Movie Review – The Equalizer 3

I still think the first Equalizer movie with Denzel Washington was the best, but this is certainly a worthy addition. What I’m most pleased with is that the writers/directors didn’t feel the need to continuously one-up themselves in the sequels. Ultimately, these movies aren’t so much about the action as the motivation behind the action. And to do that you need a really good villain. That’s something all of the Equalizer movies have done exceptionally well. They each have despicable men who prey on average people.

It’s nice that this movie explores Robert McCall’s questioning of why he ends up in similar situations over and over. And that the story takes place in cultural setting of an ancient religion fits with the Robert’s arc that he is where he is supposed to be. It isn’t chance, it’s fate.

If I were going to offer any criticism, it’s that I find it hard to believe that even the Sicilian mafia is as ruthless as depicted in this movie. But I suppose whether they are or not is somewhat irrelevant. There are people somewhere in the world who are as mindlessly ruthless as shown in this movie. That’s what really boils my blood. This movie is fiction, but at the same time, it isn’t fiction at all.

I think the most appealing aspect of McCall’s character is that he is fearless and fair. He asks the bad guys to simply stop. He warns them and gives them every chance to reconsider their ways. Just once I’d love to see one of the bad guys in an Equalizer movie respond with, “Yeah, you know what. You’re right. This path is going to go nowhere but bad places for me. I’m out. I always wanted to be a carpenter, or whatever, anyway.” Just once, could we have that?

Grade: B-

About The Peetimes: There are a lot of prolonged scenes that make it reasonably easy to find good Peetimes in this movie. None of the Peetimes have any action. I would recommend the middle Peetime as the best. I think it will interrupt the story the least.

There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of The Equalizer 3.

Rated:	(R) Strong Bloody Violence | Some Language
Genres:	Action, Crime, Thriller
Starring:	Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Eugenio Mastrandrea
Director:	Antoine Fuqua
Writer(s):	Richard Wenk, Michael Sloan, Richard Lindheim
Language:	English
Country:	United States

Plot
Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the …

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