The Equalizer Movie: What We Know (Part 1)

We prepare for the imminent arrival of the movie by looking back at several aspects of the influential television series.

As audiences prepare to see Director Antoine Fuqua's vision for the 1980's iconic television series The Equalizer, all this week we'll be taking a look back at the characters, episodes, and other unique aspects of the show that re-defined the spy genre for the Cold War generation.

We'll start with a discussion of the original television plot, comparing it to what we know of the movie adaptation.

Television Plot

Robert McCall is a British former spy who worked for a CIA-type agency called The Company. He was one of their most experienced and decorated agents, until an op went bad and he resigned. Now living in New York City, McCall helps people in need via a newspaper ad: "Odds against you? No one to turn to? Call the Equalizer." But his old life is never too far away, as he battles the KGB, his old boss Control, and the menagerie of enemies he's made over the years.

Movie Plot

A former black ops commando who faked his own death for the quiet life in Boston becomes embroiled in a war against Russian gangsters. He's forced to return to his old ways after he rescues a young prostitute and realizes just how dangerous his life used to be. From the trailers, it appears he works at a home improvement store, and even keeps his 'special set of skills' up by dealing with a robber and thief at the store. We also know that he still has ties to his old life, either enlisting friends to assist him or being called back in after dealing with the Russians.

From the comparison, it's pretty clear that the movie and television plots don't seem very similar. In the television pilot, McCall assisted someone in need by posting the famous ad in the paper and found himself killing her assailant. Such 'tough love' was center to the series, and in this way at least we think the movie will continue the tradition. We also know that the Control storyline - that of him trying to bring McCall back into the fold - established both Control's role and fostered some of the best episodes of the series. While there isn't a character in the movie named Control, it's possible that Actress Melissa Leo - who's described as 'McCall's former handler' - could be set against McCall. It's also possible that, after a fierce battle at the end of the film, we'll see McCall don his titular name by posting his ad on websites and other electronic media.

Conclusion

Judging on what we've seen from the trailers, we can say that the footage suggests that this will be a hard 'R', which would make the 80's style of violence seem tame. But for the time, The Equalizer featured plenty of situations which led to McCall dispensing violent justice. Sadly, we don't see much more in common between the television and film series, which will become more apparent as we continue our introduction to this universe.

Next up, we'll delve into McCall's allies and attempt to find similarities to movie.

The Equalizer blasts its way into theaters on September 26th.

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