# "The Equalizer" movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569 "2014-09-25T22:26:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/1 "2014-09-25T22:26:31Z")
Does the movie have any connection to the old TV show? Not that I watched it, but I vaguely remember it. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/2 "2014-09-25T22:31:42Z")
Funny. Just now I told my husband the commercial jiggered something in my memory. A tall, graying, older white guy in a black overcoat calmly smashing a glass in someone’s face. Hubby, who is all about the action genre said, “Yeah. Edward Woodward!” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/3 "2014-09-25T23:38:17Z")
It’s both a well-worn concept and a great one for a feature film/series reboot. On the one hand, the white knight who rides into town and fights for the downtrodden is, well, Shane. OTOH, Woodward’s portrayal of the gentleman ass-kicker was one of the more interesting performances of the era. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/4 "2014-09-26T00:47:14Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It’s both a well-worn concept and a great one for a feature film/series reboot. On the one hand, the white knight who rides into town and fights for the downtrodden is, well, Shane. > > OTOH, Woodward’s portrayal of the gentleman ass-kicker was one of the more interesting performances of the era. Not to mention the excellent music by Stewart Copeland. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/5 "2014-09-26T00:57:38Z")
My fear is that it will have as much in common with the TV show as Denzel’s remake of _The Manchurian Candidate_ had in common with the original. That is, nothing, and be insultingly stupid as well. How many “ex-spies who help the downtrodden for free (or nearly so)” are there? The EQ, Stingray, Burn Notice. I think Stingray did it for the same reason as McCall - to ease their guilty consciences. Sort of like Elliot Spencer in Leverage. What others are there? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/6 "2014-09-26T01:01:00Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Edward Woodward! Sounds like a fart in a bathtub. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/7 "2014-09-26T01:47:35Z")
From what I heard, Denzel Washington kills more people in the movie than Woodward did in the show’s 4 years combined. Which is everything I need to know about how it bears no resemblance to the show other than the main character’s name. Pass. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/8 "2014-09-26T04:59:47Z")
Went and saw it tonight. Good performances, but after 15 minutes of a boring opening, non-stop violence that bordered on the cartoonish. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/9 "2014-09-26T15:49:50Z")
Woodward’s character more often used psychology against the villians of the week, tho he wasn’t hesitant about shooting them if necessary. It was always fun to see them fall into his traps. If that kind of subtlety has been ditched over the side, yeah, forget it. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/10 "2014-09-26T16:05:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > What others are there? The A-Team (sorta) Human Target (the greatest television show of all time) ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/11 "2014-09-28T14:48:31Z")
Well, it’s kicking ass at the box office. We contributed last night. Entertaining but as The Second Stone said, cartoonish. The ending had a “oh there will be a sequel, no?” ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/12 "2014-09-29T01:05:15Z")
Starts slow. Has too many endings. Overall a good film, though. I watched _ **The Equalizer** _ religiously when it was on CBS. While it started off well and it had a host of great character actors in it, by the fourth season it had become a caricature of its former self. Anybody looking for the film to resemble the television series will be disappointed. What this will ultimately become is a franchise for Denzel now that Marky Mark has backed of a _ **Two Guns** _ sequel. Everybody needs a franchise. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-equalizer-movie/699569/13 "2014-09-29T01:12:10Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > Well, it’s kicking ass at the box office. We contributed last night. Entertaining but as The Second Stone said, cartoonish. The ending had a “oh there will be a sequel, no?” The Sequelizer.