I recently watched the first Equalizer in preparation for this film and was impressed by its technical qualities, while unfortunately being let down by the script. Going into this I was expecting a lot of the same, and expecting that I'd be really underwhelmed. Surprisingly I enjoyed this one quite a bit and had a nice little trip to the movies for myself.
This film once again follows Robert McCall, the badass with a mysterious past that we all know and love (and by all I mean everyone that enjoyed the first film). When McCall sees one of his few friends murdered, he sets out to find the men that did it and bring justice. While doing this he brightens the lives of many in little ways, whether that means helping a young troubled kid living near him or spending time with an elderly man.
Easily the driving force of this film and the first is Denzel Washington's performance as Robert McCall. His performance gives a great blend of action hero and genuine good man. When he tries to help out the kid that he lives near there are clear shades of his performance in Fences and it makes that relationship really strong. This cast features some big name newcomers that all put in good work. Game of Thrones alum Pedro Pascal is great as always, this time playing a former companion of McCall's. His performance is solid and there's a moment with him that to me seemed like a nod to one of his top Games of Thrones moments, which made me chuckle a fair bit as Oberyn Martell was one of my favourite characters. Melissa Leo plays McCall's friend and Pascal's co-worker Susan. The bond between her and Washington is really strong and makes McCall's motives really strong as the film goes on. Fans of Moonlight may enjoy this, as Ashton Sanders who played teenaged Chiron plays Miles, the kid that I was talking about earlier. Miles is an interesting character, as at first he seems like a pointless subplot, but is then worked into the main storyline really well, and Sanders shows the makings of a really great actor.
In terms of technical elements this film has similar strengths and weaknesses as the first. The direction by Antoine Fuqua is really solid. The film takes the shape of more of a crime thriller than an action movie, and the tension Fuqua builds in some scenes is really great. When the action does come into play its usually very well done, especially one scene involving a car, and only one or two sequences aren't done great. The cinematography is for the most part quite great minus some weak shots here and there. The climax of the film was absolutely fantastic, taking place on a deserted stormy island with an intense game of cat and mouse. The climax was easily one of the best scenes I've seen in a recent action movie. Once again the writing in this film isn't solid. While the Miles subplot works in well there are many others that don't. The film also takes a lot of time getting to the actual plot. I enjoyed seeing McCall do good deeds for people, but that was most of the first 45 minutes of the film. It would be several random scenes and then one or two that actually built the plot. The editing late in the film is good but in those first 45 minutes it jumps back and forth between random scenes with no clear transitions. If you don't like title cards telling you where a scene is taking place you'll probably get pissed off early on because the film jumps back and forth and keeps using title cards for the same two cities. You'll read Washington DC and Brussels, Belgium several times and it just goes as an example of the rough writing and editing.
While there are definitely issues the positives easily outweighed them for me. I walked out impressed and feeling like this built well on the first film. While the film starts out weak it leads to a fantastic second half with a climax I'll remember for a while. The Equalizer 2 isn't special by any means but is a more than serviceable crime/action thriller. With Mission Impossible: Fallout hitting theatres and other great movies that came out in May and June this will obviously not be the action event of the summer, but alas it is a well made film that I enjoyed quite a bit.
Rating: 3.2/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
This film once again follows Robert McCall, the badass with a mysterious past that we all know and love (and by all I mean everyone that enjoyed the first film). When McCall sees one of his few friends murdered, he sets out to find the men that did it and bring justice. While doing this he brightens the lives of many in little ways, whether that means helping a young troubled kid living near him or spending time with an elderly man.
Easily the driving force of this film and the first is Denzel Washington's performance as Robert McCall. His performance gives a great blend of action hero and genuine good man. When he tries to help out the kid that he lives near there are clear shades of his performance in Fences and it makes that relationship really strong. This cast features some big name newcomers that all put in good work. Game of Thrones alum Pedro Pascal is great as always, this time playing a former companion of McCall's. His performance is solid and there's a moment with him that to me seemed like a nod to one of his top Games of Thrones moments, which made me chuckle a fair bit as Oberyn Martell was one of my favourite characters. Melissa Leo plays McCall's friend and Pascal's co-worker Susan. The bond between her and Washington is really strong and makes McCall's motives really strong as the film goes on. Fans of Moonlight may enjoy this, as Ashton Sanders who played teenaged Chiron plays Miles, the kid that I was talking about earlier. Miles is an interesting character, as at first he seems like a pointless subplot, but is then worked into the main storyline really well, and Sanders shows the makings of a really great actor.
In terms of technical elements this film has similar strengths and weaknesses as the first. The direction by Antoine Fuqua is really solid. The film takes the shape of more of a crime thriller than an action movie, and the tension Fuqua builds in some scenes is really great. When the action does come into play its usually very well done, especially one scene involving a car, and only one or two sequences aren't done great. The cinematography is for the most part quite great minus some weak shots here and there. The climax of the film was absolutely fantastic, taking place on a deserted stormy island with an intense game of cat and mouse. The climax was easily one of the best scenes I've seen in a recent action movie. Once again the writing in this film isn't solid. While the Miles subplot works in well there are many others that don't. The film also takes a lot of time getting to the actual plot. I enjoyed seeing McCall do good deeds for people, but that was most of the first 45 minutes of the film. It would be several random scenes and then one or two that actually built the plot. The editing late in the film is good but in those first 45 minutes it jumps back and forth between random scenes with no clear transitions. If you don't like title cards telling you where a scene is taking place you'll probably get pissed off early on because the film jumps back and forth and keeps using title cards for the same two cities. You'll read Washington DC and Brussels, Belgium several times and it just goes as an example of the rough writing and editing.
While there are definitely issues the positives easily outweighed them for me. I walked out impressed and feeling like this built well on the first film. While the film starts out weak it leads to a fantastic second half with a climax I'll remember for a while. The Equalizer 2 isn't special by any means but is a more than serviceable crime/action thriller. With Mission Impossible: Fallout hitting theatres and other great movies that came out in May and June this will obviously not be the action event of the summer, but alas it is a well made film that I enjoyed quite a bit.
Rating: 3.2/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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