THE EQUALIZER 2 REVIEW (12A)
In recent years we have seen different types of action
heroes. From John Wick to Ethan Hunt to Jason Bourne and even James Bond. However,
Denzel Washington’s Robert McCall is a rawer character, one that is dependent
not upon his brutal action sequences but his character. It would be remiss to
simply call The Equalizer 2 an action film, it may very well be, but the
dramatic element come to forefront more than many of the aforementioned. There
is less than half a dozen real action set pieces and this does not hinder the
film, if anything it enhances it. The Equaliser 2 is the most recent action movie
to simply not be the latest action film. In fact, the film struggled when it
was ‘simply’ an action film.
The Equalizer 2 follows Denzel’s Robert McCall as is he is
called back into action after the loss of a friend close to him. Directed by
the outstanding Antoine Fuqua who is starting to show himself to be a top
director, hearing rumours he may direct an upcoming Marvel instalment is
promising with Blade certainly a logical possibility. Though a large part of my
mind hopes to see a sequel to The Equalizer 2 and to bring McCall’s story full
circle. The Equalizer 2 is led by Denzel Washington and there are no superlatives
left to describe that man, whatever the role is he gives 110%. Supported by
Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo. The strong cast blends
together a strong focus for the film to build upon. On the note of Pedro
Pascal, he has become one of those actors who can be plugged into any movie to
give a good, solid and often entertaining performance. Furthermore, he does so
in a way that he never becomes a caricature of himself something which someone
like Kevin Hart has slowly become.
Washington and Pascal make for a great duo
The greatest strength of The Equalizer 2 is the character
work that has been worked on with this remaining a constant from the opening scene
to the closing scenes and there is particularly one heart-warming moment at the
end that brings a tear to the eye. The unofficial father and son relationship
between Denzel’s McCall and Ashton Sanders’ Miles is the heartbeat and the crux
of the film. The way this relationship is struck up is done so in a small way
but built upon in such a way that it becomes endearing. After McCall ‘rescues’
Miles a moment about life and the struggles it brings for the black community occurs,
which would not look out of place in an Oscar winning drama let alone a summer
action film.
The action is very well directed, at least in the first two
acts. In that respect the 3rd act felt like a let-down on that part
mainly due to the lack of action as the film feels like it is building up to a
confrontation with the villain who in himself is only revealed towards the end
of the 2nd act. The 3-act structure of the film feels seamless with
each act representing a different tone of film starting off with more of a
community drama as McCall goes around his daily life as a Lyft driver allowing
the audience to the many different way he drives around, in particular one
character called ‘Sam’ has a through line throughout the film. As the ‘incident’
happens the film becomes more a Spy piece, very reminiscent, to the Mission
Impossible films in that McCall has to piece together the events and the
culprit. It is only as we enter the final half hour that the film becomes an
action film though still restrained in that respect.
Being released in the summer amongst the usual blockbusters
I would wholly recommend The Equalizer 2. It is not the same sort of action
film that we have been accustomed to seeing, and despite its imperfections, it
is well worth seeing. I would much rather see more films of this type than the
upcoming Mile 22. The drama, inventive action and intriguing but flawed characters
makes this a worthy sequel.
The Equalizer 2 can currently be seen in cinemas nationwide.
Rating: 3.5/5
Comments
Post a Comment