Runtime:
132 minutes
Directed
by: Antoine Fuqua
Starring:
Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloe Grace Moretz, David Harbour,
Haley Bennett
From:
Columbia and some other studios
Unexpectedly, I saw this and the sequel last night. The details are below, and 2's review will come tonight:
It
was not the original idea to watch this movie for the first time
yesterday then right after go to an AMC to see the sequel in IMAX (that
review is coming tonight) but something went awry where I live... the
air conditioner stopped working; long story. I'll let the professionals
fix it as the issue is above my capabilities. At least it was a rainy
day so where I live did not become a sauna. As various people I know
from all walks of life (as in, not just Letterboxd or messageboards)
praised the movie, I figured I would give it a shot.
Turns out, I thought this was pretty good, something that takes its time and for this film the pacing works. I can admit it is a little silly and at times on the implausible side, but a big asset is having Denzel as the lead; also, his character of Robert McCall is pretty likable. He used to be an assassin type but he retired and he is now the type who likes to hang out in diners, reads classic literature-done for a touching reason-helps out others (including his co-workers at the Home Depot clone that is now his job) and befriends a young Russian lady who happens to be a prostitute. He unwittingly becomes involved in a feud with some scummy Russkies... especially in this day and age it is easy to root against the Russians again.
It was also a lot of fun watching McCall violently wreck-and this is pretty violent-a bunch of awful human beings. The setting that much of the final act takes place in: great, along with how such a setting was used at its very best. The sort of things you hope would be used as weapons actually were, and at least for me I laughed a few times. In addition, there is an amusing usage of the Gladys Knight & The Pips song Midnight Train to Georgia and that was set up beforehand pretty well. The fact that this became popular and did well enough to inspire a sequel, I am not surprised.
Turns out, I thought this was pretty good, something that takes its time and for this film the pacing works. I can admit it is a little silly and at times on the implausible side, but a big asset is having Denzel as the lead; also, his character of Robert McCall is pretty likable. He used to be an assassin type but he retired and he is now the type who likes to hang out in diners, reads classic literature-done for a touching reason-helps out others (including his co-workers at the Home Depot clone that is now his job) and befriends a young Russian lady who happens to be a prostitute. He unwittingly becomes involved in a feud with some scummy Russkies... especially in this day and age it is easy to root against the Russians again.
It was also a lot of fun watching McCall violently wreck-and this is pretty violent-a bunch of awful human beings. The setting that much of the final act takes place in: great, along with how such a setting was used at its very best. The sort of things you hope would be used as weapons actually were, and at least for me I laughed a few times. In addition, there is an amusing usage of the Gladys Knight & The Pips song Midnight Train to Georgia and that was set up beforehand pretty well. The fact that this became popular and did well enough to inspire a sequel, I am not surprised.
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