In the Fall of 2014, Liam Neeson came out with A Walk Among the Tombstones and Denzel came out with The Equalizer. There was a time when I was interested in seeing Tombstone but it didn't spend spend a lot of time in the theaters. I had no interest in seeing The Equalizer but I knew if I saw one, I had to see the other. Then Keanu Reeves came out with John Wick. All three films deal with the same thing; the main character killing a lot of bad guys. Now John Wick is not available on Netflix or OnDemand so I may not get a chance to see it before the Academy Awards in February (the cutoff for seeing 2014 films and being I able to say I saw it during it's release year). On Saturday January 17th I rented both films and watched them back to back. This is what I found about Liam and Denzel's killfest films...
This film is based on the book of the same name by Lawrence Block. It's supposed to a crime thriller but it's really more crime boring. Given, I did not read the book and the trailer led me to believe that Liam would kill his way through NYC in a Taken style to bring kidnappers to justice. Watch and make your decision...
Suffice to say Liam doesn't go all Taken an anyone and doesn't start shooting bad guys until the end of the film. He mostly just walks around NYC talking to shady people. Not so much talking as grunting. The film is about a duo of kidnappers who kidnap the wives of rich men with drug connections. Liam is a disgraced cop who is now an unlicensed private eye. He's hired by a man who's wife was killed and he wants Liam to find them so he can take revenge. Liam retraces the police investigation and of course uncovers details the cops couldn't by putting 2 & 2 together and talking to witnesses. It turns out that the kidnappers were working for the DEA in some aspect and were targeting the wives of wealthy drug lords (who are off the DEA's radar when their loved ones are abducted, that didn't make sense to me but whatever). The kidnappers end up grabbing the daughter of a Russian mobster and Liam is brought in to negotiate her release. Things get all Proof of Life and they plan an ambush at the ransom exchange. The kidnappers escape but thanks to Liam's teenage sidekick, they find their location. In the end, Liam kills only one kidnapper.
Save yourself the time and don't bother with this one. It's boring and the the one real plot twist (if you can call it that) doesn't pay off. Neeson doesn't do much in the film and even seems bored at times. This film was disappointing all around. Let's just say I was wrong to think it be like Taken, but it was a dull thriller. Thrillers can move slow at times but this one moves slow for 90% of the film. Let's move on to Denzel's entry...
This film is based on the book of the same name by Lawrence Block. It's supposed to a crime thriller but it's really more crime boring. Given, I did not read the book and the trailer led me to believe that Liam would kill his way through NYC in a Taken style to bring kidnappers to justice. Watch and make your decision...
Suffice to say Liam doesn't go all Taken an anyone and doesn't start shooting bad guys until the end of the film. He mostly just walks around NYC talking to shady people. Not so much talking as grunting. The film is about a duo of kidnappers who kidnap the wives of rich men with drug connections. Liam is a disgraced cop who is now an unlicensed private eye. He's hired by a man who's wife was killed and he wants Liam to find them so he can take revenge. Liam retraces the police investigation and of course uncovers details the cops couldn't by putting 2 & 2 together and talking to witnesses. It turns out that the kidnappers were working for the DEA in some aspect and were targeting the wives of wealthy drug lords (who are off the DEA's radar when their loved ones are abducted, that didn't make sense to me but whatever). The kidnappers end up grabbing the daughter of a Russian mobster and Liam is brought in to negotiate her release. Things get all Proof of Life and they plan an ambush at the ransom exchange. The kidnappers escape but thanks to Liam's teenage sidekick, they find their location. In the end, Liam kills only one kidnapper.
Save yourself the time and don't bother with this one. It's boring and the the one real plot twist (if you can call it that) doesn't pay off. Neeson doesn't do much in the film and even seems bored at times. This film was disappointing all around. Let's just say I was wrong to think it be like Taken, but it was a dull thriller. Thrillers can move slow at times but this one moves slow for 90% of the film. Let's move on to Denzel's entry...
This is the film adaptation of the 80s tv show which ran from 1985-89 of the same name starring Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a retired British agent turned private eye. In the show McCall would help out people who couldn't get help from the police...
Denzel plays Robert McCall and that's where the similarities end. Denzel is a retired government black ops operative, widowed and living in Boston. He works at a home improvement store where he's friends with a group of co-workers and helps them out with their lives (just like I believe Denzel does in real life). McCall befriends teenage prostitute (Chloe Grace Moretz) and tries to help when her Russian mob pimps rough her up. Sounds a bit like Tax Driver doesn't it? Well the film references don't end there. By help her with her pimp I mean brutally kill in a Jason Bourne-like manner. When he's not taking down the Russian mob, McCall is taking down corrupt cops. Does that sound a bit like Man on Fire? Denzel bringing down a kidnapping syndicate and corrupt cops piece by piece. The film's climax takes place in the Home Mart where Denzel works and where the Russians are holding some of Denzel's co-workers (the one's with speaking parts anyways) hostage. The ex-Spetsnaz mobster think they have Denzel where they want him. But the hunters are in fact the hunted. Denzel systematically whittles down there numbers and frees his friends. The store scene is lifted from many films but the one that came to mind was Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
I'm not sure how much Denzel acted in this film. He doesn't show a lot of emotion and doesn't have a lot of dialogue either. Antoine Fuqua directed this film and he phoned it in. Fuqua is too talented to let this happen as everything is predictable and lifted from another film in an obvious manner. The acting isn't bad but there's nothing noteworthy. This film was more Taken than A Walk Among the Tombstones.
The Equalizer was released 2 weeks after A Walk Among the Tombstones and Equalizer is the better film but that's not saying much. Tombstones was a box office disappointment as it failed to recoup is $28 million budget with a $25 million domestic domestic gross. Equalizer on the other hand made $100 million domestically on a $55 million budget. Let's recap:
A Walk Among the Tombstones: Bad. Boring.
The Equalizer: Not that good. Predictable and redundant.
Both Neeson and Denzel have played these roles before (Neeson has the Taken Franchise and Non-Stop. Denzel has Man on Fire and Book of Eli) and will continue to play them (Taken 3 is due out soon). I mean if someone is going to pay them good money for the same role then why not take it. Who cares if both actors give uninspired performances. If the ticket buying public keep seeing these films then it's our own fault. I need to stay true to my word and see John Wick in order to compare the three films.
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