The Equalizer

The Equalizer is currently streaming in Australia on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV, and its case-by-case structure never gets in the way of the bigger story. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. With 10,024 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Denzel Washington sets the tone, and the ensemble matches it scene for scene. Put it on tonight on Netflix and see for yourself.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, The Equalizer is worth clearing space for. The plotting gives The Equalizer its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. McCall believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. 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. Denzel Washington and Marton Csokas lead a cast that gives the tension real weight. It hit screens in 2014. The plot mechanics of The Equalizer never overwhelm the human cost underneath them. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Viewers who think they have seen every crime drama tend to find The Equalizer proves them wrong. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Denzel Washington carries scenes that would sink a lesser production. The resolution feels inevitable rather than arbitrary, which is rarer than it sounds.