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movie review - Equalizer

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This is a story of retribution via a stranger who comes to town and decides to put things right with his fists. You know, like the mid-'80s Code of Vengeance or whatever came out when you were fourteen. Wait, that was a rip-off of a show called "Equalizer"? Never heard of it.

The story starts with our man long since retired from some unspecified life of action. He works in a hardware store and by night frequents a diner. There, over the course of some nights he befriends a young sex worker who one night abruptly stops coming to the diner. He checks in on her, discovers what's happened, and who's done it. And then he begins to dismantle their organization one thug at a time.

The movie strikes a good tone, not too tough, not to heroic, just a grind. The hero is unrealistically lucky, but then his antagonists are unrealistically Always Evil mooks. But I think we know that going into a movie like this. I'm happy to say that the writing is consistently good in that all the relationships in the movie feel authentic, and the dialog is engaging and avoids cliche and cringe.

I've liked work of this combo of director and star in the past, and though this is quite a different movie from "Training Day" I think it's worth a viewing. Recommended.