The Equalizer

2014
R
2h 12m

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

435K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

464

Denzel Washington in The Equalizer (2014)

A former black ops commando who faked his death for a quiet life in Boston comes out of his retirement to rescue a young girl and finds himself face to face with Russian gangsters.

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One-Person Army Action Action Crime Thriller

A man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him cannot stand idly by when he meets a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters.A man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him cannot stand idly by when he meets a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters.A man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him cannot stand idly by when he meets a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

435K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

464

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 9 nominations total

Trivia
The script originally had no back story about Robert, so Denzel Washington contributed much to the character's background and back story, including McCall having obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In addition to his daily physical and fight training before filming, Washington met and interviewed several real-life OCD sufferers in order to gain insights on how to play that disorder correctly.

Goofs
The quote shown at the start of the movie, "The two most important days of your life are the day you're born and the day you find out why." is attributed to Mark Twain whereas the source of this quote is actually unknown.

Quotes
Robert McCall: When you pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too.

Crazy credits
The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why. -- Mark Twain

Alternate versions
The UK cinema, DVD and Blu-ray versions are cut for violence to secure a 15 rating, removing or reducing the following:
The closeup of the corkscrew being pushed further into Tevi's mouth, and the final shot of his face right before it's withdrawn.
The first shot of the mercenary bleeding and choking on the barbed wire noose.
Columbia made additional cuts in two more scenes, which appear not to have been requested by the BBFC:
A closeup of Teddy beating Little John's bloodied face twice, and a shot from behind that shows him readying another punch.
The gangster being impaled through the neck was shortened at the start and end.
The six cuts total approximately 15 seconds. The UK Ultra HD Blu-ray is uncut and rated 18.

Connections
Featured in The Equalizer: A Villain's Psychosis (2014)

Soundtracks
Sixteen
Written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (as Jay Hawkins), Chris Ellul, Kelvin Swaby, Daniel Taylor (as Dan Taylor) and Spencer Page
Performed by The Heavy
Courtesy of Counter Records
By arrangement with Zync Music Group LLC

User reviews794

Review

Featured review

8/10

May the Blood Flow

Denzel Washington is just great and The Equalizer belongs like the John Wick (Keanu Reeves) and Taken (Liam Neeson) movies to the new masterclass of revenge/vigilante movies. The Equalizer is a true to the heart successor of our former (or still) heroes of long gone times like Mr. Eastwood and Mr. Bronson: the king is dead, long live the king, so to say.

The Equalizer is great stuff - if you like your action spiced up with a good shot of violence.