THE EQUALIZER 2: Few Sparks Fly In This Second Outing

The Equalizer, premiering in 2014 and also directed by Antoine Fuqua, may not have impressed the most die-hard action aficionados, yet there was something notable about it all the same. The story of a hardened aging man with a violent past forced to pick up his gloves one last time may have been nothing new, but its use of flashy, brutal action sequences, a brooding yet sympathetic performance by Denzel Washington, and some inventive set-pieces helped it to standout all the same.

This time around, though, even with both Fuqua and Washington back on board, the film’s elements don’t quite work as well. There is less flash and more violence, less-compelling characters and too many subplots; essentially, it doesn’t find the proper balance between grit and pulpiness, leaving us with a film that attempts to shock more than entertain.

More Death Wish Than John Wick

The Equalizer 2 takes place sometime after the events of The Equalizer. Robert McCall (Washington), still residing in Boston, Massachusetts, now works daily as a Lyft driver (perhaps in a sly nod to Taxi Driver, a clear influence on the series). While on his drives, he often witnesses people in need, and using his skills as a former CIA operative, in addition to receiving assistance from a former colleague of his named Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo), McCall is a silent avenger, helping people purely for the sake of justice.

One day, though, McCall hears news about a friend who had been murdered in their hotel room by two men. Seeking justice for them, he soon becomes enveloped in a plot that is larger than simply an attempted burglary gone wrong. McCall goes to war with the men responsible, soon finding that his personal and professional lives have become intertwined.

The first Equalizer, as mentioned, wasn’t anything particularly spectacular; yet it presented some newer aspects to a pretty by-the-numbers storyline. It was often stylish, using slow-motion and smooth yet brutal action in its fight scenes. In addition, there was the character of Robert McCall himself, a meticulous, borderline OCD man who even goes so far as to time his fights against hordes of bad guys. Also inventive, he used any potential weapon to attack his enemies, including a corkscrew, nail gun, and makeshift wire-noose.

Here, though, much of that character’s quirks seem to have been diminished. Gone are the routinal motions of when McCall would sit at a table and specifically lay out his napkin just so. When he is in attack mode, he still uses weapons that are just as inventive, such as a harpoon at one point, but as a whole the film seems more concerned with upping the brutality and lowering the stylistic actions of the film, which at the same time makes the character less empathetic.

Washington‘s McCall is less smooth and charismatic this time around, and more a cold-as-ice killer, taking out enemies at whim without seeming to feel much for them. It was an unfortunate choice by Fuqua to make the character even more hard-edged, as it removed the likable quality that often made the grittiness and violence feel earned.

Too Many Subplots

One of the ways in which McCall was made sympathetic in the first Equalizer was in his way of helping out people around him, such as a coworker that needed to lose weight in order to become a security guard. Here, a similar sentiment is shown in various ways, such as: helping a young girl who had been drugged by a group of guys, helping an old man named Sam (Orson Bean) to track down an old painting, inspiring a young kid named Miles (Moonlight‘s Ashton Sanders) to pursue his art instead of crime, helping to solve a case presented to him by Susan Plummer, helping out an old colleague named Dave York (Pedro Pascall), and more. Some of these are more memorable than others, such as seeing the young Miles inspired by McCall, yet it’s all presented in a way that is just a bit too scrambled, often jumping from one story to the next at a whim, making it somewhat difficult to keep focus.

In addition, several of the subplots, such as the one involving the older man Sam, don’t even connect to the larger story, which makes them throwaway plots that are just there for the purpose of making McCall into a sort of multi-faceted superhero. It’s distracting, to say the least.

Lots of Build, With Little Delivery

Throughout much of The Equalizer 2, the idea is presented through news reports that there is an oncoming hurricane, which of course had to come towards the film’s final act. It’s a somewhat clever way of building suspense through foreshadowing; yet, once again, the film doesn’t quite deliver.

The final battle (which is more than reminiscent of Gary Cooper‘s last outing in High Noon), doesn’t really use the environment in the inventive way that one would hope for. The hurricane blows water and hisses noise at the men as they shoot at each other, yet otherwise doesn’t seem to affect them. Fuqua is clearly attempting to use the storm as a sort of metaphor for the inner turmoil of Robert McCall himself, but the hurricane is instead closer to a summation of the film as a whole: a lot of noise, but ultimately nothing more than a passing storm.

Conclusion: The Equalizer 2

The Equalizer 2 is only the second in a series that already feels as if it is riddled with sequel fatigue. It takes the raw entertainment value of the original film, inverts it into something unflinchingly brutal, removes the quirks of its main character, and builds to an anticlimactic final battle. It’s unfortunate that this is Denzel Washington‘s first and only sequel, as the veteran actor definitely deserved something more fitting of his talents.

What are your thoughts on The Equalizer 2?

The Equalizer 2 was released in the U.S. on July 20, 2018 and will be released in the UK on August 17. For all international release dates, click here.