He doesn’t raise his voice, he raises the stakes. On Netflix this evening, meet the action film that turns patience into a weapon.
In Boston, a former secret agent steps out of obscurity to shield Teri from violent Russian gangsters, and the city feels it. Denzel Washington turns strategy into spectacle under Antoine Fuqua, trading flashy gunplay for methodical moves shaped with stunt coordinator Keith Woulard and the footwork of Sugar Ray Leonard. The result is lean, brutal, and gripping, with Chloë Grace Moretz a potent spark. Rooted in the 1985 CBS series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim and now on Netflix, this is Robert McCall’s most indelible reckoning.
Denzel Washington shines in The Equalizer
If you’re queuing up Netflix tonight, consider a lean, tightly wound thrill ride with a conscience: The Equalizer. Antoine Fuqua’s film is more than swagger; it’s a study in restraint anchored by Denzel Washington’s calm, surgical menace. He inhabits Robert McCall, a retired operative turned nocturnal avenger. Released on October 1, 2014, alongside Chloë Grace Moretz and Marton Csokas, it paints Boston in brooding, steel-blue hues.
The plot: justice with precision
McCall wants quiet after years of dangerous government work. That vanishes when he crosses paths with Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young woman trapped by brutal Russian gangsters. What happens when a small act of kindness collides with organized cruelty? McCall answers with methodical resolve, dismantling a criminal network step by step, timing every move like a human metronome of retribution.
A unique style of action
Unlike the balletic gunplay of John Wick or the globe-hopping rush of Jason Bourne, this film thrives on brain-over-bullets. McCall favors improvised tools and tight spaces over firepower, turning environments into traps. Stunt coordinator Keith Woulard, drawing on Special Forces experience, and Fuqua shaped fights inspired by Sugar Ray Leonard’s boxing craft. The result is crisp, tactical violence—precise, patient, and devastating.
A classic reimagined for the big screen
Fuqua’s feature nods to the 1985 TV series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim (on CBS) without being bound by nostalgia. Edward Woodward’s original McCall looms as a spirit of discreet justice, yet Denzel Washington brings a new gravity—quieter, colder, and unmistakably cinematic. Sloan and Lindheim’s involvement behind the scenes ensured tasteful echoes for long-time fans.
Impact and legacy
The film has endured because it pairs thunderous set pieces with a moral throughline. Justice here isn’t spectacle; it’s a code. Fuqua, already proven in character-driven intensity with Washington on Training Day (2001), frames McCall as a man measuring the cost of every choice. That blend—character first, combat second—helped cement The Equalizer among the most resonant action entries of the past 15 years.