Reel Critics: Denzel back in ‘Training’ mode

No one plays a human killing machine with more understated elegance than Denzel Washington. He stays cool, calm and collected no matter what mayhem unfolds. In “The Equalizer,” he teams up again with “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua. Together, they create another flawed hero who destroys every obstacle in his righteous path.

Washington demonstrated his proficiency for this role in “Safe House” and “Man on Fire.” He now plays a master of revenge who is a former CIA operative. Retired from the spy game, he works at a big-box store, living a quiet life. But he watches as the Russian mafia and crooked cops intimidate his neighbors in working-class Boston.

Their violent shakedowns cause him to renew his fighting skills with intense concentration. He displays a compelling sense of violent justice. It commands him to lash out against those who deserve his merciless retribution. The plot may be predictable. But Fuqua adds mood, style and slick production values to make this a first-rate example of its R-rated genre.

—John Depko

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Another Oscar for Kline?

Kevin Kline is always wonderful, and never more so than in “My Old Lady.”

As Mathias, Kevin plays an American who inherited a spacious Paris apartment from his estranged father. He is shocked to find out that, due to the peculiarities of French real estate, the property comes with the previous owner — a 90-year-old Englishwoman to whom he must pay a monthly fee and who is legally entitled to live there until she dies.

Mathias spent his last cent to get to Paris, and for the first hour, he tries to charm and scheme his way into selling the place or at least live there. But old lady Mathilde (Maggie Smith) and her combative daughter Chloe (Kristin Scott Thomas), who resides with her, will have none of it. Mathilde is quite content to live with her memories of her deceased husband — and of Mathias’ father.

What sounds like a setup ripe for comedy is just the opposite. Mathias thought his inheritance was finally a sign of his father’s love and a chance to turn his life around. As he learns more about his father’s past, the old childhood wounds are reopened, and Mathias is thrown into such bitter turmoil as to again seek alcohol for comfort. Mathilde sees him as a boozy loser, not yet realizing her part in his pain.

Kline juggles comedy and pathos beautifully — he even sings! — in his most complex role yet. Dame Maggie and Scott Thomas have the delicate task of making us feel dislike and pity for their characters.

“My Old Lady” resonates with unexpected depth, and the acting is strong enough to outweigh the minor flaws in the plot.

—Susanne Perez

JOHN DEPKO is a retired senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. He lives in Costa Mesa and works as a licensed private investigator. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a company in Irvine.