Escape to the Movies: The Equalizer - A Near-Perfect Dad Movie

MovieBob

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The Equalizer - A Near-Perfect Dad Movie

The Equalizer manages to be fun despite its heavy-handed power fantasy premise.

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Jetsetneo

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Apr 2, 2010
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Its really weird to hear bob seemingly mock 'older' males for a pre-disposition for liking things they grew up with...then gush at a movie for...the same exact reason.

All that said, I think I can safely pass on this movie. There is really nothing for me in theaters till The Hobbit 3, so *shrug*.


Or Big Hero 6 :D!
 

DTWolfwood

Better than Vash!
Oct 20, 2009
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Dad-Movies, i like it. From henceforth all aging actors as badass ultra violent vigilante type protagonists will be referred to as "Dad-Movies."

Funny thing is the next Bourne movie will probably qualify as one too. XD

From the review it seems like a good time. I'll wait a few months and rent it instead.
 

Burnouts3s3

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Jan 20, 2012
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I think what makes supposed 'Dad movies' work is that the actors are of old age, and while they can have fun as butt-kickers, assassins and kung-fu masters of the highest order, there's a sense of deprecation there seeing the action heroes with spots of gray in their hair.

...Except for Tom Cruise. How that guy keeps looking so young after 40 baffles me.
 

Syntax Man

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Apr 8, 2008
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Jetsetneo said:
Its really weird to hear bob seemingly mock 'older' males for a pre-disposition for liking things they grew up with...then gush at a movie for...the same exact reason.
You just cracked the reason why lots of people hate the man, good job.
 

SnakeoilSage

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Sep 20, 2011
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I actually enjoy these kinds of films not because I'm a middle-aged dad myself but because I like the idea of "smart" fighters. Where the action heroes of the 80's tended to rely on just brute strength and one-liners to carry a fight, these "dad movies" as Bob puts it do lean more into the style of some of the better martial arts films like Enter the Dragon.

No, seriously, when you sit right down and think about it that's the kind of essence these movies are trying to capture. There are quiet moments and tense moments and the fighting is done in a way that's visually pleasing but lacking the loud football roaring that tends to encapsulate other styles of action films. See Jason Statham in the Expendables carving up bad guys in his trademark lightning-quick group-sized fight scenes while Sly Stallone and Chuck Norris get theme music and stupid one-liners but you never actually see them do anything really impressive on-screen besides bluster and kind of slam into each other like racks of beef in a busy slaughterhouse.

So yeah, I enjoy them for that.
 

shadowmagus

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Feb 2, 2011
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Christ Bob, can you sound any more pretentious while you lord over the "target audience". Tone it down a little, hells.
 

Verlander

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Apr 22, 2010
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Only one post credits opinion? For shame.

As a man who has successfully procreated, I feel somewhat irked that I'm boiled down to needing power fantasy wish fulfillment. Then again, I rarely go to the cinema to see anything that isn't a Marvel film, so touche
 

Evonisia

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Jun 24, 2013
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I guess I'll go see it when it's on TV or maybe if the DVD gets cheap.
 

the December King

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Jeez, there was a section in there, I think 4:10, where you seemed hell-bent on tearing down middle-aged white men for their escapism, and for who and what they are... you almost treat them as though they aren't human, man.

But I did like your original classification of the 'Dad Movie', if not the means you got there.

In all, another good review.
 

varmintx

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Oct 6, 2011
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Why would you cut that scene with Rob Reiner off right before the hilariously meek-ish "Hello?"
 

Tomtitan

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Jun 7, 2010
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I came here to the comments to see a TF2 reference. (Or at least a Korra one.)

I was disappointed.

Poor show, Escapist commenters.
 

InsaneFool

The Dude Abides
Jan 18, 2010
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As soon as I saw the first trailer for this I couldn't help but draw parallels to Tom Clancy's Without Remorse - which I hear they have been trying to make into a movie for years, and I really want it to happen since it was one of my favourite books when I was younger.

However now that this movie has happened, I can't help but feel that the Without Remove movie will not happen for at least a few more years while Hollywood waits for the viewing public to forget that this movie ever happened.
 

Conner42

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Jul 29, 2009
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A cool! A written part of his review. That can be helpful.

*scrolls further*

What the fuck is this shit? A score? Wha....

Moviebob, what haz they done to you?

......

But, seriously, I'm not sure if I'm going to get used to Moviebob giving out scores now. It just feels...weird, I guess. I always kind of felt like that just having a score kind of undermines what the actual content of the review was. I've always liked Moviebob for the review content he has given and I doubt that'll change, so maybe I can somehow just ignore the scores...but I can't, coz' I know they're there...and curiosity is overwhelming...

But I guess he'll get more traffic from Metacritic now, so I can understand.

Oh yeah, there's a movie there too...

I guess I'll see it some time...when I have no

thing better to do...

EDIT: Ugh...I keep on asking myself this after pretty much every damn rated r action movie, but how can a gleefully bloody action movie be so fucking boring?

Well, probably because I'm not the right kind of audience to get into the whole power fantasy that everyone I sat with in the audience just absolutely dug. Yeah, it was fun to watch all of his creative kills but there was no substance behind it all. It really all depends on how much you want to be the person Washington is playing.
 

Ariseishirou

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Aug 24, 2010
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Hahahah "dad movies". That's perfect. That's pretty much all my dad wants to watch (and Clive Cussler/Tom Clancy books are all he wants to read).

I love action films myself but the "dad" variety always seem to pander too hard to be all that enjoyable, so I might give this one a pass.