New Equalizer Movie Got Mixed Reviews From Top Movie Critics
New Equalizer movie got mixed reviews from top movie critics. Columbia Pictures (Sony) released their new action film, “The Equalizer” into theaters this weekend, and all the reviews are in from the top critics. It turns out that around half of them liked it with an overall 57 score out of a possible 100 across 41 reviews at Metacritic.com. site.
The movie stars: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman, and Melissa Leo. We’ve added blurbs from a few of the critics,below.
Richard Roeper from the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a great 88 score, stating: “The Equalizer features some gruesomely creative violence, but it’s equally memorable for the small, gritty moments set in that diner, or on the rough-and-tumble streets of Boston. And most of all, it’s got Denzel going for it.”
Todd McCarthy at the Hollywood Reporter, gave it another nice 80 score, saying: ” Ramping up his style to a more dynamic and elegant level than he’s achieved previously, Fuqua socks over the suspense and action but also takes the time for some quiet, even spare moments to emphasize the hero’s calm and apartness.”
Lou Lumenick from the New York Post, gave it a 75 score. He stated: “There’s nothing hugely original about the script by Richard Wenk (who cowrote “Expendables 2” with Sylvester Stallone), but Washington is a master at putting his own inimitable and stylish spin on even the most familiar situations.”
Susan Wloszczyna at RogerEbert.com, gave it a 75 score as well, stating: “While some might decry the ludicrous showdown that unfolds in the darkened aisles of McCall’s mega-store workplace, I got a kick out of watching Washington turn everyday hardware supplies into lethal weaponry.”
Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it a 75 grade, saying: “The Equalizer is silly but irresistible, taking situations of inherent gut-level impact and exploiting them for every bit of emotion and tension. It could never have been a great movie.”
Kenneth Turan over at the Los Angeles Times, gave it a 70 grade. He stated: “A tense thriller that also has more on its mind than the familiar genre constraints it operates under.”
Peter Travers from Rolling Stone, gave it a 63 score. He said: “The material shows its age when McCall goes all “Taxi Driver” to save a teen hooker (a scrappy Chloë Grace Moretz) from her pimps. But Washington and director Antoine Fuqua, who teamed for the actor’s Oscar-winning role in 2001’s “Training Day,” keep the action humming.”
A.O. Scott from The New York Times, gave it a 60 score. He stated: “Mr. Fuqua, while not the world’s most subtle filmmaker, directs the action sequences with bluntness and clarity and effectively uses his star as an oasis of calm in a jumpy, nasty universe.”
Joe Neumaier from the New York Daily News, gave it a 60 score. He said: “The movie is tense and coiled for its first hour, then becomes routine in its second half.”
Ty Burr from the Boston Globe, gave it a 50 score, saying: “This Equalizer is a brooding, brutal origin tale, one that starts well but steadily caves into genre clichés. It’s a B-movie sheep in A-movie clothing, acceptable meathead mayhem as long as you know what you’re paying for.”
Joe Morgenstern from the Wall Street Journal, gave it a 50 score, saying: “Mr. Fuqua, who did such a fine job directing Mr. Washington and Ethan Hawke in “Training Day,” loses control of an increasingly slapdash script, and the whole movie turns into a slaughterhouse. The question isn’t who wants it — box office action is assured — but who needs it?”
Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 50 grade. He stated: “For an hour or so The Equalizer glides along and works; in the second hour, plus change, it turns into a shameless slaughter contrivance with a flabby sense of pace. I did like one line: “When you pay for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too.” Washington’s the rain; by the end, the movie is the mud.”
Scott Foundas over at Variety, gave it a 50 score. He said: “Ponderously overlong and not even half as much fun as it should have been, The Equalizer still gets a lot of mileage out of Washington’s unassailable star presence.”
Finally, Joe McGovern from Entertainment Weekly, gave it a very bad 25 grade, saying: “It’s the sign of an empty, depressing experience when the only tension is over Bob’s choice to use a power drill or a weed whacker for his next kill.” Stay tuned. Follow us on Facebook by Clicking Here. Follow us on Google Plus by Clicking Here. Follow us on Twitter by Clicking Here.
Did You Enjoy this Post? Subscribe to Hollywood Hills on Facebook, Twitter, & Email
