It seems that both fitting and acceptable endings to popular Hollywood franchises are hard to come by nowadays. Generally, most finales have audiences feeling a sense of disappointment with how they go about concluding their respective stories. That doesn't appear to be the case here as Sony Pictures has Denzel Washington and series director Antoine Fuqua concluding their popular rebooted Equalizer trilogy in a thrilling fashion, delivering high-octane action that's comparable to that of the John Wick franchise. The Equalizer 3 delivers electrifying action as well as a satisfying curtain closer for Washington's character Robert McCall, that makes it the most solid action film released this year next to John Wick: Chapter 4.
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Loosely based on the television series of the same name, the plot has Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) giving up his previous life as a government assassin and living in Southern Italy. His life of peace is soon halted when he discovers that his newfound friends are being terrorized and controlled by local crime bosses. Known for the disbursing of justice on behalf of those oppressed, McCall becomes the local neighborhood protector by single-handedly taking on the mafia himself. Equalizer 3's plot feels like the perfect way to wrap up McCall's story by bringing everything full circle and allowing audiences one last opportunity to see him in top form. Although the story comes across as being formulaic, there's enough stunning action displayed along with beautiful scenery and a commanding screen presence from Denzel Washington to make up for any shortcomings the film carries with the end result being a solid action fare.
With an action franchise like Equalizer, acting performances are crucial in regard to selling the intensity of the action as well as the believability of the story. Washington once again proves that he was born to play the role of Robert McCall with him depicting his character as being haunted by his past actions as a former government assassin yet finds himself being sucked back into the action while seeking peace in Southern Italy. He commands every scene that he's in and his reunion with Man on Fire co-star Dakota Fanning is a true delight to watch with the latter further demonstrating her talent as CIS officer Emma Collins, who gets tipped off by McCall regarding a winery's role in the illegal drug trade disguised as normal am business transactions in Sicily. Her chemistry with Washington remains spot-on with the audience genuinely feeling the excitement of seeing the two reunite nearly twenty years after their previous collaboration. The rest of the cast delivers terrific work with Eugenio Mastrandrea as local carabiniere Gio Bonucci, who rescues McCall after being shot. Other notable performances include David Denman as Collins CIA partner, Frank Conroy, Sonia Ben Ammar McCall's love interest Chiara Bonucci, Remo Girone as Enzo, Andrea Scarduzio as head of the Camorra, Vincent Quaranta, and Gaia Scodellaro as McCall's ally and doctor Aminah.
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In terms of directing, Fuqua brings the same style of kinetic action to the threequel while allowing Denzel to have enough free reign to dominate the screen. With the action, Fuqua keeps the violence relatively sparse but makes those moments notably effective with excessive amounts of gore being used. Some examples include individuals being shot, stabbed, and blown up in graphic and bloody fashions with over-the-top bits including a man having a fun shoved through his eyeball and several shots travelling through his head. The films cinematography stunningly captures the versatility and beautiful landscape of Italy. At 109 minutes, the story never feels like its slow-moving or boring with the action keeping audiences at the edge of their seat as they anticipate McCall to take out the Italian Mafia. Given that this marks both Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua's fifth collaboration together, it seems as if both men have a legitimate understanding of how to utilize the other in bringing out the best work possible. The latter delivers strong directorial work that audiences will unquestionably find to be skillful.
The Equalizer 3's plot heavily revolves around themes pertaining to drug trafficking, the Mafia, pain, grief, vigilantism, and finding peace which McCall's character finds during his stay in Italy. Both the storyline and dialogue come across as being powerful at times with it legitimately feeling like the end for McCall's story. When it comes to the rest of the films characters, they come across as being thinly developed though serviceable figures whom the audience have seen before in other similar action features. The films Italian Mafia comes across as appearing rather simple and dull with them being the typical generic mafia henchmen, who hurt others for financial gain with nothing else shown beyond that. Although their characters aren't interesting, their actions help move things forward while building the audiences suspense in wanting to see them get killed off by McCall. While Equalizer 3's script doesn't do anything innovative with its story and finds itself largely sticking to formula and familiar character tropes, there's enough good elements present to make up for any of it shortcomings.
If one enjoyed the previous Equalizer films, they'll also do so here as it offers more of the same while giving more insight into McCall's mind. The stories most effective moments are those in which his character reflects on his past deeds, while also being shocked at the injustice surrounding him as he slowly realizes that he must clean up the streets once again. At one point in the film, he tells one of the main Italian monsters "I'm preparing you" as he prepares to take matters into his own hands. That warning serves not just the main villains, but the audience as well given that they know what's coming and will be anticipating the climax with pure adrenaline and excitement. It may not be as strong of a series capper as John Wick: Chapter 4, but as one that aims to conclude its own story, The Equalizer 3 respectably does so while leaving fans reasonably satisfied.
Final Verdict: A must see for action fans and those who enjoy Denzel Washington as an actor.
Images courtesy of Sony Pictures
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