Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his fri...
John Wick’s had his ending. Now it’s time for Robert McCall to be put to rest in “The Equalizer 3”. My family, similar to John Wick, has sort made it a habit to watch all these films in theaters as soon as possible like rabid dogs scrambling for the last bone so of course, we couldn’t mess the opportunity to see how this one would end.
If this has to be the last Equalizer movie, I’d say it’s a job well done.
Once again, Antoine Fuqua orchestrates reliability in his baroque-esque presentation…..even at the cost of his usual flamboyant style. That being said, there’s still enough self-reflexivity in how he counterbalances that baroque sense of gritty flair with the action we’ve come to expect and, at least, his direction makes the most out of what little originality this film has.
Pacing is brisk and thorough without overstaying it’s welcome, Marco Zarvos’ musical score succeeds at being industrially atmospheric and distinct, I adore the use of editing in later scenes and the picturesque beauty and luscious simplicity of the lighting and Robert Richardson’s cinematography makes each setting feel distinct; not to mention the presence of this new locale offers a different visual aesthetic and stark color palette that contrasts heavily to the production design of the previous two films while still looking suitably in line with what came before.
I was taken aback by how snappy and memorable the dialogue is; a testament to how narrowly the film avoids tonal whiplash, said tone tows the line between somber and forbidding without bordering on parodical humor and of course, the acting all around is pretty solid. Of course, Denzel Washington is the star attraction; he hardly has to try anymore to invoke any depth and emotion out of whatever character he portrays, replete with compelling gravitas and a magnetizing aura with only minimum gestures.
I can applaud the story for taking a more humane character-focused approach to how it tells its story, even if it can’t get away from the fact that John Wick has already done that same thing. While the first two Equalizer films center around McCall finding a new purpose for himself by helping others, this final installment brings all that around by asking whether or not he can still make peace with his past mistakes and whether or not peace is even something he’s worthy of. The very exploration of these ideas are memorable, considering they actually hinted at this during the second movie but this movies biggest strength and weakness, just like everything else, really lies in its moral simplicity. One of the most important things to take in consideration with any story is it has to control the flow of what information it gives its audience and what it holds back; this film does take a while to deal the cards it plays but for the most part, it works in its favor because the story knows exactly what we’ve come to expect out of it.
The formula this film provides is presented in a way that’s both deeply predictable but still effective; most of it feels cohesive enough to bypass its cliched bearings, if just barely.
That being said, as the “mysterious visitor corrects an injustice" trope continues to generate an infinite number of stories, it can’t help but trip over the same formulaic story again and again; an inevitability with these movies. It’s metaphors on faith and redemption are pretty heavy-handed but not fully utilized, the villains are both unmemorable and incompetent, their master plan is not well thought out at all, and despite a late reveal near the end of the movie that kinda made the slow burn worth it, the subplot regarding Dakota Fanning’s character never properly takes off. Sure, she still matters in the grand scheme of helping move the plot along and for adding another layer to Robert’s character….
….but you can’t help but get the feeling that more could’ve been done with it. Maybe tack on a few more minutes and actually bump this up to 2 hours; I wouldn’t have minded.
Whaddya know? Every single Equalizer film I’ve seen has ranged from a solid 6 to 7 out of 10 and this film is no different. A really consistent trilogy, if I say so myself.
