Director Antoine Fuqua and two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington reunite for the final film ‘The Equalizer 3.’ It is a solid conclusion to the trilogy. There is something fitting about an older hero beating up the bad guys. It’s not just having the deadly skills to take down your opponent. It is having the wisdom to outwit the enemy. This is why I never get tired of watching Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington take care of business. What makes this last film resonate with me is how it shows our hero searching for peace. It’s worth exploring. We all know that he is up for the challenge. I pity the fools that go up against him. And that’s why these films are so good. Denzel is a movie star who brings the right amount of charisma to the role to make it a fun ride.
After a violent opening scene at a Sicilian winery, the capo wants to know why his thugs are lying dead, McCall (Washington) looks at him with that dead-eye stare and says, “They wouldn’t let me in.” Click, the signature stopwatch begins and mayhem breaks loose. During his escape, he unfortunately gets clipped with a bullet and ends up in a quaint Italian village along the gorgeous Amalfi coast. Luckily, a nice cop takes him to the local doctor where McCall is allowed to recover from his wounds. If you’re going to need a place to lick your wounds, Southern Italy is a good place. It’s a blue zone country with friendly people, the Mediterranean diet and steep hills you can exercise on like a Stairmaster.
Needless to say, the friendly locals begin to accept him in their community. He even gets invited to dinner by a beautiful Italian girl who owns a café he likes to frequent. Before you can say, “Buongiorno,” McCall sees a gang of thugs extorting money out of the local business owners. When they pick on a local cop right in front of McCall at an Italian restaurant, he politely tells the gang leader to take it to another town because he’s beginning to like the people here. The thug asks if McCall is threatening him. He replies in that whisper, “I’m preparing you.” It’s a brilliantly executed scene. There is something about pain that is the great equalizer. Just the right amount of pain usually brings just the right amount of compliance. McCall knows this but when the stubborn thugs try to retaliate, they are served a violent death. McCall is quick and efficient. He’s good at what he does.
It gets back to Mafia boss Vincent (Andrea Scarduzio). He wants to know who the American guy is with a death wish. He has no clue what he is getting himself into by messing with former marine and DIA officer Robert McCall. There is a subplot with his child co-star from 2004’s ‘Man of Fire’ Dakota Fanning. She’s now 29! She plays a CIA officer that is trying to crack a drug smuggling ring. This movie did not really need this but it is nice to see the rapport the two actors have in their scenes together. The film’s climactic scene is a battle between McCall and Vincent. It’s not really a battle at all. McCall is so good at stalking his prey, they don’t stand a chance against him.
The final chapter of The Equalizer delivers the goods. I liked everything about it. You have Denzel’s charisma, stunning cinematography (yes, it was shot in Italy) and a haunting musical soundtrack. This is the kind of film that isn’t going to reveal the meaning of life. It is the kind of film that proves why Denzel is a captivating actor. You can’t teach that in drama class. This is a fitting conclusion to The Equalizer series.
