The Equalizer 3

Seems every four or five years Denzel Washington makes an 'Equalizer' movie, starring as Robert McCall. I just re-read my review of the first one, McCall as a character doesn't change much, just the situations he finds himself in, and the techniques he uses to eliminate the bad guys.

In real life Washington has been vacationing to Italy for over 30 years so that setting was a natural for this movie. McCall considers himself 'retired' and he finds the community of Altamonte and its towns folk to his liking. He is thinking this may just be the place to settle down.

Breaking the peace are an Italian mafia family, dealing in drugs, and ruthlessly brutal to any that cross them. McCall witnesses some of them brutally mistreating some of the innocent merchants, this bothers him terribly, he formulates a plan to set things right. Part of his plan involves getting Dakota Fanning as CIA agent Emma Collins on the path of the crime family.

This movie is not high art, it uses pretty standard 'good guy vs bad guy' tropes. One reviewer even says it is 'The Magnificent Seven Minus Six', and that is a pretty good comparison. But it is entertaining, and that is the only point of a movie like this. I think most of us find it easy to cheer an 'equalizer' putting the really bad guys in their place.

At home on DVD from my public library.

I thought this was a very good movie. They build a story early with little action but it finishes strong. I would take this over the Marvel materials from the past 3 years. Denzel's character is similar to the past but more economy of motion. I wish Dakota had more screen time. The scenes in Italy were lovely. I doubt we will see another one of these movies. This was an old school action thriller. The formula is pretty tried and true. I'm not sure how films have gotten away from what works. I hope all fans will turn out to see this film. My large theater was only 1/3 full but the weather was perfect on a Thursday early evening.

Nice Job Anton, Dakota and Denzel.

The Equalizer 3 rounds out this unexpected trilogy with another satisfying action thriller that continues the journey of a man who understands violence, trying to finally put that behind him, placing him out of his element to show quite literally how far he goes for people. The ending hinders it a little because it feels anticlimactic but it still works.

On a quest to finally find and maintain happiness, Denzel Washington is as flawless as ever. This time around he gets to be happy and show McCall actually enjoying life for once and as this is the final instalment there's obviously some introspection and self reflection as well.

The villains are really weak, it's not a massive distraction as they remain easy to hate and don't take up too much time but as the marketing implied that this would be McCall meeting his equal is kinda laughable considering how little they feel like a genuine threat to him.

The subplot involving Dakota Fanning initially threatens to derail the film but thankfully it ties back into the main narrative effectively and any scene she shares with Washington is great because it's both a Man on Fire reunion and her rapport with Washington is so good.

Antione Fuqua's direction impresses yet again, the violence has never been faster or more brutal and the stark colour palette allows this one to stand out in contrast to its predecessors. The music by Marcelo Zarvos is better than it's ever been, so distinct and noticeably industrial.

The Equalizer 3 is a solid concluding chapter to this entertaining trilogy. Even with an entirely new setting and cast, it does a great job of setting everything up and making you care about his new relationships. The movie overall is entertaining and mostly satisfying.

As usual, Denzel is a beast. Charm and charisma are off the charts, this isn't news. Like with part 2, there are few looks he gives that chill me to the bone. It's so impressive the way he portrays being the nicest guy in one scene and the scariest guy in another.

The only thing holding this back from being great is the surprising lack of action. Now I wouldn't call either of the previous movies action-packed. But I would estimate this one has a total of about 7 minutes of action. That's just not enough. And it especially hurts during the not-so-climactic climax.

I still had a good time with this movie. If you like the series, I think you will be pleased. And to Hollywood: more Denzel please! (1 viewing, opening Friday UltraScreen 9/1/2023)

In 2014, director Antoine Fuqua released The Equalizer, a film based on the television series of the same name that aired from 1985 to 1989. Where actor Edward Woodward played the role of Robert McCall in the series, none other than Denzel Washington was chosen for this film, who of course already had a whole arsenal of this kind of action films to his name in the past. What is funny is that in this third part of The Equalizer he is reunited with Dakota Fanning. The two already starred together in the 2004 film Man on Fire, but Fanning was only a ten-year-old girl there. In this film, she plays a CIA agent who tracks down McCall after an anonymous phone call to her agency leads her to a very large drug discovery on a wine farm. After a very strong first part, a fairly mediocre second part of The Equalizer followed in 2018. Now, five years later, you hold your breath a bit whether this third part is going to be worth it, of course. Well, that sounds quite negative compared to the second part, but it was just where the first part excelled, the second part had simply become more of a standard action print. Certainly not a bad film, but just less than its predecessor.

In this film, the story moves to Italy, Sicily to be precise. McCall ends up badly injured in Sicily, where he is rescued by the local agent Gio Bonucci, who takes him to the local doctor Enzo Arisio. McCall comes to and befriends the locals. The village is only ravaged by the mafia and of course McCall won't let that happen just like that. The film takes a long time to explain everything. It all starts on the wine farm, where McCall is on the trail of serious criminals and also murders them. The action scenes leave little to the imagination and are sometimes just rancidly portrayed. After that, the film slows down considerably and takes a good look at McCall's recovery and how he befriends the local population. When he leaves an anonymous tip to CIA agent Emma Collins, it is of course a simple calculation that she will quickly track McCall. Meanwhile, McCall watches with sorrow how the local population is put under heavy pressure by the mafia. Of course you immediately understand that they shouldn't have messed with McCall.

Most of the film seems like a long advertising film for Italy and it may evoke the holiday feeling in many viewers. The images are absolutely beautiful and eye-catching, something that enhances the atmosphere of the film. Still, a point of criticism can be made with the bad guys from the story, because we can't really say that they really express a lot of threat so that McCall faces a real challenge. But also the character of CIA agent Emma Collins has no added value in the film. You will therefore often wonder why she has so much screen time in the film. Not that it's really annoying or anything, but it doesn't really add value. Perhaps because this is the only film of the three that is under two hours, this storyline may have been intended as filler to keep the film from being too short. It now feels a bit like a wander in the story where the writers didn't really know where they wanted to go. The ending is what you can really expect from it and is of course accompanied by a lot of violence, but this so-called final chapter does not become as good as the first part.

The Equalizer 3 may not be as good as the very strong first part, but it certainly beats the disappointing second part in every way. Denzel Washington returns for the third and, according to the subtitle, the last time as the ice-cold and tough retired commando who carried out so-called 'black operations' for the government. This time the story moves to the beautiful Sicily in Italy, where Robert McCall gets into trouble with the mafia this time. The role of Dakota Fanning is very superfluous and really adds nothing to the film at all, the mafia members don't really radiate a lot of threat, so as a viewer you know that McCall will not be faced with his toughest job. Still, the action is nice in the film and it also has a pleasant running time that has been kept under two hours. Whether this really will be the final piece in the Equalizer series is of course still the question, but it is clear that this is very pleasant viewing and simply an excellent action film.