PREMISE
Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy, but he discovers local crime bosses control his friends. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.
THE GOOD STUFF
DENZEL WASHINGTON (of course)-
Simply put, three essential things have made Denzel Washington such a reliable name over the past 40 years.
1. The wide range of characters he’s played (Including six nonfictional characters).
2. The flashy movie star stuff he effortlessly does when he’s not doing Oscary-type character pieces.
And…
3. How often he outperform the material that he is given.
That last one is very important when assessing this particular film. Many films would be considerably underwhelming if not for Denzel’s presence; unfortunately, THE EQUALIZER 3 is one of them. However, it is absolutely compelling to watch him interact with people you know he will have to protect sooner or later. With the Robert McCall character, he does a lot more with a slight shrug and a wry smile than almost anybody in the game can. Then, in almost a flash, things get grimy, and as we’ve seen plenty of times, he can be menacing in the most entertaining way possible.
To some, this may fall into the we’ve seen this before category of Denzel Washington flicks, but to his DieHard fans (such as me), his performance here will easily satisfy. We die-hard fans know that Washington is quite literally one the coolest mofo’s that’s ever lived, and watching him do his thing is an absolute joy.
THE BAD STUFF
THE STORY- I am somewhat conflicted with assessing this because the story isn’t bad. It just… isn’t necessarily complete. If this were yet another chapter of this particular franchise, then the way they tell this story would be absolutely fine. But this is supposed to be the last go-round of Denzel as Robert McCall. And because of that, this isn’t the right kind of story to tell.
None of these Equalizer movies have been connected. They all have a beginning, middle and end. And although that’s respectable, this character is so awesome that we want to know more.
THE UGLY STUFF
THE ACTION- I understand that Denzel Washington is 68 years old. I understand that it will take a wee bit of jump cutting and flashy camera tricks to make him appear physically faster than he possibly can be at his age. However… as previously mentioned, he does the flashy movie star s*** about as well as anybody who’s ever been on screen before, and that’s where the action sequences involving him in certain movies (particularly man on fire, book of eli, safe house, and magnificent seven) come into play. As the first two movies proved, that’s where this franchise shines.
The action in this movie outside of the opening sequence is extraordinarily weak, and that hurts to say. I’ll go as far as to say that this is quite possibly the weakest action in a film that Antoine Fuqua has ever done.
**************
THE EQUALIZER 3 is a good movie, but as you’re watching it, you may start playing in your head the ways that it could have been more awesome than what it actually was.
It does feel like a bunch of friends who worked together before went on vacation and decided to film a movie while they were doing it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen enough Adam Sandler Netflix movies to respect that.
However, to do it as the closing chapter of an excellent little action franchise is very disappointing.
THE EQUALIZER 3 is in theaters now
