Review:
"The Equalizer 2"
Release Date: July 20, 2018
Rating: R Running Time: 129 minutes Hard to believe but The Equalizer 2 represents the first sequel from Denzel Washington. Harder to swallow is that The Equalizer 2 is one of the least essential offerings from an actor who has spent 37 years making films. That is not to say The Equalizer 2 does not have its moments. But director Antoine Fuqua’s flabby follow up to his 2014 adaptation of the 1980s Edward Woodwood TV series does not measure up to its equally blood-soaked predecessor. In fact, The Equalizer 2 feels less like a sequel than a franchise closer, as it more about Washington’s Robert McCall’s quest for vengeance and McCall’s commitment to helping the helpless. In keeping with the spirit of the TV series’ premise, The Equalizer 2 opens with the Good Samaritan putting his superior mental and physical attributes to good use, in this case to save a girl from her kidnappers. After establishing McCall is less of a loner than he was in The Equalizer—the ex-CIA agent still works a menial job but now he is a well-regarded resident of the Boston apartment building he lives in—Fuqua and returning screenwriter Richard Wenk get down to business. One of McCall’s few remaining friends, Melissa Leo’s CIA officer Susan Plummer, is murdered during an overseas investigation. McCall, being McCall, takes it upon himself to track down those responsible. Needless to say, there is hell to pay, and Fuqua ups the violence that informed his Equalizer without batting an eye. McCall does not mess around when it comes to exacting revenge. But by making The Equalizer 2 an intensely personal experience for McCall, and by forcing him to confront his emotional demons to the point of catharsis, it is hard to see where the franchise can go from an ending that ties everything up with a big bow. Of course, McCall can always break some skulls in the name of some poor soul in trouble, but it is doubtless it would carry the same weight and significance. Maybe The Equalizer 2 is designed to bring McCall’s story full circle—if it took Washington almost four decades to star in his first sequel, what makes anyone think he is going to commit to play the same character a third time? Washington remains as smart and steely as McCall as he was in The Equalizer but this time around he is allowed to delve deep into the damaged psyche of a good man who cannot move beyond the pivotal past events that have led him to lead a mostly solitarily life. Washington, of course, rises to the occasion. For him, this sequel is more an opportunity to explore the enigma that is Robert McCall than to break bones. But, as we all know, Washington breaks bones better than most. The Equalizer 2 is at its most intriguing when McCall interacts with Miles (Ashton Sanders), a young artist whose grief for his slain brother has the potential to manifest itself in all the wrong ways. Washington makes for an invaluable mentor to the Moonlight standout, and in turn Miles serves to help draw the guarded McCall out of himself. More important, The Equalizer 2 finds sufficient time to develop the relationship between McCall and Miles to the point that the latter’s presence during the film’s climax is more out of necessity than function. Unfortunately, The Equalizer 2 stumbles with a stale murder-mystery plot that takes too many obvious turns and unfolds in dull fashion. Only the climax, set during a hurricane, comes close to the thrill of watching McCall take down the kidnappers in the opening scene or teaching a group of dude bros a lesson in how to properly treat a woman, neither of which relate to the main story. It also does not help that The Equalizer 2 fails to give McCall a worthy opponent, as The Equalizer did with Marton Csokas’ cold-and-calculating Russian mob enforcer. If Denzel Washington does return as Robert McCall, and there is no reason why he should, he deserves a mission that puts his remarkable set of skills to better use. Robert Sims Aired: July 19, 2018 Web site: http://www.equalizer.movie/site/ |
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