Denzel Washington is back in the film news for fan boys and that’s usually a good thing. First up is a bit of hard news and then we’ll finish with softer but still tasty rumor. The above photo was released over the weekend (via ScreenRant) of Washington as The Equalizer. The Equalizer was first a television series back in 1985 that told the story of a retired intelligence agent turned P.I. working for the regular man. In that series the character was also British (originally played by Edward Woodward) a character element obviously dropped for the new film. The main set up for the character in the film appears to be essentially the same as the original television series though. My question is: is there enough meat on the bone to make using the name from the series worthwhile? The basic story premise here could have been executed to the letter (and has in film many times) without calling it The Equalizer. Is there that much nostalgia for this series to make tying the movie to it beneficial? Honestly it all feels a little generic for film at this point and will stay that way until we get more solid plot details and hopefully learn what makes the story unique. Denzel in an action movie playing a badass is never a bad thing though.
The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua who previously directed Washington in the hit film Training Day. Fuqua has directed a string of mediocre films (Tears of the Sun, The Shooter, Olympus has Fallen) since training Day all usually featuring great style and handling of action but lacking a little in the plot department. Maybe re-teaming with Washington will bring back the magic for both the actor and the director. The Equalizer also stars Chloe Grace-Moretz and Melissa Leo.
Tons of super hero news hit the ‘net last week which we recapped here and it all ended with a little rumor of the set up for the possible villain in Batman vs. Superman or even a set up for the villian that will follow in a thrid Superman or Justice League film. The bad guy in question is Lex Luthor. There was some fanboy push for Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) to play the role but it takes more than pulling off a bald head to do the job. If these rumors are true then director Zack Snyder is looking to go a different way with the character. Two names are apparently at the top of the list to play the role: Denzel Washington and Edris Elba. Elba is no stranger to tke comic book blockbuster having recently had roles in Pacific Rim, Prometheus, and Thor the Dark World, Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance. Does anyone else see a trend here with Elba and blockbusters? The only time he can apparently get it right is starring against Chris Hemsworth because pretty much all of these other films are stinkers. Washington hasn’t really done this sort of film before but he’s a classic A list actor that would bring more credibility to the proceedings.