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The Equalizer 2
Denzel Washington once again re-defines badass in The Equalizer 2, a sequel to his 2014 hit about the state of the art Good Samaritan who amidst his normal good deeds, finds himself involved with a case that hits a little too close to home.
As this 2018 film opens, Robert McCall is after a kidnapped little girl whose mother works in McCall's favorite bookstore. He's also trying to help an elderly concentration camp survivor get his hands on a painting that is the only connection to his wife. This projects seem to get pushed to the wayside when his good friend and former boss, Susan gets involved in solving a murder that gets her murdered as well. There's also an aspiring artist and aspiring gangbanger who lives in McCall's building who McCall's attempts to keep the kid on the right path plunge the kid right in the middle of McCall's danger.
Director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriters Richard Wenk and Michael Sloan are to be applauded for crafting a sequel that really doesn't have a lot to do with the first film, but has some unsettling parallels to the first film that quietly simmer to the surface as the film progresses. As we learned from the first film. McCall will be dealing with international criminals as well as helping ordinary people who have been wronged and are unable to help themselves.
Again, we don't get a lot of insight into who McCall is and how he has to come to live the way he does and do what he does. It's obvious the death of his wife, Vivian (who is mentioned in the first film, but we didn't learn her name until this film) is the driving force behind what he does, but the essence of Robert McCall remains a mystery (as it did in the television series the franchise is based on) and I'm pretty sure that is intentional. I loved the fact that every moment McCall has to himself he spends reading.
Fuqua once again proves to be a master of the action sequence, aided by first rate camera work and film editing. Despite his being in his 60's, Denzel Washington still proves to be a viable action hero with a heart. There's also a star-making performance from Ashton Sanders as the young artist. Sanders proves his wonderful performance in the 2016 Best Picture Moonlight was no fluke. Veteran Orson Bean also makes is scenes count as the elderly Jewish man McCall is trying to help. It begins to sag a little around the halfway point, but spectacular finale, set during a hurricane, brings the viewer right back into the story. Despite the occasional slow spot, Denzel makes this badass with a heart worth watching.
Denzel Washington once again re-defines badass in The Equalizer 2, a sequel to his 2014 hit about the state of the art Good Samaritan who amidst his normal good deeds, finds himself involved with a case that hits a little too close to home.
As this 2018 film opens, Robert McCall is after a kidnapped little girl whose mother works in McCall's favorite bookstore. He's also trying to help an elderly concentration camp survivor get his hands on a painting that is the only connection to his wife. This projects seem to get pushed to the wayside when his good friend and former boss, Susan gets involved in solving a murder that gets her murdered as well. There's also an aspiring artist and aspiring gangbanger who lives in McCall's building who McCall's attempts to keep the kid on the right path plunge the kid right in the middle of McCall's danger.
Director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriters Richard Wenk and Michael Sloan are to be applauded for crafting a sequel that really doesn't have a lot to do with the first film, but has some unsettling parallels to the first film that quietly simmer to the surface as the film progresses. As we learned from the first film. McCall will be dealing with international criminals as well as helping ordinary people who have been wronged and are unable to help themselves.
Again, we don't get a lot of insight into who McCall is and how he has to come to live the way he does and do what he does. It's obvious the death of his wife, Vivian (who is mentioned in the first film, but we didn't learn her name until this film) is the driving force behind what he does, but the essence of Robert McCall remains a mystery (as it did in the television series the franchise is based on) and I'm pretty sure that is intentional. I loved the fact that every moment McCall has to himself he spends reading.
Fuqua once again proves to be a master of the action sequence, aided by first rate camera work and film editing. Despite his being in his 60's, Denzel Washington still proves to be a viable action hero with a heart. There's also a star-making performance from Ashton Sanders as the young artist. Sanders proves his wonderful performance in the 2016 Best Picture Moonlight was no fluke. Veteran Orson Bean also makes is scenes count as the elderly Jewish man McCall is trying to help. It begins to sag a little around the halfway point, but spectacular finale, set during a hurricane, brings the viewer right back into the story. Despite the occasional slow spot, Denzel makes this badass with a heart worth watching.