The Equalizer - groan!

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  • The Equalizer - groan!

    For those that never saw the original 1980s tv show...

    It was about a white British government agent (actor Edward Woodward) gone freelance in New York. A 'good samaritan' with a gun.

    And now it's about a black American guy? I don't wish to be racist but that's not how the character was intended. And even if he is a black guy in this reboot film, he's supposed to be British. Sheesh.

    The trailer has none of the feel/content of the tv show. It's nothing like the show. And it's missing the fantastic theme tune too.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfoDg8y_LF0

    Original tv theme:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1NiNKwueE


    This is the worst example of Hollywood plundering old material. Pathetic.

  • #2
    Re: The Equalizer - groan!

    This isn't James Bond. The two things you capped are far less important than the concept of ... The Equalizer. The guy with skills helping people that cannot help themselves.

    And I saw the old TV show.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: The Equalizer - groan!

      It looks good. Fun times watching the bad guys get it. Race is not a factor in anything about it. It would have looked equally as good in Black & White. Denzel Washington is a great actor and he looks to be in good shape for this role. I'll see it.

      As to the OP's comment about "Hollywood plundering old material," well... that's sometimes what we do, and it's called "updating." It'll be good. Wait and see.
      “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: The Equalizer - groan!

        Just a friendly observation. Any time you find yourself typing "I don't wish to be racist, but..."

        What's about to come out is probably a tad racist.

        Details about characters change all the time. Short people play tall people, men get switched to women... It doesn't matter unless the detail is plot relevant. I think audiences will survive watching a black guy do things a white guy used to do.
        Chicks Who Script podcast

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: The Equalizer - groan!

          Originally posted by moviefan View Post
          For those that never saw the original 1980s tv show...

          It was about a white British government agent (actor Edward Woodward) gone freelance in New York. A 'good samaritan' with a gun.

          And now it's about a black American guy? I don't wish to be racist but that's not how the character was intended. And even if he is a black guy in this reboot film, he's supposed to be British. Sheesh.

          The trailer has none of the feel/content of the tv show. It's nothing like the show. And it's missing the fantastic theme tune too.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfoDg8y_LF0
          Original tv theme:

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1NiNKwueE


          This is the worst example of Hollywood plundering old material. Pathetic.
          Does the race or the nationality of the character inform the basic concept? Nope. So, non-issue.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: The Equalizer - groan!

            I've seen this film, Denzel Washington spends half the movie calling people 'cracker'. "Got an eye problem, cracker?"
            It's the eye of the Tiger, it's the thrill of the fight

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            • #7
              Re: The Equalizer - groan!

              This thread is really gross.
              Ring-a-ding-ding, baby.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: The Equalizer - groan!

                Originally posted by Geoff Alexander View Post
                Does the race or the nationality of the character inform the basic concept? Nope. So, non-issue.
                Couldn't have said it better myself.
                "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: The Equalizer - groan!

                  Hollywood has a very long history of changing things around in reboots and adaptations, even a character's sex. That doesn't mean moviefan has to like it. It also doesn't mean he's racist for pointing out the obvious. Sometimes people make the wrong choice in words when they're passionate about something.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: The Equalizer - groan!

                    WOW! This thread reeks of racism. It's a movie. And Denzel is one of the greatest actors in the world. Sony is THRILLED to have him.

                    Btw, The Equalizer tested through the roof for Sony and a sequel has already been greenlit. Luckily most people don't share the poster's racist views.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: The Equalizer - groan!

                      Originally posted by nativeson View Post
                      Sometimes people make the wrong choice in words when they're passionate about something.
                      And sometimes people reveal their personal issues with race by feeling so passionate about something so silly.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: The Equalizer - groan!

                        As I vaguely recall the TV show, I don't think that it would work with that tone as a film.

                        I can understand why the producers would want Denzel for this script. I like the script, a lot. And I could picture Denzel as I read it.

                        But I wish they had picked someone else. Because for this role, Denzel is like a "get me that guy from central casting" actor. (That's not a comment about Denzel's acting; it's about the producers making their choice.) Denzel was great in "Man on Fire". (And similarly, in "Safe House".) But this is too much like that; the same, but different. All the more so because Chloe GM is kinda like Dakota Fanning, "SUPER: A FEW YEARS LATER"

                        Like Bruce Willis in a movie that is like a Die Hard movie, but it's not Die Hard; and his character's name is not McClane, but otherwise he's an awful lot like McClane. Thing is, that works for Willis and his audience. I'd just like to see Denzel in new roles.

                        Of course, maybe Denzel's brought something different to this role.

                        As for the race of the actor playing the protag here? I couldn't care.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: The Equalizer - groan!

                          How many posts until someone mentions the nazis?

                          Ah, the internet . . .

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: The Equalizer - groan!

                            I remember the show mainly for the theme tune. To be honest it was a fairly generic post-Death Wish show - New York as a matrix of dark alleyways and abandoned subway stations just waiting to drown passing white folks in a tidal wave of urban paranoia. The days of Guardian Angels and The Warriors. It's not like some sacred cow is being slaughtered here.

                            If I remember correctly, the USP of Edward Woodward was that he's older, wiser, a debonair gent in the mean streets. That doesn't rely on ethnicity or nationality.
                            My stuff

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: The Equalizer - groan!

                              Originally posted by Manchester View Post
                              As I vaguely recall the TV show, I don't think that it would work with that tone as a film.

                              I can understand why the producers would want Denzel for this script. I like the script, a lot. And I could picture Denzel as I read it.

                              But I wish they had picked someone else. Because for this role, Denzel is like a "get me that guy from central casting" actor. (That's not a comment about Denzel's acting; it's about the produce
                              rs making their choice.) Denzel was great in "Man on Fire". (And similarly, in "Safe House".) But this is too much like that; the same, but different. All the more so because Chloe GM is kinda like Dakota Fanning, "SUPER: A FEW YEARS LATER"

                              Like Bruce Willis in a movie that is like a Die Hard movie, but it's not Die Hard; and his character's name is not McClane, but otherwise he's an awful lot like McClane. Thing is, that works for Willis and his audience. I'd just like to see Denzel in new roles.

                              Of course, maybe Denzel's brought something different to this role.

                              As for the race of the actor playing the protag here? I couldn't care.
                              I think Denzel will be great as always and I'll definitely enjoy seeing it. I just find the propensity for people to jump on the provocative bandwagon at the merest whiff of controversy to be cliche: the DDP site cliche. Everyone's so willing to assume the worst. It's tiring.

                              Comment

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