Equalizer

[Traveler]

I know there is a new movie out in the Equalizer series.  They have been quite popular – I just think they are a little unrealistic.  At least these kind of heroes.  Having been in the military, assigned to work with military intelligence and having in the Defense Department for a number of years – anyone expert in their craft are seldom retired while at the pinnacle of their expertise. 

There is something else – often in the entertainment world the hero takes on many and dispenses of them with little effort.  There can be 50 expert bad guys firing on the good guy and missing while the good guy takes out a bad guy with every shot.  In reality world none of the elite special teams attack as a single individual with a hand gun. 

One thing I learned during my military experience – if I am ever in a life-threatening combat situation, I will avoid going it alone – especially with inferior weapons (handgun or anything inferior to my opponent’s weapons).  A single individual is no match for a team working together – ever.  Even the classic story of David facing Goliath often misses the most important notion that David had divine assistance and that it was that assistance and not David’s exceptional abilities that was the difference.

My whole point is that we should never attempt to tackle anything of importance on our own.  As much as we think we ought to be up to outstanding tasks – if something is important we should always think in terms of seeking and accepting help.  All too often we think to do too many things by ourselves – even when we are giving a calling – it is seldom a good idea to much of anything all on our own.

 

The Traveler

[zil2]

Someone has failed to learn the fine arts of fantasy and suspended disbelief!

[Vort]

The Equalizer was based on the Kurt Vonnegut short story Harrison Bergeron.

[SilentOne]

15 minutes ago, Vort said:

The Equalizer was based on the Kurt Vonnegut short story Harrison Bergeron.

Is that the one where a very smart and strong guy lives in a society where handicaps are placed on anyone who is above average in any way, like noises to distract those with above-average intelligence?

[Vort]

5 minutes ago, SilentOne said:

Is that the one where a very smart and strong guy lives in a society where handicaps are placed on anyone who is above average in any way, like noises to distract those with above-average intelligence?

It's inspiring how, in the end, the hero kills the villain.

[Carborendum]

2 hours ago, Vort said:

The Equalizer was based on the Kurt Vonnegut short story Harrison Bergeron.

I'm having difficulty figuring out how that is connected.

2 hours ago, Vort said:

It's inspiring how, in the end, the hero kills the villain.

Again, I'm not sure if I'm following.

FTR, I never read the short story.  I saw the movie with Sean Astin.  Perhaps that is different.

EDIT: It is occurring to me that you're being sarcastic.

Edited December 1, 2023 by Carborendum

[Jamie123]

What do you call a man with a plank of wood on his head?

Edward

What do you call a man with two planks of wood on his head?

Edward Wood

What do you call a man with three planks of wood on his head?

Edward Woodward

What do you call a man with four planks of wood on his head?

I don't know either, but Edward Woodward would.

Edited December 1, 2023 by Jamie123

[Vort]

14 minutes ago, Jamie123 said:

What do you call a man with a plank of wood on his head?

Edward

What do you call a man with two planks of wood on his head?

Edward Wood

What do you call a man with three planks of wood on his head?

Edward Woodward

What do you call a man with four planks of wood on his head?

I don't know either, but Edward Woodward would.

Doesn't work well with an American accent. We need some sort of transAtlantic equalization here. I know just the man for the job, if Edwud Wudwud wud.

[mordorbund]

8 hours ago, Vort said:

Doesn't work well with an American accent. We need some sort of transAtlantic equalization here. I know just the man for the job, if Edwud Wudwud wud.

Not quite the same, but How many Lowe's would Rob Lowe rob if Rob Lowe would rob Lowe's?

[EH12NG]

16 hours ago, Traveler said:

 

My whole point is that we should never attempt to tackle anything of importance on our own.  As much as we think we ought to be up to outstanding tasks – if something is important we should always think in terms of seeking and accepting help.  All too often we think to do too many things by ourselves – even when we are giving a calling – it is seldom a good idea to much of anything all on our own.

 

The Traveler

I have to agree ( best example of military team work I've studied is the tactics used by the Templers ) , but another side to the coin of these types of films is that sometimes one finds themselves having to take the heroes journey because everyone else is to cowardly to ask questions or stand against the mob/hive. I think it plays into the theme of the one sacrificing himself for the good of the many. Realism is usually on the back burner of these things. I always have a laugh when James bond ducks 100 bullets only to blind fire back and kill everyone in the room. 

The majority of people I know in life address problems the same way water usually goes to the path of least resistance. Keeps the herd quietly uneasy. 

[Ironhold]

On 12/1/2023 at 1:42 PM, Traveler said:

I know there is a new movie out in the Equalizer series.  They have been quite popular – I just think they are a little unrealistic.  At least these kind of heroes.  Having been in the military, assigned to work with military intelligence and having in the Defense Department for a number of years – anyone expert in their craft are seldom retired while at the pinnacle of their expertise. 

There is something else – often in the entertainment world the hero takes on many and dispenses of them with little effort.  There can be 50 expert bad guys firing on the good guy and missing while the good guy takes out a bad guy with every shot.  In reality world none of the elite special teams attack as a single individual with a hand gun. 

One thing I learned during my military experience – if I am ever in a life-threatening combat situation, I will avoid going it alone – especially with inferior weapons (handgun or anything inferior to my opponent’s weapons).  A single individual is no match for a team working together – ever.  Even the classic story of David facing Goliath often misses the most important notion that David had divine assistance and that it was that assistance and not David’s exceptional abilities that was the difference.

My whole point is that we should never attempt to tackle anything of importance on our own.  As much as we think we ought to be up to outstanding tasks – if something is important we should always think in terms of seeking and accepting help.  All too often we think to do too many things by ourselves – even when we are giving a calling – it is seldom a good idea to much of anything all on our own.

 

The Traveler

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Equalizer_(1985_TV_series)

The franchise got its start in 1985 as a television series. The main character was former black ops, and was offering his services as a hero for hire in order to protect everyday people from the folks that were threatening them.

The original series - which I did in fact watch - generally had much lower, far more realistic stakes in each episode. For example, the pilot episode saw him attempting to protect a woman from a stalker and a computer expert from hitmen. Other episodes involved protecting the daughter of a would-be Russian defector and discovering who tried to kidnap the son of a wealthy businessman. 

The first live-action movie was over-the-top enough for most people to just sit back and allow suspension of disbelief to kick in. But the sequel decided to take a hard detour into politics, and the third movie had no purpose in existing. Likewise, the TV series has stretched things significantly, often to the point that even someone like myself has trouble taking it seriously. 

[mirkwood]

I have done a lot of force on force training over the years.  I have also played the role of the bad guy.  Inevitably the team will win.  I have reasonably good skills and so far the only times I have won as a solo bad guy was because some people we ran through the training had not been trained in building clearing.  Literally, they did not know what they were doing.  Odds are heavily against a single person winning against a group with training.

 

 

[LDSGator]

12 minutes ago, mirkwood said:

I have done a lot of force on force training over the years.  I have also played the role of the bad guy.  Inevitably the team will win.  I have reasonably good skills and so far the only times I have won as a solo bad guy was because some people we ran through the training had not been trained in building clearing.  Literally, they did not know what they were doing.  Odds are heavily against a single person winning against a group with training.

 

 

I’ll take the skilled person against the unskilled person any day of the week 99% of the time. 

[Jamie123]

6 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

I’ll take the skilled person against the unskilled person any day of the week 99% of the time. 

Anyone who read British comics in the 1970s will remember Billy the Cat and Katie - the acrobatic crime fighters of Burnham. This is how their adventures would likely have gone for real..

[Carborendum]

Ok, so...

Batman vs

The Punisher vs

The Equalizer vs

The Transporter vs

John Wick vs

John Reese vs

James Bond vs

Jack Reacher

[Vort]

FTR, Harrison Bergeron is the sad tale of a society gone completely lunatic, where "equalization" means that anyone with any gifts, either physical or intellectual, is handicapped by the state to make sure he does not excel. That way, everyone is truly equal. When one young man throws off the shackles of this society and allows himself to enjoy and share his wonderful abilities, the lady with the shotgun is there to enforce the rule of law and make everyone equal again. A different kind of equalization, one I thought contrasted humorously (though admittedly a very dark humor) with the TV (or probably movie) version of the Equalizer.

[Ironhold]

6 hours ago, Vort said:

FTR, Harrison Bergeron is the sad tale of a society gone completely lunatic, where "equalization" means that anyone with any gifts, either physical or intellectual, is handicapped by the state to make sure he does not excel. That way, everyone is truly equal. When one young man throws off the shackles of this society and allows himself to enjoy and share his wonderful abilities, the lady with the shotgun is there to enforce the rule of law and make everyone equal again. A different kind of equalization, one I thought contrasted humorously (though admittedly a very dark humor) with the TV (or probably movie) version of the Equalizer.

In the original TV show, it was a "retired" black ops guy evening the odds against crime and other bad actors.