Believe it or not, Denzel Washington is almost 70 years old which means that his time playing an action star is rapidly diminishing.
The Equalizer was a film that came out in 2014 and took the cinematic world by storm by telling a story that has been told many times before but in an entertaining light. The story of an old retired hitman who just wants to live a normal life but the world around him will not let him.
The film was so successful that a sequel debuted four years later called The Equalizer 2. This movie tried to take a more human approach to the character of Washington’s Robert McCall which was probably the film’s downfall. Instead of focusing on Denzel Washington brutalizing a group of bad guys, the film tried to give him a human backstory that focused more on drama than it did on action.
It took several years after that film’s release to get to The Equalizer 3 when Denzel’s time as a big action star is almost up.
The Equalizer 3 goes all out and returns Washington’s Robert McCall to his roots and gives audiences an absolutely brutal action flick that would make Frank Castle proud.
The movie begins in a small city outside of Sicily where Robert McCall has completely taken out an entire crime family’s organization. However, a momentary lapse of judgment sees him get shot in the back by a young child. After a failed attempt to escape he is driven to a small coastal city where he has no choice but to stop and recover.
During his recovery he begins to introduce himself to the locals and finds a deep sense of community with the people there. However, much like his problems for most of his life, he can’t move away from his roots when he finds out that an Italian crime family that is moving a very dangerous drug throughout the region has strong armed many of the citizens and has forced them to give up their land and their businesses.
McCall is forced to once again get his hands dirty and save the town from a organization that is too big for any one man to handle.
If you love brutal violence, this is going to be an entertaining watch for you. The Equalizer 3 does not spare any expense when it comes to the absolute brutality and it’s bone breaking hand to hand combat.
Those who are squeamish about violence or those who have children should probably think twice about going to watch this movie but if violence doesn’t bother you, this is going to be one of the most entertaining watches of the entire year. Denzel Washington excels with a less is more attitude while maintaining a cold and calculated brutality.
The film works within it’s limitations of having a lead who is pushing 70 and the last thing this franchise needs is to push Washington into Liam Neeson territory.
Dakota Fanning is in the film teaming with Denzel Washington for the first time since 2004’s Man of Fire.
Her character plays a minor role as a CIA agent who was trying to crack the case of an international crime family while McCall decides to get his hands dirty the old-fashioned way. However, her character is a major negative in the film due to the fact that her usefulness is nullified by the presence of Washington’s character.
Because the film is set in Italy, there is tons of religious imagery of the Roman Catholic Church seen throughout the film.
One of the best aspects of this movie is the cinematography. The film is so well shot that the most intimate scenes throughout Italy puts the viewer right in the heart of the city. In one scene we see Denzel struggling to climb a set of stairs, you get a very confined perspective from the character that puts you right in the middle of the story as a viewer.
The Verdict
The Equalizer 3 is without question a strong step up from the previous installment and is a solid conclusion to the trilogy. With that said, the last thing this series needs is a another film.
The movie is without a doubt one of the biggest hits of the summer that desperately needs a boost of entertainment.