There has been a recent emergence of a bad ass triumvirate of “old-ish” men kicking all the ass in movies lately. Mr. “Neesums”, as Key and Peele would call him, and Keunu Ted “Theodore” John Wick Logan Reeves have both had (or will soon have) their 3rd entry in their action series. Liam Neeson’s Taken series has gone downhill since the first, and we are all salivating for the release of Keunu Reeves’ John Wick 3: Parabellum. Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer is the final third of the triad and falls somewhere in the middle.
I was initially surprised when I heard that The Equalizer 2 was the first sequel in his illustrious career. But then I remembered how his tremendous range never really necessitated a return to the same character. Remember that he’s given us Malcolm, Frank Lucas, Alonzo and Jesus’ father - not God but Shuttleworth. In Equalizer 2, he returns to the character of former deep cover operative Robert McCall, a man who uses his particular set of skills (wrong movie, I know) to help the oppressed and exploited. When one of his loved ones is attacked, he goes to war looking for those responsible.
Your enjoyment of The Equalizer 2 is going to come down to your patience and tolerance for long periods of protracted pace. The action is as intense as anything you have seen in his counterparts’ films, with plenty of scrunch-your-face-in-pain and ‘OH DAYUM” moments. But the movie is like a drawn-out HIIT workout where the flash of high-intensity action scenes is broken up by long periods of character and story building to counterbalance the violence. The slow burn of unfolding narratives breaks conventional movie storytelling, making what seems to be the preliminary subplots stretch over the entire film. If you aren’t careful, you are susceptible to get a glazed-over stupor if you are not invested in the characters’ relationships.
The relationships Denzel foster throughout the film feel very authentic, especially with Melissa Leo and Ashton Sanders. The scenes between Washington and Sanders are intriguing in a variety of ways, ranging from charmingly endearing to heart-poundingly nerve wrecking. There is one scene in particular that even though it is a familiar film sequence, it still has the entire theater holding their breath. All the same, most of us are here to see one man and that man delivers. Denzel’s presence is felt in his solemnity, his charm, his power, and his vulnerability. His revenge seeking level of savagery and pettiness alone is worth the price of admission.
In the end, if you enjoyed the first Equalizer you will enjoy this one just as much. There are some familiar steps and some small surprises. It’s rewatchability is limited due to its slow pace, but Denzel fans (*everyone in existence) get what they asked for in coming to see him. I am giving The Equalizer 2 7/10 Denzel Hmms, Huhs, and Ha’s.