". Slash Film. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  61. ↑ Dick, Jeremy (January 12, 2022). "The Equalizer 3 Is Denzel Washington's Next Film: 'I Get to Beat People Up Again'". MovieWeb. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  62. ↑ Holmes, Adam (January 12, 2022). "Denzel Washington Has An Exciting Update On What's Happening With The Equalizer 3". CinemaBlend. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  63. ↑ Northrup, Ryan (January 12, 2022). "Denzel Washington Confirms The Equalizer 3 Starts Filming This Year". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  64. ↑ Kroll, Justin (June 15, 2022). "Dakota Fanning Reunites With 'Man On Fire' Co-Star Denzel Washington In Sony's 'Equalizer 3'". Deadline. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  65. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 20, 2022). "'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse' Heads To Summer 2023; Sony Dates 'Equalizer 3' Among Other Release Changes". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
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