Few actors in Hollywood are as respected and admired asDenzel Washington. After getting his start in acting back in the late 1970s and having his first breakout role in the medical dramaSt. Elsewhere, in which he played Dr. Phillip Chandler on all six seasons, Washington has played a number of iconic characters in a variety acclaimed movies. Some of his most memorable early movies includeGlory(1989),Malcolm X(1992),The Hurricane(1999), and, of course,Training Day(2001). In fact, he has been nominated for 10 Oscars so far, winning two, forGloryandTraining Day.
Starting in the mid-2000s, a career shift occurred andWashington became something of an action staralongside his continued work in more dramatic productions such as 2002’sAntwone Fisher, 2007’sThe Great Debaters, and 2012’sFlight.This new phase of Washington’s career could largely be considered to start withMan on Firein 2004. A handful of years later, Washington appeared inThe Book of Eli(2010), followed bySafe House(2012), and2 Guns(2013). It was in 2014, however, that Washington cemented his action hero status, starring in an action flick that started a successful franchise.
The Equalizer Scores A Mixed Grade For Its Accuracy
Denzel Washington’s Fight Scene Goes Too Far
A Russian mafia expert docks realism points fromThe Equalizerfor its handling of certain criminal elements, but it’s not all inaccurate. Released in 2014 and directed by Antoine Fuqua, the first installment in the successfulEqualizertrilogyseesWashington taking on the role of Robert McCall, a former government assassinwho takes on the Russian mafia after befriending Chloë Grace Moretz’s Teri, a sex worker. The action in the movie doesn’t kick off until McCall attempts to buy Teri’s freedom, with a fight scene ensuing after gangsters refuse his offer of $9,800.
In addition to Washington and Moretz,The EqualizerstarsLord of the Rings' Marton Csokas,Stranger Things' David Harbour,Independence Day’s Bill Pullman, andThe FighterOscar winner Melissa Leo.
In a recent video forInsider, former CIA officer and Russian mafia investigator Joe Serio analyzes Washington’s attempt to purchase Teri’s freedom and the ensuing fight scene. According to the expert,the gangster’s refusal of the offer is realistic because Teri is far more valuable to them than $9,800. The fight scene that follows, however, is “ridiculous,” despite being a lot of fun. Check out Serio’s analysis and score forThe Equalizerout of 10 below:
In this scene, Denzel’s character is coming into the hangout of this crew at this strip club to purchase a sex worker, someone he’s befriended, to get her out of the game. The Russian mafia makes countless… they make more than a billion dollars off of human trafficking, and to come in and offer $9,800 for one woman, they’re going to make more money than that off of her in the history of her working. And number two, he can’t let her go because of power and influence and that game.
I love movies like this. I love The Equalizer, shoot-em-up, kill-em-up, whatever kind of movies. So the fight scene is totally ridiculous, but he’s Denzel Washington and he’s The Equalizer so that’s what he’s gotta do. This scene is mostly unrealistic. It has a couple moments that’s pretty typical of Russian mafia.I’ll give it about a five[out of 10].
Our Take On The Equalizer’s Lackluster Realism Score
The Action Franchise Doesn’t Need To Be Realistic
Made on an estimated budget of $55 million,The Equalizerwent on to gross $192 million worldwide, making it an undeniable success. The movie also fared generally well with critics, and sports a 61% score onRotten Tomatoes. The action flick fared even better with audiences at 77%. The film’s critical and commercial success would suggest that movie-goers aren’t going totheEqualizerfranchisefor realism,but rather to see Washington take down criminals in brutal fashion.
[Robert McCall eventually] becomes even more superhuman…
McCall’s ability to kill large numbers of criminals all in a timely manner is one of the staples of the franchise. In the 2018 sequel andThe Equalizer 3in 2023, he becomes even more superhuman, dishing out a great deal of punishment and often absorbing very little in return. The franchise may be silly and unrealistic, butDenzel Washingtonremains one of Hollywood’s most charismatic movie stars, and it’s satisfying to watch him make the world a better place, one violent kill at a time.
The scene being broken down by Joe Serio is iconic, butthere are many similarly memorable moments throughout the three movies. To explore the franchise even further, readScreenRant’s breakdown ofDenzel Washington’s bestEqualizerscenes.
The scene in questionshowcases the violent intensity of Washington’s iconic action hero. Here, read a full breakdown of exactlyhow many people Robert McCall killsthroughout the entireEqualizertrilogy.
In November 2024, Denzel Washington has announced thathe will be reprising the role of Robert McCall in two more moviesin the franchise. Read everything we already know about theupcomingEqualizer 4here.
Becausethe movies typically have yearslong hiatuses between them, the details of the ongoing storyline may not be the most fresh for many viewers. To prepare for the new movie, readers can also check outScreenRant’sEqualizer 3ending explainer.
While its storyline is unrelated to the movie franchise (and it is in fact a reboot of the same 1985 television series as the movies),there is anEqualizerTV show starring Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall. Read show casthere ahead of season 5, which was officially renewed by CBS on October 20.
