In “Equalizer 3”, Denzel Washington returns as the former Marine and intelligence operative Robert McCall, who looks out for common folks in this third and allegedly final installment. In the first two films, McCall is unable to retire from his dirty business when he refuses to stand by as ordinary people or former colleagues are subject to horrific crimes. McCall anonymously uses his skills to eliminate these bullies, but ties to larger crime syndicates invariably compel deeper and more brutal interventions.
The third film opens at the apparent end of one of McCall’s violent interventions. Without knowing who he is saving or how he got there, the audience finds McCall held captive in the basement of a vineyard in Sicily. After his trademark you have so-many-seconds-to-make-the-right-decision and resulting shoot-out, McCall ends up near death and stranded in shock along a coastal road along the southern coast of Italy. Local townspeople take him in and nurse him back to physical and emotional health.
The pacing of the film shifts from its “John Wick”-like rapid brutality to a contemplative “Bourne Identity” desire to just disappear and live a quiet life in an idyllic village in the Mediterranean. McCall attempts to hand over any lingering darkness from his Sicilian affairs to the CIA. The hand-off reunites Denzel Washington with his “Man on Fire” (2004) co-star Dakota Fanning, who plays the CIA agent McCall mysteriously chooses to divulge his identity to. Predictably, McCall is forced back into action after the CIA agent is unable to close the matter and a local mafia connection threatens McCall’s newfound sanctuary in the village.
Notwithstanding the buzz behind the Washington and Fanning reunion, the real star of the film is the cinematography of 3-time academy award winner Robert Richardson (nominated 10 times). Richardson’s skill capturing widely diverging scenes of intense brutality juxtaposed with the compassion of village residents, all against the backdrop of the stunning Italian coast, is reason enough to see “Equalizer 3” on the big screen. Clearly, Richardson strayed from his own rule deferring to the creative vision of his directors which have included Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese over the course of eight films nominated for Best Picture: “It's far better to shoot a good picture than a good-looking picture,” Richardson said. Well, “Equalizer 3” is a good-looking picture.
So, on my Black Diamond ski trail rating system, “Equalizer 3” earns my intermediate BLUE trail rating. Solid acting and superb cinematography propel this nondistinctive spy series to its brutal conclusion. However, overly abrupt editing and second half mafia plot developments strain the already muted believability factor for an action film. Clearly, additional small-town scenes were left on the editing floor. Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning make an interesting team and only McCall’s watch will tell if there is time for a new spin-off.
“Equalizer 3” is playing in theaters and is rated R for up close and personal bloody violence, language, and multiple throat piercings.
