Denzel Washington and Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Olympus Has Fallen) are grizzled action veterans. They've repeatedly hit box office gold with the tried and true revenge theme. In that sense, their latest collaboration - The Equalizer, breaks zero ground. It's an ultra-violent, highly stylized film filled with bloody retribution. That is what I expected, and for pure action movie fans, it delivers in spades. The unexpected component, and deeply rewarding aspect of The Equalizer is the character study. Fuqua spends a significant amount of screen time delving into the psyche and character of a truly admirable protagonist. In a world where the downtrodden have nowhere to go, The Equalizer is the knight, the selfless, heroic figure that rights wrongs and brings hope to the despair.

Washington stars as the quiet and incredibly fastidious Robert McCall. He lives a clockwork driven existence, from his meticulous apartment, to his lumber job at the Home Mart, to his late nights sipping tea at a Norman Rockwell inspired diner. The people around him gravitate to his positive, unfaltering persona. He inspires the overweight Ralphie (Johnny Skourtis) to get in shape and apply for a promotion to security guard. He listens to Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), the teenage call girl who eats pie at the diner, as she dreams about being a singer. These people are the oppressed, the society castaways, who are used, abused, and forgotten. But not this time. The Russian gangsters who control Teri beat her to within an inch of her life. Corrupt cops shakedown Ralphie's family and force him to quit his job. You don't mess with the friends of Robert McCall. He'll give you one chance to do the right thing, before unleashing a wrath that makes hell look like an understatement.

Washington, as always, is fantastic here. He plays McCall as a patriarchal figure, someone that is trustworthy and kind. The film explores the intricacies of McCall's life, his routine, his work environment, his interactions with friends and colleagues. I particularly liked the scenes where he's playing softball with his coworkers, and talking with Ralphie. McCall is a trained killer, spectacularly lethal, but he's not a sociopath. McCall doesn't have a negative, brooding personality. His actions are a means to an end. His concern is singularly the well being of the people he cares about.

The Equalizer moves at a deliberate pace. The action scenes are entertaining, well shot by Fuqua. My primary issue with the film is the villain. Martin Csokas, who's made a career of playing the generic, Euro trash bad guy, is totally cheesy. He's the snarling, tattooed Russian goon sent to track down McCall. There isn't a second where the audience believes he's any real threat. I wish Fuqua would have toned down his antics, especially his over the top facial expressions. He looks like a cartoon when compared to the levelheaded performance by Washington.

The Equalizer will be like chum in the water for action fans. Fuqua and Washington aren't reinventing the wheel or dialing in a generic effort. The Equalizer is a serious action film led by Hollywood's best leading actor. It should resonate well with audiences. The violence is extremely graphic, but surprisingly not firearm based. This is a spoiler free review, but The Equalizer gets very creative in dispatching the bad guys. The Equalizer is loosely based on the classic 80's TV show starring Edward Woodward.