First Look At Denzel Washington As Spy Turned Vigilante In THE EQUALIZER


the-equalizer

Production has begun on the action flick The Equalizer which stars Denzel Washington and re-teams the actor with his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, the film that earned Denzel a Best Actor Oscar. While it’s unlikely this film will earn him another Oscar nomination it should be noted that Fuqua knows how to shoot an action flick, last year’s Olympus Has Fallen was balls-out entertaining (minus sketchy CGI) and it’s success has spawned a sequel London Has Fallen, giving Gerard Butler a boost in his currently sluggish action career. RopesOfSilicon has the first image of Mr. Washington in character and he already looks like he’s been through the ringer.

DENZEL-WASHINGTON_THE-EQUALIZER

The project is based on an 1980’s series which focuses on a former government agent who becomes a detective-vigilante to those in need of his services. Originally the role of Robert McCall went out to Russell Crowe who turned it down and earned Washington a hefty $20 million payday as the next actor inline for the part. The directors have also moved around since was first announced, directors in the mix included Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives), Pierre Morel (Taken, From Paris With Love), Gareth Evans (The Raid), Rupert Wyatt (Rise of The Planet of The Apes) and Gavin O’Connor (Warrior), Refn would eventually land on top but would exit soon after and lead to the hiring of Antoine Fuqua.

I’m a bit hesitant to fully support this one, because over the years I’ve been let down by most of Washington’s action projects for every Safe House we would get two movies on the quality level of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, seeing Denzel bringing back the energy he brought to films like Man on Fire would be key for this one’s success. I have zero questions about Fuqua’s abilities to deliver a fun action film and expect some over-the-top action sequences. The assumption is that Sony wants The Equalizer as a launch installment to begin a new action franchise, Denzel has been previously linked for rumored franchise roles in Fast And Furious 7 (went to Kurt Russell?) and Batman Vs Superman (Lex Luthor?).

SOURCE: RopesOfSilicon