The Equalizer 3 review

THE EQUALIZER 3: 

DENZEL WASHINGTON “EQUALIZES” IN ITALY IN FLAWED BUT FUN THIRD CHAPTER! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Denzel Washington in The Equalizer 3

 

            Denzel Washington (Training Day, Flight, Fences) is back to equalize for the third time in The Equalizer 3, the third and final installment of the Equalizer trilogy loosely based on the TV series of the same name. I have not seen the show before, but I’ve seen the previous two movies, so I’ll give my quick thoughts on them before we start. 

            I enjoyed the first Equalizer from 2014 though I wouldn’t call it a perfect action film, it’s a very standard storyline that we’ve seen before in other movies, but the action is a lot of fun and Denzel Washington’s performance is excellent. The Equalizer 2 from 2018 on the other hand I found extremely forgettable despite strong performances from the cast and a great climax during a hurricane. 

             Which brings us to The Equalizer 3 with Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Southpaw, The Magnificent Seven(2016)) returning to direct and Washington reprising his role as retired U.S. Marine and DIA operative Robert McCall. Well, after the releases of other installments of popular action movie franchises that continue to push the envelopes such as John Wick: Chapter 4, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and Fast X, I can say that The Equalizer 3 is…enjoyable! 

            The film is set sometime after the events of The Equalizer 2 and follows Robert McCall (Washington) enjoying a quiet and peaceful retirement in Southern Italy. When he discovers that his new friends and neighbors have frequent conflicts with the Sicilian Mafia, Robert must equalize one last time and take on the mafia in order to protect his friends. 

            The film also stars Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds (2005), Coraline, The Twilight Saga) as CIA agent Emma Collins, Eugenio Mastrandrea (From Scratch) as Gio Bonucci, David Denman (The Gift, Brightburn, Joy Ride) as Frank Conroy, Sonia Ben Ammar (Scream (2022)) as Chiara Bonucci, Remo Girone (Live By Night, Ford v. Ferrari) as Enzo Arisio, and Bruno Bilotta (Double Team, Titus, The Tourist) as Lorenzo Vitale. 

            Overall, The Equalizer 3 gives what it promises, Denzel kicking ass in Italy in a standard yet entertaining third chapter. It’s a film that will deliver some thrills and Denzel Washington once again is great in the lead role, though it does pales in comparison to other action movies released this year and probably won't be remembered as much as John Wick: Chapter 4 or Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. 

            I did enjoy this one more than the second film because while it doesn’t really do much new with the formula in terms of story, the action scenes are a lot more memorable (and equally brutal) compared to its predecessors and the film itself doesn’t overstay its welcome (This is the shortest of the Equalizer films). 

            One of my biggest complaints about the previous films is that a lot of scenes in them drag and the runtimes felt too long (The first Equalizer was 2 hours and 17 minutes while Equalizer 2 was just slightly over 2 hours). This one has a runtime of 1 hour and 49 minutes and yes, there are slow scenes in this to establish environments and characters, but they didn’t drag and felt essential to the story and often lead into thrilling action scenes. 

            The film starts off strong with a brilliantly executed (No pun intended) opening sequence in a vineyard done in practically one continuous shot involving a man following a path of death bodies and leads into the opening action scene. Honestly, most of the action in general is well-filmed, choreographed, and unapologetically violent with some of the grisliest kills in the entire trilogy (It isn’t Saw-level, but there were some that did get genuine reactions out of me in the theater). 

            Like its predecessors, Denzel Washington gives a very charismatic performance as Robert and I enjoy the chemistry he has with the people he interacts with throughout the film whether it’s with Dakota Fanning’s character (Who is unfortunately not utilized as much as she could have been), banter with mafia guys, or just interacting with the people of Italy. I appreciate how even though he is a tough badass, he also has a lot of humanity and likable charm. 

            The action and performances are almost enough to make up for The Equalizer 3’s indifferent and formulaic storyline which is the film’s biggest flaw. It just gives more of the same and doesn’t really deliver any surprises or new twists to these kind of movie tropes, you can predict where it goes as it unfolds pretty easily. 

            The Equalizer 3 is a decent third chapter of the Equalizer trilogy that I’m sure fans of the previous films will probably enjoy. There are a lot of things to appreciate about it (Performances, acting, beautiful shots of Italy, etc.) even if the narrative is flawed and some of the side characters are underutilized.