How sad is this?

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Charming and brutal

The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

Probably the dumbest movie of all time. Might be watchable with a labotomy.

I never really watched the TV series, I just saw it here and there, so I can't claim any 'fandom'. It was mostly a case of watching this as a standalone film. The revenge genre is one of my favourite genres and this film is a very worthy addition. It actually scared me at times, sort of like The Godfather did, but the direction, the script, the performances and cinematography are all top notch. I've not seen the second one yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Washington nails it, as usual. Is there anything he can't do?

So I just finished watching Equalizer (EQ1) again, so I can watch Equalizer 2 (EQ2) for the comparison.It's too bad both films had the same director and writers, as they have a bad habit of dragging out the writing and the scenes. Both films at just over 2 hours is just way too long, especially in the simplistic singular plot or EQ1. However, that plot still worked, and mainly because of the entire casts especially Denzel Washington's performance(s). EQ2 certainly had better pacing and a more suspenseful plot - albeit predictable, however it had many plot issues and holes as well as some scenes that needed to be edited down. The new supporting cast was not as strong either. Which did I enjoy better? Probably EQ1 by a small margin, but they both got an 8/10 from me, as they each had their merits and issues. Nevertheless still enjoyable. I hope if they come out with a EQ3, they speed up the pacing within the writing and directing.

Just watched this movie! One of the BEST movies I have ever seen. I LOVED IT! Can't wait to see the Second one in a few weeks!!