A couple of weeks ago, we got a look at the badass international trailer for Antoine Fuqua‘s THE EQUALIZER starring Denzel Washington. That trailer played up the cold-blooded nature of Washington’s character and his focus on righting wrongs done to those less fortunate, namely a prostitute played by Chloe Grace Moretz. It looked like a brutal fun time at the movies but without much soul to it.
The official domestic trailer for the movie keeps that ass kicking focus, but also shows us that Denzel Washington is a decent human being. We see more of how he comes to know Moretz’s character and some other kind acts that he performs for friends and coworkers.
n The Equalizer, Denzel Washington plays McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), 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. 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.
This trailer definitely makes the character more palatable. Washington played a similar role in Tony Scott‘s awesome MAN ON FIRE. This looks like it could be a sequel to that film if it had ended on a more positive note. Regardless, I can see why the studio is already setting their sights on Fuqua and Washington for THE EQUALIZER 2.
THE EQUALIZER also stars Melissa Leo, Marton Csokas, Bill Pullman, Haley Bennett and Vladimir Kulich. It will open on September 26, 2014.