The Equalizer 3 (2023)

 The Equalizer 3 (2023)

 

6/10

 

Starring

Denzel Washington

Dakota Fanning

David Denman

 

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

 

Contains Spoilers

I’m not sure if this is what we need right now, as Hollywood has drained all the creativity out of making hits. I wasn’t even excited to see this film, and judging by its Box Office numbers, I’m not the only one who feels the film industry is struggling to produce movies we actually want to watch.

This film isn’t as good as the first, and like the second, it serves no real purpose, just another attempt by the studio to squeeze more money out of us, the viewers. The more movies they make, the more they dilute the effect of the first film.

Robert (Denzel Washington) finds himself in an impossible situation. He allows himself to be captured by guards at a Sicilian winery, only to break free and kill everyone. This was entirely predictable, so the movie needed twists and turns to stand out, but it didn’t deliver. It felt like they just wanted to wrap up the trilogy without putting in the effort.

In one scene, Robert is held at gunpoint, waiting for the boss, Lorenzo, to show up. This was exactly what Robert wanted, as he kills everyone at the winery, retrieves the money he came for, gets shot, and narrowly survives thanks to a kind officer who takes him to a local doctor.

As Robert slowly recovers in the town, he tips off the CIA about illegal dealings at the Sicilian winery. Meanwhile, the criminal family running the town begins pressuring local store and landowners to gain control of the area. The officer who helped Robert discovers footage of the culprits, and as a result, he and his family are attacked.

Robert steps in and warns the criminals to leave the town alone, but when they refuse, he kills them all. This sparks a conflict that nearly costs him his life, until the townspeople come to his rescue.

The pacing of the film is problematic. It drags on for far too long before anything significant happens, and the abrupt ending makes the entire build up feel pointless.

Just as Chloë Grace Moretz felt like a bystander in the first film, Dakota Fanning’s character serves a similarly insignificant role here.

If you want to complete The Equalizer trilogy, you can watch this movie, but neither this film nor the one before it measures up to the original. That said, both are still better than the disappointing TV series which stars Queen Latifah.