The Equalizer

For F*** Magazine

THE EQUALIZER

Director : Antoine Fuqua

Cast : Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, Haley Bennett, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Johnny Skortis

Genre : Crime/Thriller

Opens : 25 September 2014

Rating : M18 (Violence and Coarse Language) 

Running time: 132 mins

Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer. Robert McCall (Washington) is a former Special Forces operative who has forged a new, quiet life as an unassuming worker at the Home Mart. During his regular stops at a diner after work, he meets underage prostitute Alina, working under the name “Teri” (Moretz), and is moved by her plight to take on the Russian gangster pimps she is forced to work for. McCall’s actions attract the attention of Spetsnaz-trained Russian Mafia enforcer Nicolai, who goes by “Teddy”. Teddy’s innocuous nickname belies his cold, psychopathic nature. Teddy and his men begin relentlessly pursuing McCall, but little do they know that they’re dealing with a bona fide one man army. 

            The Equalizer is based on the 80s TV show starring Edward Woodward and re-teams Denzel Washington with his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. One thing is abundantly clear after watching The Equalizer: Fuqua knows how to make Washington look very cool. Washington’s Robert McCall is a stone-cold badass, collected, unflappable and supremely deadly. This is a guy who sets a stopwatch to time his fights to make sure he’s still got it. The graphically violent efficiency with which he dispatches his opponents stands in contrast with how nurturing a mentor figure he is to his co-workers at the Home Mart. A subplot has him helping the overweight Ralphie (Skortis) get into shape so he can pass the security guard test. This is the same guy who streamlines the Russian Mafia’s payroll with the help of guns, hedge trimmers, barb wire, nail guns, canisters of oxygen in the microwave and of course his own bare hands. All that’s missing from scenes in which Washington performs that “cool guys don’t look at explosions” strut is a choir in the background singing “he’s a badass! He’s a badass!” to the tune of “Gonna Fly Now”.

            Here’s the problem – as assuredly-directed as it all is, one can’t help but feel that The Equalizer’s protagonist is a nigh-invincible superhuman who is never really in any palpable danger from the film’s villains. He’s cool, sure, but he’s far from a unique, memorable action hero. There are no depths for Washington to plumb here, even given how the character is supposed to come off as sage-like in addition to tough. What helps mitigate this somewhat is Marton Csokas’ turn as the villain. The bad guys in this movie are old-school – evil and uncomplicated. Csokas is a charismatic, commanding presence without going overboard with the scenery chewing or affecting too-ridiculous an accent. A scene in which Teddy confronts another prostitute about Teri’s whereabouts is chillingly played. Chloë Moretz isn’t in this as much as the trailers would lead one to believe but her portrayal of shattered innocence and world-weariness is pretty moving, recalling Jodie Foster’s turn in Taxi Driver.

            The Equalizer is stylish and atmospheric, reminding this reviewer of Jack Reacher. Before he strikes, McCall sizes up and analyses each of his opponents, shown in the form of a dramatic Sherlock Holmes-style breakdown. There is very little in the way of shaky-cam and hyper-kinetic editing, allowing the mood and suspense to sink it. The action does get rather grisly, so if you’re squeamish about sharp implements, be forewarned. The Equalizer looks polished but it isn’t sophisticated, and this won’t lead to a Best Actor Oscar for Washington like his earlier collaboration with Fuqua did. But we get Denzel Washington going all lone-wolf guardian avenger in a slightly different mode from in Man on Fire, and we can’t complain about that.

Summary: It’s formulaic, but with action sequences that are equal parts slick and visceral and a cooler-than-cool lead performance from Denzel Washington, The Equalizer offers up a decent amount of genre thrills.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong

2 Guns

For F*** Magazine

2 GUNS

Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Cast: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, James Marsden, Fred Ward, Edward James Olmos
Genre: Action
Run Time: 109 mins

Everybody loves a buddy cop movie. We get a kick out of seeing two different people flung into a sticky situation, typically involving blazing firearms, working out their differences to arrive at an uneasy partnership. Sometimes they’re serious, like with Training Day or Se7en. Oftentimes they’re more lighthearted, like with the Bad Boys, Rush Hour and Men in Black films. The late film critic Roger Ebert dubbed this type of film “wunza movies”, a play on the phrase “one’s a…” that might be present in the trailer voiceover. 2 Guns is the latest entry in this subgenre, based on a graphic novel by Steven Grant.

One’s an undercover DEA agent (Denzel Washington’s Bobby) and one’s an undercover Naval Intelligence Officer (Mark Wahlberg’s Stig). Both are posing as criminals, dealing with infamous drug lord Papi Greco (Olmos). The catch is neither is initially aware that the other is actually also one of the good guys. As is often the case in films of this variety, Bobby and Stig find themselves in way over their respective heads, with no choice but to trust each other as they get embroiled in an increasingly messy web of triple-crosses and dirty deals. Their foes and allies, including Bobby’s DEA colleague and sometime-lover Deb (Patton), Stig’s commanding Officer Quince (Marsden) and the sinister, shady operative Earl (Paxton) all have their part to play in what initially seems like a straightforward drug money heist but ends up as a whole lot more.



The first reaction one might have upon hearing the summary “a buddy cop movie starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg” is “wow, that sounds like it’ll work”. The pairing of its leads is indeed the best thing 2 Guns has going for it. Washington has plenty of experience playing a cop/agent and is still a sexy stone-cold fox at 58. Mark Wahlberg, whose last brush with the buddy cop subgenre was taking the mickey out of it in the raucous The Other Guys, is pretty funny here too. It seems his true calling is comedy rather than action; he’s probably happy to get the best of both worlds with this film.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot to recommend past the Double W double act. 2 Guns feels a lot like something Shane Black might have written and possibly directed, except that it might have been lighter on its feet had that been the case. The film suffers from noticeable pacing issues, never quite getting into a proper rhythm and feeling longer than its 109 minutes. The plot does get pretty hard to follow, which isn’t something you want in your fun, late-summer action flick. 2 Guns reunites Wahlberg with his Contraband director Baltasar Kormákur, the resulting film somewhat reminiscent of The Losers, which was set in similarly dusty locales.



Bobby and Stig go up against three main antagonists: James Marsden’s Commander Quince, Bill Paxton’s Earl and Edward James Olmos’ Papi Greco. All three clearly enjoy chewing their share of the scenery and it is fun to see the clean-cut Marsden play against type as someone who clearly isn’t the “nice guy” he’s often cast as. Of the three, Paxton manages to be the most genuinely menacing as the government-linked agent with a southern drawl and a penchant for dealing out torture. Edward James Olmos’ Papi Greco is pretty much the stereotypical Mexican drug lord – oh, he uses a jumpy, angry bull as an interrogation implement. That’s pretty mean. Paula Patton is decent as the requisite girl and provider of eye candy, though we certainly would’ve preferred seeing her in the thick of the action in a role more like the one she played in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

It seems the film would have benefitted from more of a focus. The crisscrossing plot threads don’t make the film complex, they make it unnecessarily confusing. This isn’t an action flick with an explosion going off every other minute, but the central set piece involving Bobby and Stig charging into the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station is executed pretty well, as is the finale set on a cattle ranch, which makes use of an ill-fated helicopter. Studios have generally shied away from the R-rated actioners that were all the rage in the 80s and 90s in favour of teen-friendly stuff, and in the end 2 Guns is as adequate a source as any if you need that fix.

SUMMARY: It’s not paced very well and suffers from a case of “plot pretzel”, but 2 Guns scores a casting coup in teaming up Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.

RATING: 3 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong

Flight

For F*** Magazine

FLIGHT

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Run Time: 138 mins
Opens: 21 February 2013
Rating: M18 - Nudity And Drug Use

There was a time when flying was considered glamourous and exciting, the kind of thing Frank Sinatra songs were made of. “A brand new way to travel”, as it were. Today, getting on a plane is very much a part of regular life for many; sometimes inconvenient, sometimes frightening. Much of the awe of air travel has gradually eroded away, and these days, it seems like more of a necessity than a luxury. Still, it’s sobering to realise that every time we get on a plane, we put our lives in the hands of its pilots.

Denzel Washington plays one such pilot, named William “Whip” Whitaker. Unfortunately, “sober” is not quite in his dictionary, and after a night of alcohol, cocaine and sex, he takes the controls of a SouthJet airliner bound from Orlando to Atlanta. All of a sudden, the plane goes into a steep dive, and Whip is able to perform a risky manoeuver: rolling the plane upside down so it levels off, and turning it right side up again for a crash landing in a field, saving most of the souls on board.



In the hospital, Whip is greeted by his old friend Charlie (Greenwood), a pilot’s union representative. He also meets Nicole (Reilly), a desperate drug and alcohol addict who had just passed out from an overdose. Whip tries to avoid the media attention he has gained since landing the plane, and is informed by Charlie and attorney Hugh Lang (Cheadle) that he could face prison time based on a toxicology report that reveals he was intoxicated during the flight. Whip begins to spiral back into his old ways as those around him try to get him to pull himself back together in time for a National Transit Safety Board hearing.

Flight’s premise is intriguing in that a film would typically wrap up with its hero saving the day, but here, that’s just the jumping-off point and we get to examine what happens to said “hero” after the day is saved. The film also marks director Robert Zemeckis’ return to the land of the living, after a good ten years spent making dead-eyed CGI motion capture animation films. Zemeckis is well-remembered for such popular classics as the Back to the Future films, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Forrest Gump, so it’s good to see him back working in live action where he belongs.



Flight begins with a plane crash scene that is even more harrowing than the one Zemeckis put onscreen in Cast Away. This is the movie’s major set piece, and it’s brilliantly shot, imbued with an unsettling sense of familiarity in addition to danger and urgency. As the plane violently flips over and passengers tumble about in the cabin, you might just want to hang on to your armrests. You probably won’t see this as an in-flight movie soon, is all we’re saying.

However, Flight is not a disaster movie. It’s not an action movie, it’s not even a mystery thriller. It’s a good old-fashioned character study, a small, intimate film in a bigger movie’s clothes (or pilot uniform) – though those clothes happen to fit it quite well. Everything hinges on Denzel Washington as Whip Whitaker, a character whose name is probably inspired by Sully Sullenberger, a pilot who successfully landed an airliner on the Hudson River. It’s safe to assume that that is the extent of the inspiration, as Whip is a hard-drinking, somewhat arrogant rogue, though Washington’s magnetism ensures we never look away and are always rooting for him. This turns out to be a compelling portrait of someone dealing with addiction, and the impact substance abuse can have on someone and those around him. The film is never too heavy-handed in its approach and doesn’t come off as a public service announcement. Washington too never overplays the part, and the result is well deserving of the Best Actor Oscar nomination he’s gained.



Washington is assisted by a fine supporting cast. Nicole appears to be in a much worse place in her life than Whip is, on the verge of being evicted from her apartment and implied to be prostituting herself to sustain her drug habit. Kelly Reilly subtly conveys the fragility of the character without turning her into a “damsel in distress”, and we become invested in her relationship with Whip. Bruce Greenwood is always dependable as the kind authority figure, and Don Cheadle is also good as the hardworking attorney, so we end up pulling for the two to get Whip straightened out. John Goodman very nearly steals the show as Whip’s easy-going drug dealer, a role that this reviewer is almost certain was written for Jeff Bridges.

The movie’s ending does stretch credibility and several pilots have decried the film, saying someone in Whip’s condition would be in no state to fly a plane, but that doesn’t seriously hurt the end product. The outcome is an intelligent, involving drama lifted by a well-written screenplay (earning writer John Gatins an Oscar nomination) and a brilliant turn by Denzel Washington.

SUMMARY: A mesmerising performance by Denzel Washington and a solid return to live-action movies for Robert Zemeckis make for a first-class flight.

RATING: 4 out of 5 STARS

Jedd Jong

Unstoppable

UNSTOPPABLE

2010

Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson

Directed by: Tony Scott

20^th Century Fox

           

The first image that comes onscreen is that of white text on a black background: “INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS”. In 2001, train CSX #8888 left Walbridge, Ohio’s Stanley Yard and embarked on a 66-mile journey through northwest Ohio – with nobody at the controls. Unstoppable takes the incredible premise, runs with it, and indeed doesn’t stop.

            Rookie train conductor Will Colson (Pine) punches in on his first day at work, and immediately earns the ire of the older workers who fear that they will be displaced by Colson and those like him. As such, veteran engineer Frank Barnes (Washington), Colson’s new partner, appears not to take too well to him. Barnes is affable but perhaps a bit salty, and the two men struggle a little to work as a team.

            In the meantime, two hostlers at Fuller Yard hastily attempt to move a train out of the way to make way for an excursion train filled with schoolchildren. In their hurry, they do not connect the air brakes and the train leaves the yard for the main line unmanned. Train yardmaster Connie Hooper (Dawson) sends the hostlers after the train to stop it.

            However, the runaway train begins to go under power, and hurtles full speed ahead. This, combined with its potentially hazardous cargo of molten phenol, threaten to wreak havoc if the train reaches the more populated towns that lie right ahead of the farmlands along the line.

            Connie’s boss, Vice-President of the AWVR railway line Oscar Galvin (Kevin Dunn)  seems more concerned about the potential financial losses that could be incurred for the company, and authorizes a poorly-planned attempt to stop #777 with a lashup of two locomotives travelling ahead, while another employee attempts to board the train and enter the train cockpit, descending from a helicopter.

            The attempt goes awry, and the train continues on unfazed. Barnes realises that he and Colson could have a chance-the only chance left-at stopping the train, and hatches an ambitious and dangerous plan. The rookie and the veteran have to pool their collective wits and skill in order to stop the hurtling steel beast-while Connie and their loved ones look on in anguish as the story is covered on the news.

            Chasing after a runaway train for two hours may not seem like the best way to spend a night at the cineplex, and it probably isn’t. Unstoppable could be best described as a prolonged Discovery Channel documentary-style re-enactment, except with a much bigger budget and A-list stars. The film feels real and gritty, with the film tinted a slight greyish hue and the camera giving us a look at the uncompromisingly unglamorous Pennsylvania suburbs and industrial districts.

            While there are no big surprises to be had, a sizeable part of the movie’s appeal is how relatable the characters feel, even when flung into slightly larger-than-life scenarios. It’s a film where the heroes are blue-collar workers, not Hollywood movie stars. And it is certainly better than Tony Scott’s previous train-related film starring Denzel Washington, the mediocre remake The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

            Here, instead of being a dispatcher stuck in an office, Washington, along with Chris Pine, is at the controls. Denzel Washington has perhaps moved a little past his action hero days, and as an ordinary man who has been driving trains for 28 years, he is quite believable. It’s harder for Pine to shake off his screen idol looks though, but he tries his best. Both have good chemistry and forge a credible mentor-rookie relationship that is neither overly hostile nor buddy-buddy.

            Rosario Dawson is very good as the yardmaster with a potential disaster on her hands. She makes for an excellent career woman under pressure, remaining level-headed, responsible and in charge in the face of a life-or-death situation. Even though her character is stuck in the confines of the dispatch room, she makes do. Kevin Dunn is also alright as the stock corporate greaseball type who watches from his swanky office in suit and tie as the drama unfolds, and doesn’t seem to help.

            The film also contains aspects of a good old-fashioned action thriller: the intensity feels heightened yet real and the action set-pieces are staged with fine pacing and carry much weight. When the #777 bashes through the obstacles in its path, you can truly feel the heft of that machine barrelling towards the screen.

            I like seeing helicopters in action onscreen, and there are several here, including news helicopters. News footage is spliced in as the events unfold, so not only do we get a riveting first-hand view of the drama, we also see it as someone watching on TV at home might. This is surprisingly effective.

            The screenplay is also relatively tight. Nobody says more than they might in real life, and there are few superfluous lines of dialogue, as well as an appropriate smattering of brief humour. From a technical aspect, I readily bought into the film’s portrayal of the workings of locomotive transport, and at the same time, there isn’t so much techno-babble as to lose the audience entirely.

            Unstoppable succeeds mainly because it stays grounded, wheels-to-the-tracks, and puts across an exciting yet credible adventure, with a good sprinkling of emotion. That, supplemented by the judicious use of explosions.

RATING: 3.5/5 STARS

Jedd Jong Yue