Welcome back to the blog readers. I had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing the third and final installment in the Equalizer trilogy. You know that I love action films, but the Equalizer films were not it. Poor pacing and dull action made for some not fun times, and I visibly remember being (and staying) pissed at the second film (2018) for these issues. With that being said, would this entry end the series on a high note? Stick around and find out.
The Equalizer 3 was directed by Antoine Fuqua from a script by Richard Wenk, and loosely based on The Equalizer (1985-89) by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. The film stars Denzel Washington reprising his role as Robert McCall, with Dakota Fanning, David Denman, Sonia Ammar, and Remo Girone in supporting roles. In the film, after letting his guard down, McCall finds himself on a remote Italian coast town where he finds himself at odds with a Mafia family.
Like I mentioned, these Equalizer films have not always been the best, and I am hoping for a turnaround here. And after seeing The Equalizer 3, I can confidently say that this is the best of the trilogy. Although that comes with saying that that mark is not that high. So basically, the Equalizer 3 is better than the first two, but not by much. There are still major issues I have with the film, such as the pacing, story, and lack of action. And those issues really did hamper my experience because the action we do get is cool and Denzel Washington gives in a decent performance this time around.
Let us dive real deep into my biggest issue of the film, and that is the pacing. I had this exact same issue in the second film. The main story does not pick up until almost halfway through the film. It basically is like me playing Starfield the last 2 weeks: spend time exploring and doing side quests and then pick the main story back up. That is what this film feels like as well: the first half is littered with exposition and "side quests" and then we pick up the main story. It is very annoying and I picked up on it immediately. Major pacing issues really hampered on my enjoyment of the film.
Looking back on it now, the action is very scarce in this film. And the action we do see makes us feel like we are right in an Assassin's Creed game with all the stalking and stealth kills. This would have been incredible if that is how Robert McCall had been portrayed thus far in the series. But the issue is they keep rewriting his character to suit the film and that is frustrating as a film fan. It would almost be as bad as if Captain America was written the way he was for The Winter Soldier (2014) and then was revealed to be a Hydra agent in Civil War (2016). Things like that also frustrate me as a film fan.
But there is one positive of the film, and that is the performance of Denzel Washington. Admittedly, he gives in a pretty decent performance that I somewhat enjoyed. It just is a shame that it was marred down by a piss-poor script. I actually found myself somewhat sympathizing with Robert McCall a drop in places, although it was not a whole lot. Hopefully Denzel chooses some meaty roles in what should no doubt be the twilight hour of his career.
In conclusion, The Equalizer 3 spoils a decent performance from Denzel Washington in his final outing as Robert McCall with a poor script and poor pacing. Thank you all for reading and I will see you for the next review.
Comments