**1/2 (out of four)
Let's see how many past Denzel Washington titles can be sensibly incorporated into a description of "The Equalizer," a serious movie about an ex-agent/killer/whatever who's comically good at his old job. Robert McCall (Washington) is unstoppable. Once he gets started, he is a man on fire, and bad guys will experience a crimson tide. His repetitive killings inspire a sense of déjà vu, and his un-policed actions turn him into a vigilante American gangster. His war on Russian goons isn't a rainstorm; Robert is the hurricane, and these guys are out of time.
OK, some of those were a stretch. But "The Equalizer" could use a little lightness to underline the utter absurdity of the invincibility of its main character, a widower who works at Home Depot-esque Home Mart but eventually gets back to his old ways. This begins as Robert defending the inevitable hooker with a heart of gold (Chloe Grace Moretz) but continues until this one-man wrecking crew can eliminate an entire army of baddies without raising his voice.
Based on a mid-'80s TV series and directed by Washington's "Training Day" helmer Antoine Fuqua ("Olympus Has Fallen"), "The Equalizer" is actually better than it deserves to be. It has mood and moxie. Though Robert's really never in trouble-you best believe he's going to get good use out of many of the tools at his workplace-the movie has a fair amount of suspense, with Fuqua allowing death to linger in the shadows.
So what if there's irritating slo-mo and a disappointing ending, followed by another ending and then another ending? So what if "The Equalizer" is too long and seems to have been shot on some of the same Boston streets as "Mystic River"? Washington gives Robert, a corruption- and pimp-fighting Robin Hood, kindness and intelligence, and Marton Csokas brings unexpected personality to main foe Teddy. Who he is is complicated, Teddy says of himself, but what he is is simple. That's good writing, delivered with enough promised danger to put a chill down your spine.
Watch Matt review the week's big new movies Fridays at 11:30 a.m. on NBC.
mpais@tribune.com
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