As much as I can enjoy and appreciate movies like Phantom Thread and Manchester By the Sea and The Shape of Water and Boyhood and all the movies that are supposed to be considered great... I'm a 90s kid. I grew up watching action movies like Face/Off and Con Air and True Lies and Bad Boys. I will always rave about the "artistic" films when they're good, but they're not the movies I get excited to see, excited to re-watch, excited to show and share with others. I love mindless action movies. I can award a movie like The Shawshank Redemption an A grade and still feel justified in giving Face/Off an equal grade. What each movie set out to accomplish, they succeed in. In 2002 Bad Boys II entertained me far more than About Schmidt did - even though that film was fantastic. Had I a movie blog sixteen years ago, I probably would've rated BBII an A, and About Schmidt an A-. That doesn't mean that the quality of About Schmidt wasn't up to what BBII presented, I just had more fun watching the latter (and I was also twelve years old). I also seriously love Denzel Washington. He's MY Tom Hanks. I will watch the dude in anything. And what's great about him is he understands this divide between art and entertainment (though one could argue they're one in the same). For every Malcolm X and every Fences and every Philadelphia film he makes, he also makes a Safe House and a Man on Fire and a Deja Vu and an Equalizer. He just makes GOOD movies. But, if that means I get to watch him act his heart out AND kill the shit out of some bad guys - that's the ideal scenario for my ultimate movie watching experience.
I love that Denzel had never made a sequel before. It said to me that if he was ever going to do one, it would have to be a combination of a great character, a great story, great writing and a great director. And I couldn't be happier that he went with The Equalizer. The first movie is a blast as big D portrays Robert McCall, an ex-badass who is presumed dead by the world and acts as a vigilante for people who are criminally and violently wronged. He's very methodical in his action and nearly always gives the evildoers a chance at redemption (something they never take - and is always a mistake). This time around McCall is a Lyft driver, still keeping his head down and still fighting crime without a cape. When his longtime friend Susan (Melissa Leo) is killed while investigating a murder in Brussels, he takes it upon himself to solve her murder and bring her killers to an untimely demise. The Equalizer II does cut back on the violence as opposed to the first film. Don't get me wrong, dear friends, the moments when McCall has to kill someone - he makes YOU feel it. They're fleeting moments of violence (save for the last twenty minutes), but they weight heavily on the film. The rest is McCall solving the murder as well as mentoring and trying to straighten the path of a teen who lives in his building (Moonlight's Ashton Sanders). There's never a down moment, either. For those looking for a constant shoot-em-up will be surprised by the lack of action sequence frequency, but will never be looking at their phone, bored, waiting for the next one.
Denzel reunites for the fourth time with director Antoine Fuqua, who first directed him in Training Day and also helmed the first Equalizer. The two really are in sync with the type of movie they set out to make. Denzel wants to do an action movie, but he doesn't want it to be without substance. And it appears, neither does Fuqua. Fuqua is also very keen on making the most tension out of a scene. There are some slow and tense moments in the film that take the place of mindless action and these scenes find themselves to be just as thrilling as when you know Denzel is about the beat someone to a bloody pulp. The scenes with Denzel and Sanders are also very good. It's not an Equalizer film if Denzel isn't trying to save a troubled youth. There are a couple of really powerful moments between the two of them that you don't often find in action fare. Denzel knows what he's doing. And of course, there are the moments of violence that most moviegoers are paying for. And they're awesome. Denzel is pushing 64 years old and I still believe he could beat the crap out of everyone he faces in this film. The man is a true actor and he gives it his all no matter what type of film he's setting out to make. The Oscar movies are great, but movies like this one, they have to be the most fun.
Yes, I'm looking through Denzel-goggles when watching the film and I can excuse a lot more of the not-so-perfect moments that I may not forgive other actors for, I understand that. But when you get to the level of Denzel Washington, there's a certain amnesty we all afford. Sure, there's some bad green screen moments. There's a few bad lines. There's a handful of plot holes, but they don't detract from the film hardly at all. They were moments where I noticed something off or thought about how easy it would be to track him through being a Lyft driver and all that - but these ideas quickly left my mind because I was enjoying the film so much. Both films in the franchise compliment one another very well. I wouldn't say one is better than the other, they're just complimentary. They're the same in a few aspects, but very different in a lot of others (something that is pretty uncommon in sequels). It's not just a carbon copy of the first movie and you can bet that's exactly why Denzel, after his long and beautiful career, finally decided to agree to do a sequel. And anyone who watches this movie (other than nose-thumbing critics) will very much appreciate it.
A-
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