Escape Artists

‘The Equalizer 3’ – The Best of the Trilogy

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The first two “Equalizer” movies directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington were effective action flicks, but much of what happened in them did not stay in my brain for very long. The most I can remember is that Denzel played Robert McCall who, when he starts the timer on his digital watch, is gifted at leaving his opponents in a world of immense pain in about five seconds’ time. And then there are others who he leaves in a world of searing pain before killing them off in a rather gruesome fashion. Other than that, few things from those films stayed with me after I watched them. They were good and did their job, but like your average fast-food meal, it only leaves so much of an aftertaste.

The same, however, cannot be said about “The Equalizer 3” as it features a storyline and action scenes which will not leave my mind for a very long time. Whereas its predecessors followed similar plotlines, this one goes in a different direction as Robert McCall wonders how he can live on after all the bloody and brutal acts he has unleashed upon others. But while he looks to have found peace, we know that peace will eventually be shattered.

This sequel starts off with an immediate bang as a drug lord drives up to his beautiful home, the kind which the average working-class individual can only dream of affording. Upon his arrival, he discovers many dead bodies littered around and inside his home, including one henchman with a hatchet buried deep in his face. For a moment, I thought “The Equalizer 3” was about to introduce us to Robert’s latest chief antagonist, but instead we find Robert has killed all these men, and we first see him sitting in a chair, held at gunpoint by the drug lord’s henchmen and looking to be on the verge of breathing his very last breath. But, of course, this is the only the movie’s beginning, and once Robert tells this nameless drug baron he has nine seconds to decide his fate, you know he is going to walk out of there and no one else will.

“The Equalizer 3” is rated R for “strong bloody violence.” Please take this rating seriously. The opening sequence alone hangs over this sequel as McCall ends up laying waste to those in his ways in an infinitely brutal fashion. He even shoots his nemesis in a very painful area before ending him ever so coldly, before rendering them dead or, as Chevy Chase described it in “Fletch,” extremely sleepy. Right from the start, this is Fuqua’s and Washington’s way of saying, “Hey, this is make believe, but all the same we ain’t playing around!”

From there, the action moves to the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy where McCall goes to recover from life-threatening injuries, and it is there he finds a level of peace his violent past has never allowed him to have. Eventually, he is made to feel like one of the people there after he finally gets that cup of tea he ordered at the local café. Cinematographer Robert Richardson lights this town beautifully and adds to allure of it being a desirable tourist destination I would love to visit someday. Even one of my critic friends told me, after watching this movie, how she would just love to retire there. Who wouldn’t?

Nevertheless, we know this peace will eventually be shattered, and it is shattered by members of the Sicilian Mafia who are determined to turn this beautiful town into a major tourist destination with hotels and restaurants. Essentially, they are real estate investors of the most violent kind as they show no hesitation in throwing an old man out the window or beating up a local chef in order to make their presence known and never forgotten. It’s just like what John Doe said in “Seven:”

“Wanting people to listen, you can’t just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you’ll notice you’ve got their strict attention.”

Fuqua and Washington love playing with our emotions and the situations presented to us. We know McCall is going to leave these heavily tattooed thugs in a world of pain before certain death, but we still get to have a lot of twisted fun here as these thugs try to intimidate McCall, and we revel in the fact that they have no idea what they are in for or who they are dealing with. They may delight in intimidating others, but we know they are on the verge of experiencing a level of pain which could literally make them shit their pants. There is even a certain scene in a restaurant in which McCall shows how much he knows about the human anatomy, he presents this in a painfully unforgettable way.

I have long become convinced that Denzel can do absolutely no wrong as an actor. Not once have I failed to see him give the best performance possible in any motion picture he stars in, and “The Equalizer 3” is no exception. It could have been a role where he simply could have stared his foes down, but he makes every single movement of his body, every look with his eyes and every word of dialogue he utters count for so much. He is not about to render Robert McCall into some mere one-dimensional action hero like the ones many of us grew up with in the 1980’s. Just as Matt Damon did as Jason Bourne, Keanu Reeves did with John Wick and even Tom Cruise does with Ethan Hunt, Denzel imbues McCall with a deeply wounded humanity which rings true throughout. This is one of many characters with a violent past they are hoping to make peace with, but we all know they will eventually return to the thing they do best. This is what makes them so fascinating and enthralling to watch.

The other big delight of “The Equalizer 3” is the appearance of Dakota Fanning, reuniting with Denzel for the first time in almost 20 years after “Man on Fire.” It is fascinating to watch Dakota then when she was a young girl and then watching her now as a woman, and it is great fun to see her hold her own opposite Denzel as CIA officer Emma Collins. She is a terrific presence as she carefully tries to pierce away at McCall’s hardened exterior to find out what lies underneath. My only disappointment is seeing her sidelined before the film’s third act as I would have loved to see these two team up to together to take on the mafia, but I guess her character was written to serve a different purpose.

And while the screenplay by Richard Wenk may come across as your routine and formulaic vigilante action flick, Fuqua and company end up pulling the rug right out from under us before we can even get a glimpse of what could possibly be coming our way. You know how it goes; the bad guys get hurt and embarrassed really bad, and they vow a revenge which we know will hurt even worse than what came before. But when it comes to our man McCall, he is already several steps ahead of them. So, when the pain comes, it comes fast and brutal, and you pity those who have no idea what kind of fate they are in store for.

Of all the movies in “The Equalizer” trilogy, “The Equalizer 3” is my pick for the best of the bunch. It is the most memorable, features action set pieces which must had director Mel Gibson going, “Hey, I could have done that,” and it proves to be a strong conclusion to a well-made trilogy. Again, take the R rating this movie has very seriously. If you do not like seeing someone stick a gun in an eye socket they have already shot through in order to take out another henchman with several bullets, this may not be your cup of tea. Whereas John Wick takes out his enemies before they even know what had hit them, Robert McCall wants you to first know who it was who had beaten you.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

‘The Equalizer 2’ is More of the Same, and That’s Just Fine With Me

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The Equalizer 2 movie poster

It’s amazing how Denzel Washington has gone through his career without ever having made a sequel. Then again, do many of his films cry out for one? “Glory” and “Training Day,” didn’t leave much room for follow-ups as the characters he played met a very violent end. Last I checked, William Shakespeare never penned a sequel to “Much Ado About Nothing.” “The Pelican Brief,” “Philadelphia,” “Courage Under Fire” and “Crimson Tide” tell self-contained stories which are perfectly resolved at their conclusions. “Unstoppable” came to a full stop at the end to where a continuation would have insultingly involved another runaway train. As for “Remember the Titans,” we still remember them 18 years later, so there’s no need for a sequel to remind us of what we never forgot about in the first place. And regardless of what its title may imply, “Malcolm X” is not a sequel to anything.

But with “The Equalizer’s” Robert McCall, Washington has found a character whose story can last beyond one movie, and this was made clear in the final scene where he replied to someone’s plea for help over the internet. Now we have “The Equalizer 2” which reteams Washington with director Antoine Fuqua for another round of brutal retribution against those foolish enough to cross McCall’s path. While not much is different this time out, this sequel still proves to be as entertaining and thrilling as its predecessor.

We catch up with McCall who still resides in Boston, Massachusetts but now works as a driver for Lyft. This particular job allows McCall to befriend people like Sam Rubinstein (Orson Bean), a Holocaust survivor who is still trying to come to grips with what he has lost. Rubinstein also gives McCall an invaluable piece of advice which rings ever so true:

“Be nice to anyone who has access to your toothbrush.”

Among McCall’s victims this time around are a group of men who have kidnapped a little girl, and a bunch of young men afflicted with white privilege that have taken advantage of a female intern. Once again, these characters think they have McCall figured out and consider him as someone way past his prime, but we all know he is going to leave them in a world of pain because that’s why we paid money to see this sequel. The question is, will he take them out in 15 seconds or 29? Either way, McCall has found a very effective method to obtain a five-star rating from a Lyft passenger. Whether he gets a tip on top of that remains to be seen.

Things, however, get very personal for McCall when he learns his dear friend Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) has been murdered while on assignment in Brussels, Belgium. The attack on Susan is especially brutal, but it’s nice to see her get a few punches in. With “The Equalizer 2,” Leo gets to remind us how she once portrayed one of television’s most unforgettable female police detectives, Sgt. Kay Howard, on “Homicide: Life on the Street” as she inflicts painful scars on her attackers. While at the press screening I wanted to yell out “Kay Howard lives!” But knowing from the trailers how Susan was going to meet a tragic end left me with anxiety and some despair as her fate was clearly sealed.

As you can expect, McCall goes on a mission of revenge which leads him to meet up and work with a former partner of his from the CIA, Dave York (Pedro Pascal). What he discovers is a complex web of corruption in which loose ends are being tied up to where the perpetrators are higher up the government ladder than he realized. Watching certain characters get eliminated in ways they do not see coming reminded me of what Captain James T. Kirk said in “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country:”

“First rule of assassination, kill the assassins.”

Denzel is simply the best, and he return to the role of Robert McCall as if he just made the original film yesterday. Is it even possible for this Oscar-winning actor to disappoint us? Well, anything is possible, but seeing him in the scene where he takes young Miles (Ashton Sanders), an aspiring artist, aside and gives him a strong lecture about the dangers of gang life reminds us why he is one of the best actors working. We have seen this scene of an older man telling a young one not to join a gang many, many times before, but Denzel brings a raw emotional power to this one which makes it feel as visceral as when Laurence Fishburne demanded Cuba Gooding Jr. give him back his gun in “Boyz n the Hood.”

Ashton Sanders proves to be a strong addition to “The Equalizer” franchise as he portrays Miles as someone clearly caught between two worlds and unsure how to navigate either of them. We learn his brother was senselessly murdered, and he looks to be on the hustle when it comes to painting buildings and apartments, something McCall sees right through. Ashton also figures in one of this movie’s most suspenseful scenes when Miles is trapped in McCall’s apartment as a couple of assassins break in. Fuqua wrings all the suspense out of this scene to excellent effect, and it left me pinned to my seat as I began to feel as unsafe as Miles did.

Fuqua has since proven to be a top-notch action film director as he takes average set pieces in formulaic motion pictures and gives them a jolt of energy and tension. Right from the opening sequence on a train in Istanbul, Fuqua shows once again how he and Denzel mean business, and he gives us a number of thrilling moments throughout like when McCall fights a knife-wielding Lyft passenger while trying to avoid oncoming traffic, or when he faces off against a trio of bad guys whom he promises to terminate with extreme prejudice.

“The Equalizer 2” culminates in an action set piece much like the one in the first film as McCall leads his pursuers into territory he is far more familiar with than they are. Last time it was in a hardware store, and this time it’s at seaside town which is getting battered by severe winds and heavy rainfall. But whereas those Russian gangsters were too late to discover how out of their league they were, McCall now finds himself hunted by those with the same military training. As a result, the odds are even and this makes the sequel’s climax especially thrilling.

Also returning for this sequel is screenwriter Richard Wenk who infuses scenes with subversive jabs I could not ignore. When one military character talks about how he was essentially cut off by the government to where he was forced to do things he never would have done otherwise, I was reminded of how politicians kept telling us to support our troops during wartime and then would later cut their veteran benefits. Wenk is certainly not out to bash us over the head with any political statements, but it is little moments like those which provoke my consciousness to a strong extent.

And Wenk once again has McCall reading a number of classic books among which, quite appropriately, is Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.”

Like I said, “The Equalizer 2” is basically more of the same, but I was fine with that as Washington and Fuqua are simply out to give us an action-packed thriller, and they have succeeded once again. If there is to be a third “Equalizer” movie with these two on board, I would certainly welcome it.

Looking back, it’s almost a shame they didn’t make McCall an Uber driver. Just imagine how he would have reacted to his earnings statement as Uber is known for taking a ridiculously high percentage from their drivers. This could have resulted in a terrific climax in which McCall visits the company’s corporate headquarters and tells the CEO, “I understand you pay more attention to your profit motive than to the safety of your drivers.” If there is anyone who could punish Uber for this and make them update their policies for the drivers’ benefit, it would definitely be McCall!

* * * out of * * * *

‘The Equalizer’ Reminds Us Never to Mess with Denzel Washington

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The Equalizer movie poster

When actors get to a certain point, they find themselves playing older men with a violent past which they have long since renounced, but we know they will jump back into action when the occasion arises. Whether it’s Liam Neeson in “Taken,” Sean Penn in “The Gunman,” Keanu Reeves in “John Wick” or even Clint Eastwood in “Unforgiven,” these characters end up falling back into their violent ways as life has left them little else to fall back on. A song by Eminem, “Guts Over Fear,” spells this out perfectly:

“It’s too late to start over. This is the only thing I know.”

This is certainly the case for Robert McCall, the main character of “The Equalizer” which was a popular show from the 1980’s. Now Denzel Washington makes this character his own in this cinematic adaptation which shows McCall leading a decent life at a Home Depot-like store named Home Mart where he befriends its many employees, and who spends his time outside work at his bare apartment or at the local diner reading a book. But a look into his eyes tells of a dark past he would rather not tell you about, and we all know this past is going to come roaring back.

This dark past comes to the surface when Alina (Chloe Grace Moretz), a teenage prostitute McCall becomes friendly with, ends up in the hospital after a severe beating. Seeing the damage done to her, McCall goes to the Russian mobsters who employed her to beg for her freedom. Even after he presents them with an envelope filled with over nine thousand dollars in cash, they are quick to dismiss him as just some old guy who is way past his prime. Unlike the “John Wick” movies where the villains react in embarrassment upon realizing who they inadvertently pissed off, the antagonists of “The Equalizer” have yet to realize how brutal McCall as they believe youth counts for more than age. By the time they come to see their mistake, the chance to make an apology is quickly rendered moot. Just ask the man whom McCall forcefully shoves a corkscrew under his chin to where you can see it inside his mouth.

Of course, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and McCall’s actions have infuriated the Russian Mafia to where they send out theiir chief enforcer Nicolai Itchenko (Marton Csokas) to deal with the situation. It is important to note one of the books McCall reads is Ernest Hemmingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” which is about an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles to catch a giant marlin out in the Gulf Stream. As the book begins, the fisherman has been unable to catch a fish for over 80 days, and “The Equalizer” starts with McCall leading a peaceful life which suggests he has not beaten the crap out of anyone for a long, long time. But we all know a giant marlin of sorts will be thrown into his path, and we are left wondering just how badly his antagonists will get their due justice.

There is no denying Washington is one of the best film actors ever, and “The Equalizer” could not have come to him at a better time. His career has lasted for several decades, and he has surpassed the point where he has nothing else left to prove. Washington was 59 when he played Robert McCall, and helps him give the character more gravitas as he now has the face of a man who has seen more than any person should in life. All he has to do is give off a look with his eyes or speak words with his still smooth voice to let us know he means business. And when he starts the timer on his watch of his, we know things are about to get nasty.

Watching “The Equalizer” reminded me of “The Gunman” which starred Sean Penn as a former special forces officer and mercenary whom we see at points apologizing to others for being so good at killing people, a skill he wishes he was never taught. Penn is another one of our finest actors, but his performance was laughable as his character displayed himself in a way which felt insulting to our intelligence. Washington, however, does not make this same mistake in playing McCall. There’s a scene in which he admits he has done things he is not proud of and that he gave up on doing them out of respect for his late wife, but a look into his eyes is enough to tell us he is not about to apologize for who he is and that he accepted this part of himself a long time ago.

“The Equalizer” also allows Washington to reteam with his “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua, and this continues to be a match made in cinematic heaven. Let’s be honest, the plot of this movie is formulaic and hits all the notes we expect it to hit throughout, and we have a good idea of how things will turn out to where expect this to be a run of the mill action thriller. As long as it delivers the goods, this is enough.

Still, both Washington and Fuqua, along with screenwriter Richard Wenk, add their little touches to the material to where “The Equalizer” proves to be anything but average. Washington sells himself easily in this role, but he also adds a strong humanity to the character as we watch him help his friend Ralph (Johnny Skourtis) pass the security guard exam and keep a fellow employee calm while she is being robbed at gunpoint. Washington makes McCall a wonderfully rounded character in a way which could have come off as inescapably cheesy in the hands of another actor.

While Nicolai Itchenko comes off as just another overconfident gangster, let alone a Russian gangster, Fuqua gives Csokas some strong moments where a look at his tattoo-covered body reveals a man who has long since been rendered into a cold-hearted bastard to where any sense of empathy within him no longer exists. Csokas also has a scene where he stares off with Washington in the same way Al Pacino and Robert De Niro did in “Heat” as their characters try to figure the other one out, and he shows how deep Nicolai’s psychosis stretches in a way we do not often see in the typical action extravaganza.

Other actors make a sizable impact in their small roles, and it reinforces the saying of how there are no small roles, only small actors. David Harbour, before he became famous on “Stranger Things,” plays a corrupt cop whom McCall gives a chance to do the right thing in a coldly calculated way. Harbour makes the most of his moment opposite Washington when he yells out how life has given little in the way of choices to where he survives the only way he knows how. Sure, it may seem like a cliched moment, but Harbour sells it for all it is worth to where you cannot dismiss his performance as you walk out of the theater.

You even have Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo, two actors you can always depend on, showing up as Brian and Susan Plummer, a married couple and former CIA employees who were instrumental in McCall’s life and remain there for him in the aftermath of the tragedy he has suffered. Leo in particular brings a strong dramatic energy to her few scenes as she makes us see how Susan sympathizes with McCall’s situation to where she understands him in a way few others can or are willing to.

What I admired about Fuqua’s direction is that he has succeeded in making a slow burn thriller and not an action movie which hits the ground running like most do these days. Fuqua takes his time and is not quick to reveal everything about McCall to where the mystery of this man empowers the ultra-violent scenes to where we are constantly left on edge. When it comes to the movie’s climax at Home Mart, Fuqua keeps us as off-guard as the bad guys to where we cannot help but feel we are in their shoes as McCall takes them out with cruel precision. Ever since “Training Day,” this filmmaker has proven to be excellent at making action set pieces feel more visceral than they usually do, and he gets away with moving the story at a pace that seems unthinkable in today’s cinematic world which overflows with superheroes and comic book characters.

I’m not sure where I would place “The Equalizer” in the pantheon of Washington’s and Fuqua’s careers. It may not be among their best works, but it shows the care and intelligence they are willing to put into a typical genre film to where we got more out of the final product than we expect. I never did get the watch the television show which had Edward Woodward starring as Robert McCall, but I think it is safe to say Washington and Fuqua have taken this story and its main character and have safely made them their own.

* * * out of * * * *