The Equalizer 3

This weekend, The Equalizer 3, the final film in The Equalizer trilogy, was released in theaters. The Equalizer 3 follows Robert McCall as he takes up residence in a small town in Italy. However, his retirement is cut short when he must come to the defense of the town against the Italian Mafia. I enjoyed the first two Equalizer films so I was interested to see how this one would be. I am also always up for a good action movie.

This movie ended up being a pretty solid throwback action thriller. Antione Fuqua and Denzel Washington have shown that they are both capable of making exciting action films and this movie was no exception. I have always enjoyed the style of action in these movies. It is so grounded in its action and also so precise in the choreography from Robert. In some ways, it reminds me of the action in John Wick. The movie also had some pretty solid action sequences with the compound break-in at the end being a stand-out. I enjoyed that this film brought in small-town Italy as a fresh setting for the franchise. It is fun to see this new culture and all of the beautiful shots of the Italian coast and countryside. I really like how the movie slowly builds the relationship between Robert and the people in the town. We see him slowly bond with various members until by the end, he is ready to defend them. The movie also does a great job of making the town essentially its own character. The town as a whole has its own personality to the point where they come together to the defense of Robert at the end of the film. It reminds me quite a bit of the way NYC is portrayed in the original two Spiderman films.

However, a few things are holding this film back for me. The first issue is that the ending is a bit rushed. The first 80 minutes of this movie are all about the setup and building of the relationship with this village but then there isn't enough time for the big climax so it just feels hurried through in the last 20 minutes. I also felt the CIA characters were a bit unnecessary. It felt like they were on their own separate quest that only loosely connected with the main story. If they had been cut out and the time spent with Robert, it would have solved the pacing issue. Finally, I felt the movie was a bit light on action. The action they had was good, I just would have preferred closer to the amount that is in the first two films.

Overall, this is a solid throwback action film that has the type of action that you want along with a decent enough story. Aside from the pacing issues, I thought this was a very enjoyable film.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B Recommendation: Check it out if you like action movies