The Equalizer 2 (2018)

Review

121min

Genre:       Action, Crime, Thriller

Director:    Antoine Fuqua

Cast:         Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Melissa Leo…and more

Writers:     Richard Wenk, Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim

-Synopsis-

Now working as a humble Lyft driver but moonlighting as a relentless fixer, avenging angel of the community ‘Robert McCall’ is dragged back into the fold when his friend becomes a target, putting him on a collision course with dangerous international operators and his own shadowy past, in this righteous revenge sequel from the director of ‘Training Day’ and ‘Southpaw’.

Having regularly flirted with the pure action/thriller earlier in his career and fully committing to it later in life (ala Liam Neeson) with 2014’s adaptation of a TV series ‘The Equalizer’, Denzel Washington teams up with director Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven) for the fourth time—shooting, stabbing, punching, and bone-breaking his way to fully-fledged action star status with this bruising sequel.

Washington returns as community guardian and vigilante ‘righter of wrongs’ Robert McCall, spending his days as a private cabbie but occasionally moonlighting as an uncompromising fixer, living humbly in his Boston community while taking troubled youngster ‘Miles’ (Ashton Sanders) under his wing. When his intelligence agency buddy ‘Susan Plummer’ (Melissa Leo) and partner ‘Dave York’ (Pedro Pascal) are caught in the crosshairs of mysterious and dangerous rogue operators, McCall returns to doing what he does best, tracking them down an bringing them to ruthless justice—in a mission which will force him to confront and bury his own shady black ops past.

Perhaps inspired by Liam Neeson’s later life reinvention as an action star, and the accompanying birth of an unlikely but lucrative film series in ‘Taken’, Washington and Fuqua reunite for what is the first sequel in either of  their careers—and as tends to be the case with many sequels, some of the novelty has worn off here.

As an adaptation of an 80s TV series, which follows in a long line of films centred around justified vigilantism and righteous street justice, ‘The Equalizer’ was never exactly groundbreaking fare, and Fuqua and the writers follow it up by delving deeper into the eponymous character’s psyche while upping the scale, taking the story from street warfare to international espionage territory.

There’s also a concerted effort to continue weaving-in the social responsibility and community-centred message which has become a central feature of this burgeoning series, with McCall being further positioned as the righteous avenging pillar of the community—despite his own questionable past, which proves no more than a moral speed bump—even flirting with superhero status as per the plot. But fear not, the ‘how to better live with others’ sermon is brief and doesn’t overpower what you really came to see—Denzel dispatching bad guys with skill and brutality.

‘The Equalizer 2’ has more than its share of gritty action, often proving graphic and uncompromising, with Washington once again creatively making use of his surroundings to take out the enemy, not to mention some slick hand-to-hand combat skills, but there’s more gunplay here than the original, and more of an overall militaristic feel to complement the story.

Yet the action and indeed the momentum of the film is regularly broken up by reflective drama which just isn’t convincing and feels half-hearted, not to mention a mystery ‘whodunit’ element which is fairly quickly resolved to make way for the inevitable reckoning. The result is a clunky and uneven vigilante revenge thriller story which bends over backwards to create a sympathetic yet ruthless anti-hero, who jostles for straight up hero status—and of course keeps this franchise rolling.

There is one thing though that Fuqua can count on to elevate this beyond yet another completely forgettable sequel, and even flirt with being an enjoyable action/thriller—and that’s the sheer charisma of his star. Denzel Washington is just too considerable an actor to let the film sink into obscurity, and even though his talents are somewhat squandered, he’s more than magnetic enough to keep your eyes glued to the screen throughout.

Ultimately there’s enough action and even some expertly delivered dry humour here to paper over the cracks in the narrative, and make for an enjoyable if unmemorable vigilante thriller . . . but not enough to entice us with yet another action franchise.

The Bottom Line…

Underwritten, uneven and underwhelming storywise, ‘The Equalizer 2’ suffers from the same limitations as most sequels as it ups the scale but loses structure and intimacy, yet manages to deliver enough righteous ruthlessness and gritty action to even the playfield—relying on the undeniable charisma and legendary talents of its lead to deliver a reasonably gripping, if overly reflective, vigilante action/thriller.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Accountant (2016)

Ben Affleck stars as a mysterious and gifted but obsessive and neurologically challenged forensic accountant, who ‘creatively’ manages the books for criminal organizations… and moonlights as an assassin, but his latest job puts him on a collision course with dangerous forces and a troubled past in this action/thriller from the director of ‘Warrior’.

Directed by Gavin O’Connor and starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons among others.

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