I have to premise this with the fact that I love Denzel Washington. I don’t love every single movie he makes, but I do think that he possesses what actors such as Morgan Freeman or Sir Ian McKellen have: gravitas.
The trailer made me very excited to see what this movie would deliver. Would it be the Denzel of Training Day or Philadelphia? Man on Fire, or Flight? It turns out it’s a mixture of many of them. It’s not a unique Denzel character by any means, but that doesn’t mean it’s not very good.
I liked this movie.
I heard it said once that all the best actors portray their emotions best, not when gurning or forcing water to leak from their face, but with their eyes. Think Al Pacino in The Godfather when he’s waiting to shoot the guy in the Italian restaurant. He doesn’t say much. He doesn’t scowl mercilessly so his eyebrows cover his cheeks. He just stares. I think more is said in that slow close-up on his eyes than in many other movies in their entirety. Anyway, I digress, but Denzel sure can convey his character’s sensibilities through his eyes with aplomb.
I enjoyed the way the movie balanced the horrific things Robert McCall (Washington) was willing to do, but also enabled you to like him, to root for him to give the bad guys what they deserved. To bastardise Christopher Nolan’s Bat-dialogue, he was the hero those around him needed, and most certainly the one they deserved. The script was inventive in the way he dispatched a scarily impressive number of goons; the shot glass was a particular favourite of mine.
One criticism I do have is the almost God-like intelligence and ability to be one or five steps ahead of everyone, cutting swathes through syndicated crime like a one man army. It’s Denzel so a little bit of my realism can easily be suspended, but I did find myself saying towards the end, “Really? Is he really THAT amazing?” The violent outbursts did allow director Antoine Fuqua to make use of hyper slow-mo to convey McCall’s summation of the situation, before he proceeded to rain pain upon those present. The whole time McCall’s mysterious back story gives the character a tensely dark edge: if that’s what he just did, what, precisely, is he capable of doing next?
Something must be said too for the performance of Chloe Grace Moretz. She has a scarily impressive résumé already, and her portrayal of an underage girl forced to work as a prostitute by a group of vicious Russian mobsters, gives purpose and reason to McCall’s un-retirement. It was reminiscent of (but perhaps not quite as layered) Natalie Portman in Leon. She certainly has a long career ahead of her. Let’s hope the limelight doesn’t push her off course, or dim her star, like it has so many other child actors. There’s too much potential there to waste.
All in all, the run time is a little long, and McCall does come across as a bit of a Superman, but that doesn’t matter. Denzel can pretty much do anything he wants these days and he makes it look good. This is well worth the money in the cinema, so I suggest you go. Post-haste!
The verdict: 8/10
See this if… Enjoy seeing someone blowing things up whilst walking away as if nothing has happened? If you liked Man on Fire or Training Day (although not in the same league as the latter) then this is right up your street. Or if you just love Denzel.
Give it a miss if… You’re a RomCom addict or you don’t like much violence, i.e. someone getting stabbed through the chin, or shot with a nail gun.
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