- Starring
- Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning
- Director
- Antoine Fuqua
- Rating
- R
- Genre
- Action, Crime, Thriller
- Release date
- September 1, 2023
- Where to watch
- Disney+
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
For the uninitiated, the original The Equalizer was a mid-1980s spy thriller television series that starred Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a mysterious retired intelligence agent who used his skills to become a street-level vigilante, exacting justice on those who were wicked
In the third installment of The Equalizer film franchise, a severely injured Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) takes refuge in a small Italian village. As he convalesces, the troubled former intelligence agent/assassin quickly finds that his time spent with the warm, close-knit community is healing more than his body. Unfortunately, the peace he seeks is disrupted by Mafia thugs who regularly terrorize his sanctuary. Woe to those who would disturb his slumber.
While fans of the original series may lament the rebooted franchise’s divergence from the source material, to say nothing of its inconsistent quality, no one can deny that Denzel Washington’s portrayal of Robert McCall is riveting. In The Equalizer 3, the 68-year-old Washington reminds us that the art of performance isn’t dead and that ripped 20-somethings, blue sky beams, and sets constructed on a MacBook are no substitute for dead-eyed vengeance delivered by a master thespian.
Washington’s characteristic commitment to the role and magnetic charisma carry what is otherwise an utterly forgettable film. In The Equalizer 3, director Antoine Fuqua continues the trend he began in The Equalizer 2 of spending two-thirds of a film introducing tangential subplots in an effort to engender empathy and sympathy, only to produce a rapid-fire conclusion that, while visually interesting, never builds to the intended crescendo and is ultimately empty.
Where Fuqua was able to foster more of the desired effect in The Equalizer 2, thanks to an antagonist responsible for initiating the plot and with a personal connection to Washington’s McCall, this sequel sequel suffers from having two one-dimensional and rather uninteresting villains. Neither is given more than the most superficial criminal motivations. Moreover, the first only motivates the second to action, and the second exists only to give McCall an excuse to exact violence. So, what you end up with is something that loosely resembles a plot built around a set of perfunctory actions.
Not helping anything is Dakota Fanning’s useless character and her distractingly bad casting. Nothing against her abilities; she was excellent in 2005’s War of the Worlds, but she’s more out of place in this role than Kamala Harris giving a speech about AI. As fine an actress as she might be, she is completely unable to affect intimidation. Her character’s inclusion in the action is not only illogical, it’s over before it begins.
Fortunately, a mixture of slightly above-average cinematography, the natural beauty of the Italian coast, and Washington’s virtuosity do their best to rescue this film from its uneven pacing and meandering plot. However, The Equalizer 3 gives little reason for audiences to shell out theater ticket prices instead of waiting for it to hit VOD.
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James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
Always like Washington, and I enjoyed the first two, but I’ll see this on streaming someday. Not in any huge rush.
Excellent review, agreed on all counts. We found it entertaining enough but largely unfulfilling. It also seemed to end abruptly, though that might have to do with its shorter runtime compared to all the 3-hour blockbusters lately.
I loved the first two, no complaints. I look forward to this on UHD.
Denzel is great, he shows that having blacks in movies doesn’t have to be forced and woke
I went to the cinema and watched it, without seeing the first two. Loved every minute of it. First movie I haven’t dozed off in for months!
Great movie and great acting by Denzel as always. It’s a fun shoot em up and fans of the first 3 will not be disappointed. Denzel always delivers like in his role in Man on Fire.
Disagree… I did find it woke to woke-ish. The casting team clearly was patting themselves for hiring Washington, which is a shame because he’s a great actor. Also, there was a lot of pro migration messaging during the scenes in Italy. The movie would have been better without any of that though I don’t think it would have been great no matter what. It was just okay at best. The dialogue wasn’t great.
Dakota Fanning should not have been hired. Italian mafia afraid of her? Please! If they “had” to cast a woman, they should have gone with a realistic choice… a very butch, unattractive female who would actually work for the FBI.
“blacks” big oof buddy… lol that don’t feel right.
The Equalizer 3 was pretty fun to watch. I did like the fact that they didn’t just ignore that Denzel Washington is getting old and I made it a challenge that he had to overcome. I hate an action movie where they have some old man doing things that would immediately break his hip. It was believable and Denzel was giving adorable Grandpa vibes. I mean that Grandpa could kill you easily no remorse but still a Grandpa. The ending was cute. A nice little happy conclusion to finish off the trilogy.
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