The Equalizer

Teri:
[about his book] What's your new one about?

Robert McCall:
Oh, it's about a guy who thinks he's a knight in shining armor. The only thing is, he lives in a world where knights don't exist anymore.

Teri:
Sound like my world.

Robert McCall:
I am offering you a chance to do the right thing. Take it.

Robert McCall:
You gotta be who you are in this world, no matter what.

[from trailer]

Ralphie:
[asking about Robert's hurt hand]What happened?

Robert McCall:
I hit it on something stupid.

Robert McCall:
Progress. Not Perfection.

Robert McCall:
When you pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too.

Vladimir Pushkin:
Who are you?

Robert McCall:
Everybody wants to know.

Vladimir Pushkin:
What do you want?

Robert McCall:
I want the head of the snake.

Ralphie:
I'm not strong enough.

Robert McCall:
Don't doubt yourself, son. Doubt kills.

Vladimir Pushkin:
What do you expect to gain by killing me?

Robert McCall:
Peace.

Robert McCall:
[telling Teri about his book] Man gotta be the man, fish gotta be the fish.

Robert McCall:
I've done some bad things in my life, Nicolai... Things I'm not proud of. I promised someone I love very much that I would never go back to being that person... But for you, I'll make an exception.

Robert McCall:
[to Slavi] That girl, Alana... She's gonna go on living. You... You're gonna bleed out all over this funky floor... All over 9,800 dollars.

Robert McCall:
[to Nicolai] The men I killed, your men... I gave them a chance, they made their decision... Now I'm giving you the opportunity to make yours.

Title Card:
The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why. - Mark Twain

Teri:
You and I know what I really am.

Robert McCall:
I think you can be anything you wanna be.

Teri:
Maybe in your world, Robert. Doesn't really happen that way in mine.

Robert McCall:
Change your world.

Little John Looney:
Who the f*** do you think you are, coming done here talking to me like...

Teddy:
Who I am, or what I am? Who I am is complicated. What I am is a little easier. I'm a threat. I alter outcomes.

Susan Plummer:
Teddy Rensen. Real name, Nicolai Itchenko. Skill set honed in Spetsnaz. He's formidable and smart. Ran a wing of the Secret Police for years. Went private when the Union fell. Basically he's a sociopath with a business card.

Susan Plummer:
Sometimes we make wrong choices to get to the right place.

Brian Plummer:
Is everything alright? Were you able to help him?

Susan Plummer:
He didn't come for help. He came for permission.

Robert McCall:
I don't have a lot of time. Which means you don't have any.

Teddy:
When you look at me, what do you see.

Robert McCall:
[chuckles, shifts in his seat]

Teddy:
The answer's nothing. I have no feeling about you one way or the other. You're like... like lint or a bottle cap. You're just a thing to remove.

Ralphie:
It's me, Mr. McCall. It's Ralphie. You said not to leave anybody behind.

Ralphie:
[lifting him off the floor] "Buck-ninety" my ass!

Teri:
I love being up at this hour. You know, everything's so dark. It makes everything seem possible again.

Teri:
You know, I see a lot of widowed guys. Something in your eyes. You know, it's not sad. It's just kind of lost, you know?

Teri:
I bought a little machine for making demos.

Robert McCall:
Yea, I bet your good.

Teri:
What makes you say that?

Robert McCall:
Intuition.

Robert McCall:
Thought you were gonna to give up that refined sugar?

Teri:
I am.

Robert McCall:
When?

Teri:
Any day now.

Robert McCall:
Yea, it's bad for your vocal cords.

Robert McCall:
Body, mind, spirit, remember?

Robert McCall:
[Setting his stopwatch before taking down several Russian mobsters] Sixteen seconds.

Marcus:
Hey, yo, Pops. We betting on what you did before you got here.

Jay:
Like for a living.

Marcus:
I'm saying insurance, claims.

Jay:
He was a stock dude, man, on Wall Street.

Robert McCall:
I was a Pip.

Jay:
Yo, you were a pimp?

Robert McCall:
No, not a pimp. A Pip, P-I-P, Pip.

Jay:
What f*** is a Pip?

Robert McCall:
Why you curse so much? You know, like Gladys Knight and the Pips. Like this. [starts dancing]

Robert McCall:
[offers a cake] Loaded with poison, just like you like it.

Teri:
Is it your birthday?

Robert McCall:
No, it was some guy at work. I didn't want to waste it.

Teri:
Happy birthday, Some Guy at Work... How old are you?

Robert McCall:
How old are you?

Teri:
Doesn't really matter.

Teri:
[comes to the Robert's table] I'm sorry. I'm breaking protocol, right?

Robert McCall:
No, no. Listen, hey, come, come on, sit down. Sit. Sit... Sit.

Teri:
Okay.

Robert McCall:
Come on, sit down.

Teri:
All right... Are you sure I'm not interrupting anything?

Robert McCall:
Yeah... So?

Teri:
I don't know. You know, I just kind of felt like a quiet voice... before it all goes crazy.

Robert McCall:
Okay.

Teri:
I'm Teri.

Robert McCall:
Bob. [bump their fists together] Ow! It's good.

Teri:
You know, you don't look like a Bob.

Robert McCall:
Oh, yeah? [to the waiter] Thank you.

Teri:
You look like a Robert. Robert reads books like this and Bob watches TV... My real name's Alina.

Robert McCall:
What happened to your face?

Teri:
Something stupid.

Teri:
You always read books?

Robert McCall:
My wife did. She... She was working through the 100 Books Everybody Should Read. She made it to 97, so I figured... I'd give it a shot... And one day we'd have something to talk about when we get together.

Teri:
...Wow, a hundred books.

Robert McCall:
Yeah.

Teri:
Holy moly. How many have you read, Robert?

Robert McCall:
Ninety-one.

Teri:
[cell phone rings] Sorry, this damn thing. Ninety-one books, though. You're almost done.

Robert McCall:
Almost.

Teri:
What are you gonna do after that?

Robert McCall:
Take singing lessons. Then I'm gonna open a donut factory. I am... What? Why you laughing?

Robert McCall:
I'm here for that girl. You gave me that a couple of nights ago.

Slavi:
We give out lots of cards. You still can get it up, *dedushka*? [chuckles]

Robert McCall:
I'm here about a certain girl. She got beat up pretty bad.

Robert McCall:
Your heart's beating three times the normal rate because you're losing so much blood. About 30 seconds, your body's gonna shut down... and you're gonna suffocate. Alina, the girl you beat half to death, her life will go on. Yours is gonna end right here, on this funky floor... over $9,800. You should have taken the money.

Slavi:
Who are you?

Robert McCall:
26 one-thousand... 27 one-thousand... 28 one-thousand... I'm sorry.

Teddy:
I want images from every security camera within a six-block radius. If you have any trouble call that number... and it will be taken care of. Phones charged and on. I tend to call at odd hours. Now, if you could drive me to my residence.

Masters:
Hey, wait a second, Mr. Sunshine. What do I look like to you? A chauffeur? This is our town. You're f***ing guest.

Teddy:
Let me apologize for my conduct. It was a long flight on short notice, and I... I like to focus, to work quickly. The deaths of Mr. Pushkin's men have interrupted his operations here. Imports, movements of goods, have all ceased. That's unacceptable. I am the one Mr. Pushkin calls in when people like you f*** up. I'm accountable now.

Masters:
Listen, I don't like your tone...

Teddy:
You have taken Mr. Pushkin's money for years. Money that comes with conditions. Non-negotiable conditions. Problem you're having with me is you still think you matter. You don't. I'm all that matters. And so we're clear. I'm not here to say "please." I'm here to tell you what to do. [walks away] Be ready for business. We open tomorrow.

Masters:
Listen, huh? Do me a favor, all right? Whatever you do, don't call him "Little John," okay?

Masters:
Hey! Hey! Hey. This is my town. Do you understand me? This is my home. You cannot run around like a wild animal. What the f*** was that?

Teddy:
It's a message. It says, "I'm here."

Detective Gilly:
[to Ralphie's Mom] See? You pay on time, no more problems.

Detective Harris:
All right, let's go. Mamacita, you need to clean the grease. It'll cause a fire.

Detective Gilly:
Good accent.

Detective Harris:
See you next week.

Little John Looney:
See, I hate you f***ing Russians. You're all crazy and you're arrogant. Now, the Irish, we came here for a piece of the American dream. You people come over here to steal it. So f*** all of you.

Teddy:
Well, Mr. Looney, I appreciate your candor. It's refreshing, and that makes me understand that you're not smart enough to have done this.

Little John Looney:
What f***?

Teddy:
Which brings me to my next issue. We pay you 15 percent to do business here. The additional 10 percent you steal, we ignore. We anticipated it, as you people are such clich?s. The fact that you're a rat to the Feds is also tolerable, Little John.

Little John Looney:
What f***?

Teddy:
What we will not tolerate is... getting nothing for our money: no information, no protection... no assurances. You understand, Little Johnny?

Little John Looney:
Who f*** do you think you are?

Teddy:
Who I am? Or what I am? Who I am is complicated. What I am is easier, I'm a threat. I alter outcomes.

Little John Looney:
Throw this motherf... [Teddy starts beating him]

Robert McCall:
[Detective Gilly picks up his cell phone] Why waste city services when I got two corrupt cops right in front of me?

Detective Gilly:
It's that guy.

Detective Harris:
This f***ing guy?

Robert McCall:
[voiceover] Tomorrow you'll have returned all the money you extorted from those people. You'll tell them it will never happen again. Do that, and this video will never be seen... Don't, and a half an hour later you'll watch the uncut version on every news outlet in the area. Now I'm offering you a chance to do the right thing. Take it.

Detective Harris:
That f***ing hurt more than the beating.

Robert McCall:
How'd you find me? I paid cash. We did no reservation. How'd you find me?

Teddy:
Well, that's what we do, Mr. McCall.

Robert McCall:
We who?

Teddy:
We find people we need to find.

Robert McCall:
We who? [Teddy walks away]

Teddy:
[climbs into the car] Everything about him is wrong.

Robert McCall:
Is it just you, or are we waiting for someone else?

P&E Worker:
I'm sorry. What?

Robert McCall:
Your hands. If you really work on power lines, your hands wouldn't look like that. We gotta be waiting for somebody else.

P&E Worker:
Motherf***er... Hands where I can see them. We're gonna take a little walk across the street, Black Denali.

Susan Plummer:
If you've come for help, I can't give you any.

Robert McCall:
I understand.

Susan Plummer:
Do you?

Robert McCall:
Just came for tea.

Susan Plummer:
You didn't take out five pimps, Robert. You took out the East Coast hub of Vladimir Pushkin.

Robert McCall:
Pushkin?

Susan Plummer:
Mm. He's similar to their oligarch who jumped in bed with Russian mafia, only he funds everything: gasoline, weapons, girls, you name it. He's built an intricate network on both U.S. coasts that are incredibly well-insulated. His money and political ties make him untouchable.

Susan Plummer:
I know a part of you died when Vivian did. But not the part she loved the most... Go be him.

Robert McCall:
...Yep.

Susan Plummer:
Don't forget to say goodbye. [walks away]

Robert McCall:
...Goodbye.

Robert McCall:
[passing the money to the Pushkin's employees] There you go. Thank you very much. There you go. Mr. Pushkin thanks you very much. We're going out of business. Closing down shop. Mr. Pushkin thanks you very much. There you are, sweetheart. Here you go. You're welcome. Accept these parting gifts on behalf of Mr. Pushkin. There you go. Three, two... Look at that, perfect... One. Thank you. Thank you, sweetheart.

FBI Operator:
FBI. How can I direct your call?

Robert McCall:
Agent Mosley, please.

Agent Mosley:
Agent Mosley.

Robert McCall:
Heard you found some money today.

Agent Mosley:
Who is this?

Robert McCall:
Concerned citizen. Check your personal e-mail... Make sure you're sitting down when you do.

Teddy:
[yells] Who are you? [gets nail shot in his chest]

Robert McCall:
I was a Pip.

Jay:
You were a pimp?

Robert McCall:
No, not a pimp, a Pip. "P - I - P", Pip.

Jay:
What the f*** is a Pip?

Robert McCall:
Why you got to curse so much? You know, like Gladys Knight & the Pips? Like this. [starts dancing]

Robert McCall:
[explaining the ending of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, which he was just finishing] Old man tied the fish to the side of the boat, had to row back to shore, fish bled in the water, sharks came and ate the whole fish till there was nothing left.

Teri/Alina:
That's just kind of a waste, isn't it?

Robert McCall:
Depends upon how you look at it. The old man met his adversary when he thought that part of his life was over. He saw himself in the fish. Came to... Came to respect it the more it fought.

Teri/Alina:
Why didn't he just let the fish go?

Robert McCall:
The old man's gotta be the old man. Fish gotta be the fish. Got to be who you are in this world, no matter what.

Teri/Alina:
I'm Teri.

Robert:
Bob. …

Teri/Alina:
You know, you don't look like a Bob.

Robert:
Yeah?

Teri/Alina:
You look like a Robert. Robert reads books like this and Bob watches TV... My real name's Alina.

Robert:
What happened to your face?

Alina:
Someone stupid. [after an uncomfortable pause, she get's out a CD of her singing] Okay, it's not professional. Just tell me what you think, okay?

Robert:
Wow. Alina the singer.

Alina:
You and I know what I really am.

Robert:
I think you can be anything you wanna be.

Alina:
Maybe in your world, Robert. Doesn't happen that way in mine.

Robert:
Change your world.

Alina:
You know, I see a lot of widowed guys. Something in your eyes. You know, it's not sad. It's just kind of... lost, you know? You always read books?

Robert:
My wife did. She... She was working through the 100 Books Everybody Should Read. She made it to 97, so I figured I'd give it a shot. And one day we'd have something to talk about. We'd get together.

Alina:
I love being up at this hour.

Robert:
Yeah?

Alina:
Yeah. You know, everything's so dark. It makes everything seem possible again.

Robert:
Yeah, me, I can't sleep at night.

Alina:
Yeah, well, I get to hear your stories. What's your new one about?

Robert:
It's about a guy who thinks he's a knight in shining armor. The only thing is he lives in a world where knights don't exist anymore.

Alina:
Kind of sounds like my world.

Vladimir Pushkin:
Who are you?

Robert McCall:
Everybody wants to know. …

Vladimir Pushkin:
What do you want?

Robert McCall:
I want the head of the snake.

Vladimir Pushkin:
So it's you. And now you've come to kill me.

Robert McCall:
Yes.

Vladimir Pushkin:
And tell me, what do you gain from my death?

Robert McCall:
Peace.

Robert:
[arrives at Nikolai's table and produces a pair of broken, blood-stained glasses] He's not coming back. [takes a seat] Had enough?

Nicolai:
You certainly have my attention.

Robert:
Because I can keep going. Brick by brick, dollar by dollar, body by body, or you can call your boss and tell him to shut down his operation, tonight.

Nicolai:
That's not much of an offer.

Robert:
It's the only one you're gonna get. When you pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud, too.

Nicolai:
When you look at me, what do you see? [Robert laughs] Hmm? The answer's nothing. I have no feelings for you, one way or the other. You're like lint or a bottle cap. You're just a thing to remove.

Robert:
I knew a Russian police captain back in the day. He told me about a case he worked on. Can't remember the guy's name. He was a famous scholar, lived in Moscow. He was a humanitarian, an author. Anyway, he decided to share his abundance with someone less fortunate. And even though he had five children, he opened his home to a sixth. An orphan, 12-year-old boy. Kid had been pounded by the system from an early age. Troubled. Prone to violence. A lost cause. Stop me if you know this one.

Nicolai:
Oh, no. Carry on.

Robert:
Okay. So this good man opened his home to this boy. And when the boy stole from him, this good man loved him anyway. When the boy failed in school, this man showed understanding and patience. When the boy lied and cheated and clawed and fought, this good man showed compassion and love... until the boy, who had never felt anything like being wanted or loved, he finally did. The man had broken through. By all accounts, it was a miracle. One week later, intruders broke into the man's house. Killed the man and his wife in bed. They said some small things were stolen, things a child might steal. No one knows for sure. The man's children were sent off to relatives. The boy, the orphan, shipped back to hell. Just when he finally had a chance at life, it was snatched away by two bullets.

Nicolai:
It's a well-known story.

Robert:
They ever catch who did it?

Nicolai:
Did they?

Robert:
Maybe they didn't look in the right place. Sometimes the answer's in front of you. [in Russian] I think the boy killed them. [in English] I think the boy did it. I think the boy was scared his foster parents would wake up one day and realize he wasn't worth it, like all the others had. And he couldn't bear the thought that this man, this good man would do that to him. Would throw him away... like a piece of lint or a bottle cap. So... he decided not to find out. What do you think, Nicolai?

Nikolai:
[pauses] You think you know me? You strike me as a sentimental man, Mr. McCall. That's surprising. I... I don't possess that chip. I never could understand what comes from feeling that way, except weakness.

Robert:
The men I killed, your men, I gave them a chance. They made their decision. I'm giving you the opportunity to make yours. [writes his phone number down]

Nicolai:
Thank you.

Robert:
You're welcome. You let me know when you decide.

Nicolai:
Of course.

Robert:
I've done some bad things in my life, Nicolai. Things I'm not proud of. I promised someone I love very much that I would never go back to being that person. But for you, I'm going to make an exception. You asked me what I saw when I looked at you. What do you see when you look at me?

Robert Mccall:
You're supposed to stand for something, punk. Protect and serve. Uphold the law. Justice. Remember?

Robert Mccall:
I couldn't tell you why — it mattered. Why what they did to her, that mattered to me so much. One day somebody does something unspeakable to someone else to... someone you hardly knew, and you... do something about it because you can.

Brian Plummer: You had a nice funeral, in case you were wondering. You know, when they told Susan you were dead, she couldn't comprehend it. She said, "Oh, no. Not Robert." "And not from something as trivial as a car bomb." That you're alive … is a big relief. But it didn't come as a complete surprise to her. We used to talk about you over the years, and she said if anyone could have figured a way out, a way to walk away from it all for good, you know, like a real fresh start … it would have been … You.

Susan Plummer:
Robert, I don't have to tell you what happens next. He won't stop until he kills you and anyone you care about.

Susan Plummer:
Sometimes we make the wrong choices to get to the right place. I know a part of you died when Vivian did. But not the part she loved the most. Go be him.

Teddy Rensen / Nicolai Itchenko:
A man with his skills, I want to know who he really is. I want to know who he's working for.

Teddy Rensen / Nicolai Itchenko:
You think you know me? You strike me as a sentimental man, Mr. McCall. That's surprising. I... I don't possess that chip. I never could understand what comes from feeling that way, except weakness.