THE EQUALIZER 2

Film Review by FIORE

Robert McCall, who began as a white, aged British ex-SAS agent in the guise of Edward Woodward, is now a middle-aged ex-Delta Force agent who looks a lot like Denzel Washington.  This is not the only transition that occurs as the character shifts from TV to the Silver Screen.  McCall is back for further adventures in mayhem and justice.  THE EQUALIZER 2 reunites Washington with his buddy Director Antoine Fuqua for a brooding tale of revenge.

The original TV show, created by Michael Sloan nd Richard Lindheim, did not center on revenge as much as it did justice.  When the system failed, McCall was the one guy who could set things right. He worked in the shadows, outside the law, but like Charles Bronson in DEATH WISH, his actions were justified because only the scum of society were recipients of his handywork.   Fuqua, however, likes revenge films.  So, while Screenwriter Richard Wenk throws in a few anecdotes about McCall’s origins, the main thrust of the film is McCall seeking revenge for the death of a colleague.  Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Pedro Pascal and Ashton Sanders also star. 

The film opens with a bang as McCall is on duty in Turkey, retrieving a stolen child. It comes complete with the setting of the time watch, as McCall dispatches villains.  After the opening action scene, the film slows to a crawl.  Characters are introduced, the plot is staged, and the mystery of McCall’s past is revealed.  While the transition is made from justice fighter to revenge seeker, the film drags and it’s only the superior acting skills of Washington, Leo and Pullman that save the narrative.  Of course, there is a social commentary on race, but this one is a surprise.  When McCall is admonishing Miles (Sanders) he tells him not to blame his environment or family or the white man for his plight.  Just work hard and make something of his life.  I’m sure that message won’t go over well with the Democratic progressive race baiters.  Kudos to Fuqua for not continuing the liberal alibis.  

There are a few more subplots with McCall in his old guise, helping a rape victim and saving Miles from the neighborhood gangstas, and then the movie turns to a revenge climax.  It takes place during a hurricane and harkens back to Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman in HARD RAIN.  The action scenes are fun, and the final shoot out is epic.  In a few shots, it looks like Washington hasn’t lost all the weight he put on for ROMAN ISRAEL, ESQ.

All told, THE EQUALIZER 2 is a decent sequel.  It doesn’t have the man of mystery element the first did and frankly the plot is so cliched, it holds no surprises.  Still, the film does end nicely and wraps up the McCall saga.