'The Equalizer 3' review: The law office of Denzel and Fuqua kicks ass again
These are throwback action thrillers with a need to please.
Directors and actors don’t work together as often as one would think. The merging of two different kinds of creators can lead to hectic and erratic sets. They also lead to bad movies. Thankfully, Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington like working with each other. It’s a partnership that has delivered for nearly a decade.
The Equalizer 3 marks the fifth collaboration between the two, tying Washington’s film collection with the great, late Tony Scott. It’s also proof that the right collaborators age gracefully. The third (and supposedly final) film shows the dynamic duo in full action-adventure stride, creating entertainment that audiences have paid for on three different release dates. At the time of this review, the weekend (not including the holiday today) take was $34 million.
Being that Fuqua and Washington make these films for peanuts compared to most commercial productions today, that’s a sweet number that could climb over $40 million with a solid Labor Day bump. When you pair a seasoned action genre filmmaker with one of the best actors to ever work, the gamble becomes a lot less than most greenlights.
After an exhausting and overstuffed sequel, The Equalizer 3 finds Robert McCall (Washington) wounded and on the run after a mission, washing up on the beautiful shores of Southern Italy in need of safe keeping. Enter Enzo Arisio (a great Remo Gironi), a local doctor who knows what to do with a mysterious stranger carrying a gunshot wound. The friendship that blossoms out of reliability and respect between Robert and Enzo is one of the better parts of Fuqua’s latest.
Another is the sweetly rendered reunion between Washington and his Man on Fire co-star, Dakota Fanning. Her law enforcer has a nice tie to McCall’s past that I won’t spoil, and it allows the two to share a number of well-acted scenes. They have a nice onscreen chemistry, an ebb and flow that doesn’t look rehearsed; more like two friends who got the same piece of paper.
She helps him take on the Camorra, a local criminal operation that borders on Scarface yet settles on the wardrobe of the film alone instead. It’s not that the bad guys here aren’t interesting; they’re just target practice for a hot-tea loving, extra-neat former assassin who can’t resist the urge to help a good soul in need. For him, it’s less red off his ledger, thus allowing his soul to keep climbing towards a good place.
Here’s the thing. You came for Denzel. You came to see him dispatch bad guys in a timely (he’s clocking this shit on his Timex) and deadly fashion. Push him too far, and he’ll take everyone out. The outcome being in doubt isn’t a huge selling point here. McCall is an unstoppable force, sharing a bunk bed of cinema resilience with Keanu Reeves’ John Wick. It’s the fact that Washington is cooler than cool doing his thing, and we can’t stop watching. Imagine sad John Creasy but in better shape, mentally and physically.
He has something formidable going with Fuqua--the man who pulled a devil of a performance out of him for Training Day 22 years ago. Ever since Washington stepped into Alonzo Harris’s fancy shoes, there’s been a different rhythm to his onscreen cadence. Over time, when you’re that fucking good, the confidence shows without effort.
With Washington in top form and Fuqua allowing sexy Sicily to be a supporting player in the uncomplicated plot, the Equalizer juggernaut soldiers on in sharp fashion. Part Three is the leanest edition too, clocking in at less than 110 minutes. The film wastes no time, placing our hero in a new town with new bad guys to kill.
I’m a fan. This returned the franchise to the high spot that the original sat on after its release. Credit Fuqua with being a director who, like Mr. Scott, is able to pull different shades of Denzel out of the hat for a crowd without sacrificing his essence.
Count me entertained, and ready for more. Cross this over with Wick, and make it quick. Denzel is in his prime… STILL!