This has been a rather hectic weekend for me with lots of activities. I didn’t make it to the cinema, but one of the highlights in terms of movie-watching is that my hubby and I finally caught up with Denzel Washington‘s The Equalizer. As the third movie is coming out this Friday, we thought we might as well familiarize ourselves with Denzel’s one and only film franchise in his 40+ years of illustrious career. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, who directed Denzel in Training Day which earned him his second Oscar (his first in the leading actor category).

Now, my blog contributor Ted has reviewed The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2, so I’m not going to review them here, just offering my thoughts about the franchise overall. If you haven’t seen any of the movies, beware that I might mention some SPOILERS.

Interestingly enough, the first Equalizer was released the same year as the first John Wick movie in 2014, and there are definitely some similarities in that both are violent action thrillers where the protagonist is a skilled fighter or marksman trying to live a normal life until their past forces them out of retirement. Both Denzel and Keanu Reeves are charismatic with strong screen presence, and guess what, they starred in a movie together in Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 Much Ado About Nothing as Don Pedro and Don John, respectively.

What I didn’t realize is that the movie is loosely based on an 80s TV show of the same name with the same protagonist named Robert McCall, a retired intelligence agent with a mysterious past who uses the skills from his former career to exact justice on behalf of innocent people who find themselves in dangerous circumstances. But of course, Fuqua’s cinematic versions, all written by Richard Wenk, are far bloodier and more violent.

I have to say that The Equalizer 1 and 2 can be even tougher to watch than the JW franchise because even though Wick has likely killed a lot more people, the shootouts are quick with a very stylistic fighting style that somehow lessens the brutal impact. On the other hand, McCall’s brand of vengeance is more deliberate where he does want his subjects to suffer the consequences of their actions so most of the killings are delivered with more than just a quick shot to the head. Some are so vicious I often have to avert my eyes!

Now, McCall always offers the criminals a chance to repent before he exacts his vigilante justice on them and there’s a certain ethical code if you will, that he adheres to. I probably wouldn’t enjoy this franchise as much if it weren’t for Denzel’s immense gravitas and quiet power that few actor possesses. Even some of the quieter scenes are brimming with tension. One of my fave scenes is this conversation with a Russian mob enforcer (played by an icy Marton Czokas)…

When you pray for the rain, you’ve got to deal with the mud too – love that line!

The relationship between McCall and Chloë Grace Moretz‘s character has that protective father-daughter undertone. Though Moretz didn’t have much screen time, their scenes are quite memorable. It seems Denzel has that natural ‘wise father figure’ vibe about him as he’s got a similar father-daughter relationship with Dakota Fanning‘s character in Man on Fire.

Denzel is perfectly cast as a retired U.S. Marine turned former DIA Officer whose special skills are borderline superheroic, but I like that they made McCall more human with his OCD tendencies (which I read was Denzel’s idea as his character wasn’t given much backstory) and his regimented use of a stopwatch before each fight. Despite his killer ability, there’s a certain warmth and vulnerable side to him, especially when it comes to his deceased wife. I love his affectionate friendship with his CIA bestie Susan (Melissa Leo) and her novelist husband (Bill Pullman). Leo got more screen time in the second movie, though Pullman barely had anything to do in this franchise.

Unlike the more fantastical universe of JW which is structured as a layered society of crime lords with a strict hierarchy, McCall’s world set in Boston is far more grounded. He works at a hardware store in the first movie (which lends itself to an explosive finale with a nail gun!) and as a Lyft driver in the second. When he’s not busy with his vigilantism, he often helps out others in need, whether it’s a teen girl who frequents the same diner, his co-worker, neighbor, or even his Lyft customer who’s trying to find his lost sister, McCall has a heart for those in need.

While that’s well and good, my issue with the second Equalizer is that it has too many subplots, it’s like McCall is juggling way too many balls in the air while trying to solve a murder case. It’s a bit far-fetched he could keep track of them all! Wenk’s script can be quite predictable as well, as I knew right from the start that clean-cut-looking Pedro Pascal‘s Dave is the main baddie, but it’s still fun to see McCall figuring that out. Oh, and this scene with/ McCall’s former squad-turned-mercenaries is pretty funny, especially when he half-jokingly does a shooting sign with his fingers is a hoot!

I’m glad I’ve finally caught up with the first two The Equalizer movies. If I were to rate the two films, I’d give the first one 3.5/5 stars and the second 3/5. Now I’m excited to see the third (and supposedly last) movie of the trilogy, which reunites Denzel with Fanning after nearly 20 years. While the first two movies are mostly set in Boston, it’s cool to see the latest one going international with scenes of McCall in Southern Italy. Looks like he’ll once again square off against local crime bosses, I mean it’s Italy after all, he’s got to fight off the Italian mafia!

Fuqua has been quoted in a few interviews that he never thought of The Equalizer movies as a franchise, he saw each as a film on its own so there’s not much correlation or continuing plot thread between the movies. Of course, we can expect some intense bloodbaths taking place, but I look forward to some quiet moments between McCall and Fanning’s Emma Collins.

“Police found multiple dead bodies on that farm in Sicily… Did you kill ’em?” Sounds like Emma is aware of just how badass his friend truly is, ha!

The Equalizer 3 is in theaters on September 1.

Have you seen The Equalizer movies? Well, what did YOU think?

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