What sets "The Equalizer" movies apart from all the other "one man army" wish fulfillment films that have been so popular lately? What sets Robert McCall, played by Denzel Washington, apart from John Wick, Jack Reacher, and whoever Liam Neeson is playing this week? Well, less and less as time goes on.
I watched all three of the "Equalizer" movies that Washington made with Antoine Fuqua over the past week, and have no other familiarity with the franchise. I haven't seen the '80s television series or the recent reboot, but there's no apparent crossover among any of the different versions. Honestly, there's not much crossover among the three "Equalizer" movies either. All of them can be watched independently, and have different premises. The first "Equalizer" from 2014 is a street-level crime film, about McCall using his ex-spy skills to help out the ordinary people around him with no other recourse. The sequel is a more typical spy thriller with some revenge elements, and the most recent film, "The Equalizer 3," is a soft reboot that takes place in Italy.
The first "Equalizer" is easily the best film of the three, spending the most time with McCall's day to day routine and his relationships with the people around him. There's a fun DIY quality to his vigilante activities, culminating in him turning the Home Depot where he works into a death trap for the baddies. Chloe Grace Moretz plays the troubled prostitute that McCall befriends, and Melissa Leo plays an old colleague for a few brief scenes, but otherwise it's a lot of character actors and relative unknowns. The average, everyday people mostly feel like average, everyday people, and it's a rare joy to see Denzel Washington interacting with them. It doesn't matter that the stakes are small, because Fuqua does the work of getting us invested in them. And whenever Washington does something impossibly cool, the impact is greater. All the "Equalizer" films are mid budget productions, fairly small scale, and nothing fancy. However, they're solidly made, and have their own distinct character to them - think the early "Death Wish" films with less racism.
The sequels aren't as good, but still have their high points. "The Equalizer 2" sees Robert McCall's past catch up to him, with an old partner played by Pedro Pascal in the villain role. There's much more gunplay and spycraft, and little time is spent with civilians. Notably, none of the people we saw McCall form relationships with in the first film return in the second, though there are a few new faces to fill in those roles. Orson Bean, in his last film appearance, shows up in a bit part. The first two acts are pretty good, but the big action finale is very generic, and I could feel my attention slipping the longer it went on. "The Equalizer 3," however, sees a significant drop in quality. I suspect the biggest problem is that Washington is now in his late sixties, and is physically slowing down. The most impressive action scene is one where he's sitting down for practically the entire time. Probably the biggest selling point is that Elle Fanning shows up as a CIA operative, for a nice "Man on Fire" reunion. No characters from either of the previous "Equalizer" movies return, and it's never made clear what McCall is doing in Europe in the first place.
I should point out that the second and third "Equalizer" films are the only sequels that Denzel Washington has ever starred in, and while they're not the worst films he's ever made, they're pretty close to the bottom. They represent that Washington's leading man days are naturally, inevitably coming to a close, and he's making some of the same choices that Bruce Willis, Liam Neeson, and other leading men have made before him - a few less prestige projects and a few more easy paychecks. The "Equalizer" films are reliable performers though, and decently entertaining even at their worst. And it's always good to see Washington onscreen in any capacity. Even amidst the box office chaos of 2023, "The Equalizer 3" made a small profit. And I was honestly sorry I hadn't seen any of these films before now.
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