The Equalizer 3

I never obsessed over The Equalizer films, I always thought they were decent action movies but I really liked the first one, it was great. I always preferred the john wick franchise over it.

This one was not necessarily bad, it was alright but it feels off for some reason and it felt kinda boring, a lot of elements were missing from the previous ones such as the iconic scanning and going into Robert's head and the time counting.

This one also felt long as it didn't feel like a three act film but a film with just one long act that takes the span of 2 hours.

The story was kinda decent and the fight scenes were still great but I wanted to see more, the only thing that held this film apart was the scenes with Denzel, I legit didn't care about the side characters and other stuff.

I still recommend watching it though.

The Equalizer 3 is the last chapter of the Equalizer franchise, and is directed by Antoine Foqua, and stars, of course, Denzel Washington as Robert McCall, and Dakota Fanning as a CIA officer.

As an action movie fan, I really enjoyed the Equalizer movies, still being aware that we are not talking about masterpieces. They are fun and enjoyable vigilante movies where Denzel Washington is freaking cool and badass as he takes down, alone, large and structured criminal organizations. Without the value he brings into these movies, I don't know if they would be even worth watching. The Equalizer 3 fits perfectly into this path, with some slight changes.

The first thing to say is that this movie is very very gory and brutal, much more compared to the first two movies. Clearly it was decided to go one level up, so one needs to be prepared. The movie looks very dark, the Italian Mafia gives sort of modernized Godfather vibes, and most importantly, is beautifully shot. All of that can be appreciated since the very beginning of the movie, where fantastic camera work is done as the viewer follows a man entering a building full of dead people, brutally murdered. This very intense initial scene really sets the tone of the movie, to which the music score also fits really well.

The movie is located in a tiny Italian village, whose people are constantly threatened by the mafia, where "business" brought McCall (Denzel), too. This is the third big action movie to be shot in Italy (after Indy 5 and Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning) to come out in theaters in 2023, at least that I know of. Whether or not this decision is based on financial benefits of some sort, it provided The Equalizer 3 with beautiful and picturesque scenery.

As an Italian and fan of Denzel Washington, it was really entertaining to watch Denzel Washington sitting at the cafe, talking broken Italian, making friends, getting familiar with the people and the quiet atmosphere of the town. I found the representation of the town and of the people authentic, very well done, and not too stereotypical. The Italian language is real Italian spoken by Italian actors, the accents are real, the film is shot in different Italian towns on the Amalfi coast, and so on. One can see the great attention to detail and care that was put into the making of this movie, which I mentioned above about the directing. I did have a "what?!" moment, though, that I could not wrap my head around: Aminah (Gaia Scodellaro) takes McCall on a tour of the village, by telling him that she'll help him discover the authentic food specialties of the town. As they go on a stroll and talk, they pass by some food stands, and Aminah shows McCall different authentic Italian dishes. Then, however, she invites him to grab a Kebab (great, but not Italian at all!), which he does! Seriously, what happened there? There was all that nice fish and stuff, too-why a Kebab??

I have read a lot of criticism about the action in this movie, especially about it being too little. The problem that I see with the action is with the fact that McCall is never really challenged by any of his enemies rather than with the length of the action scenes. In other words, none of the villains or his men are even close to Robert McCall's level, so it seems quite easy for him to take them down in creatively brutal ways. This applies, unfortunately, also to the ending of the movie, which is, anyway, very very powerful. Also, the non-action parts build the tension between McCall and the villain, and they are not boring at all.

Another weak point of the movie, from my point of view, has to do with some of the supporting characters and their relationship to the hero (McCall). Dakota Fanning's character (CIA) could have been a very good helper in the fight against the mafia, but instead she ends up not doing so much at all... Along with that, one aspect of McCall being in this town is the attachments that the townspeople form with him, but we actually don't have much evidence of this beyond him eating in a cafe once in a while. We do see McCall having an emotional response when they are threatened, we do see him getting comfortable in the town, but while a deeper layer to that is mentioned, the viewer doesn't directly witness this: for example, when McCall says that the people of the town brought him peace, or that he understood that this is the place where he belongs. All these sentiments sound a bit out of place and don't match the level of interactions that we as viewers have witnessed. We expect some deeper character development to happen in the "kebab"/walks scene, but the dialogue between McCall and Aminah doesn't actually build to anything relevant.

Overall, a very good and extremely brutal vigilante movie, with some weaknesses, very well shot, with a fantastic Denzel Washington doing very badass things. Worthwhile final chapter, 7 stars!

My expectations for this one were moderate, I enjoyed the first, I wasn't blown away by the second, this third and final movie is actually really good.

It's a pretty good storyline, with Robert of course central to events and fighting for justice. He takes on Italian gang bosses, and of course there are multiple fight and action sequences, but in this film, he felt mortal, in the second I felt they made him into some sort of superhero, you felt he was indestructible, I didn't get that here.

The action sequences are great, and it is very, very well produced, but the true winner here is The Italian scenery, it looks sublime, and arguably enhances the movie.

Washington, outstanding once again, he really does nail it. This film has prompted me to get a hold of the original Edward Woodward series, that's up next.

Entertaining.

7/10.

This is a decent and satisfying end to a trilogy. Remember the good ol' days, back in the day, when movies stopped at 3? No Fast X, Saw X, Indiana Jones cracking a whip at 85.

Things feel more complete at three.

The way things should be.

A beginning, a middle and an end.

And not some old man doing ridiculous things way beyond his age or physical capability.

Denzel is one of the greats.

And he deserves credit for never taking a role too far.

He's as much a presence on the screen here as he ever has been.

His age and wisdom is his real strength.

Oh, there will be punches thrown. Bones broken and many cries of agony.

But at least it comes from the villains on screen and not those in the audience.

Coastal Italy is gorgeous.

Denzel is a living legend.

You've seen the other two films in this series.

Wrap it up nicely with this installment.

Ciao.

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.