The Equalizer (2014)
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A retired Marine and former intelligence officer reluctantly returns to action to protect a young victim from the Russian mafia.
The story
Robert McCall, a retired Marine and former DIA/DCS officer, lives in Boston and works at a big-box home improvement store. While spending his nights at a local diner, he befriends Alina, a teenage girl being trafficked by the Russian mafia. When Alina's pimp, Slavi, forcibly takes her away, McCall is left with a business card for their escort service. After Alina is hospitalized, McCall discovers the extent of the criminal organization's reach. He begins a path of vigilante justice, confronting the men who harmed her and navigating a web of corruption involving local law enforcement and a powerful Russian syndicate.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Robert McCall, a retired Marine and former DIA/DCS officer, lives in Boston and works at a home improvement store. He befriends Alina, a teenage sex worker trafficked by the Russian mafia. After her pimp, Slavi, harms her, McCall takes matters into his own hands. He confronts Slavi's men and discovers they are part of a syndicate led by Russian oligarch Vladimir Pushkin. McCall faces off against Pushkin's enforcer, Teddy Rensen, and navigates a landscape of corrupt police. He eventually tracks down and intimidates several associates, including a former colleague who helps him identify the scope of Pushkin's operations. McCall destroys Pushkin's oil tankers and eventually confronts the enforcer, killing him to protect his coworkers. Finally, McCall travels to Moscow, where he infiltrates Pushkin's mansion and eliminates the guards before tricking the oligarch into a fatal accident. Following Alina's recovery, she begins a new life. Inspired by his actions, McCall begins responding to online ads to help others, adopting the moniker 'The Equalizer.'
- First release year
- 2014
- Runtime (minutes)
- 132
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Antoine Fuqua
- Writers
- Richard Wenk · writer
- Cast and characters
- Denzel Washington · Robert McCall; Marton Csokas; Chloë Grace Moretz; David Harbour; Bill Pullman; Melissa Leo
- Genres
- action; thriller
- Themes
- vigilante justice; protection of the innocent
- Tone and mood
- serious; tense
- Setting
- Boston and Moscow in the modern era.
- Premise and plot tags
- action; crime; vigilante
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1980s TV series of the same title
- Franchise connections
- The Equalizer
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 61% · scale: percentage · review count: 205
- Production trivia
- The score received critical acclaim for its ability to heighten tension.; The soundtrack's 'Guts Over Fear' became a significant component of the marketing campaign.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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