The Equalizer 4K Blu-ray Review

Summary: McCall (Denzel Washington) has put his mysterious past behind him and is dedicated to living a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

The Equalizer Movie Review

The Equalizer follows a plot and theme that’s become a staple recently. A mix of films like Taken and John Wick, you have a central character who is leading a seemingly normal life, but has a background that makes them a lethal assassin lying in wait. You have a personal loss that leads them to have given up this past life, but then comes back to drive them. There’s the Russian Mob as the bad guy, since they’re a very convenient bad guy now, and some sort of sex trafficking going on. You can probably feed lots of these films into an AI at this point and get out a new one, ready to go and be made.

The Equalizer is another pure revenge fantasy, where a single person is able to help redeem someone against incredible odds. As it plays out, it’s an OK film and one that you’re likely to enjoy if you like the genre as I often do, but it doesn’t break new ground. The segments of him taking in the scene feel too showy, and I never felt like I understood what happened in his background all that well to get him here. The main villain also seemed like a horrible person, but in the end, they just were much less effective than I thought they would be. In the end, he also goes back to his normal life, despite everyone having seen what he just did. I’d assume he’d have to move and try to stay underground or take a new identity, but it is as if nothing has happened at all.

The Equalizer is an OK film in the end and certainly kept me entertained. If you like Taken and John Wick, you probably will enjoy the time you spend with this as well.

The Equalizer Technical Review

The Equalizer was shot at 2.8K resolution on ARRI cameras and finished with a 2K DI and is presented in HDR10. Aside from the lack of a 4K DI for that extra resolution, the image here is absolutely fantastic. I’ve been a fan of ARRI cameras for ages because of the contrast ratios they provide, and here they can truly show off. There is loads of dark, shadowy details but also bright headlights that shine up against them. A few sunrises, which look to be CG including lens flare, light up the screen and there is a pair of explosions that manage to completely overwhelm even the Z9D with HDR highlights. Colors are strong, with some yellows and greens standing out during different scenes. Despite only being a 2K source the detail is strong and there is no visible banding or other artifacts I can see. I can’t give it 5 stars on the principle of a 4K DI being possibly better, but The Equalizer looks fantastic on-screen.

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack here is just superb. When McCall is inside the Home Depot-clone he works at you can hear people and activity all around you in the bustling store. Later on when there is an action sequence in the same store, you can hear perfectly placed sound effects in an otherwise near-silent scene. Vocals are clean and easy to understand through the whole film, and the subwoofer is used but not driven to extremes. Overall the AV presentation for The Equalizer is near-perfect, with only the lack of a 4K DI keeping it from being perfect.

The Equalizer Special Features

• ALL-NEW: Five Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes, featuring McCall’s Epilogue teasing The Equalizer 2
• Six Featurettes:
  • “A Villain’s Psychosis”
  • “Boston: On Location”
  • “A Modern Hero”
  • “Joining Forces Again: Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua”
  • “Playing the Part: The Cast of The Equalizer”
  • “The Home Mart Advantage: The Action of The Equalizer”
• Theatrical Trailers

Review System

Sony Z9D LCD, Sony UBP-X700 UltraHD Blu-ray Player, Oppo UDP-203 UltraHD Blu-ray Player, KEF Ci5160RL-THX Fronts, Ci3160RL-THX Center, 2x Ci200RR-THX Surrounds, 4x CI200RR-THX Atmos Speakers, Anthem MRX 1120 Receiver, SVS SB-4000 Subwoofer.