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| photo courtesy of teaser-trailer.com |
Denzel Washington gets
his vigilante on in The Equalizer 2,
the sequel to the 2014 action thriller based on the TV series of the same name.
When the movie begins, aging ex-CIA agent Robert McCall (Washington) spends his
time working as a driver, championing the cause of a local artist, and avenging
the victims of violent crimes. But McCall’s routine is disrupted after
assailants murder his friend Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo). As enemies close in
on every side, it’s up to McCall to serve justice to those responsible.
The Equalizer 2 has
some heart, but it suffers from a fundamental lack of inspiration. Instead of building
on the world of the original in interesting and exciting ways, it mostly
settles for replicating the experience—in some ways, rather directly. Still,
with a predictably committed performance from Denzel and some thrilling action
sequences, the movie makes for a decent night-in Netflix pick.
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| photo courtesy of thefourohfive.com |
Things improve once the
plot finally starts rolling (around the halfway mark), but the entire first half
of The Equalizer 2 is far too
plodding for a movie that calls itself an action thriller. What’s worse, the story
jumps around between at least three competing subplots, sometimes moving back and
forth every other minute or so. Every thread comes back at the end, but more
often than not the payoff isn’t substantial enough to merit their inclusion in the
first place.
The second half of the
movie provides a few genuinely exciting set pieces, including a pretty
spectacular final showdown that boasts snipers, harpoon guns, and hurricane
force winds. But it’s Denzel that ultimately sells the experience. He can give
those action sequences grit (like Liam Neeson or a host of other “old-man’s
still got it” stars), but he also gives the role a vital humanity. The best
parts of the movie, undoubtedly, are the scenes that see him mentoring the
local starving artist, Miles Whittaker (Ashton Sanders, Moonlight, who also provides a noteworthy performance). On the
surface, their relationship bears a strong resemblance to McCall’s guardianship
of Chloë Grace Moretz’s character in the first film, but the bonds feel
stronger, more real, and more worthwhile here. Fittingly, Whittaker’s character
serves as the emotional anchor for the final act—perhaps because his is the
only subplot that really carries through that far.
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| photo courtesy of ew.com |
FINAL VERDICT: Narratively
scattered and riddled with product placement, The Equalizer 2 struggles to find the edge it needs.
TRAILER
Watch the trailer here.
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| photo courtesy of usatoday.com |
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