10 Wildly Overpraised Movies

What The Critics Said: “Stands out from its peers like a wolf among lapdogs.” (The Wrap)

A movie about a mysterious vigilante who tangles with Russian mobsters really belongs in the 1980s, so it’s no surprise that The Equalizer, which reteams Denzel Washington with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, is based on the TV show that aired on CBS from 1985-9. The trouble is, the film remains stuck there.

Tired clichés are the order of the day, from slimy foreign gangsters to dirty cops, plus there’s also dialogue of the “f**k you, you mother**ker” variety and Chloe Moretz as a teenage hooker (with a heart of gold, obviously) who has Taxi Driver written all over her.

When she’s hospitalized by thugs, Denzel wipes out those responsible, which leads to a cat-and-mouse game with mobster Teddy (Marton Csokas, also a slimy foreigner in XXX and The Bourne Supremacy). You know the drill: they talk in a restaurant, Denzel gives him the “I’ve done things I’m not proud of” speech, Teddy decides to “send him a message” etc.