Review by Rob:
Yeah, yeah, yeah…I’m a week behind…sue me. Equalizer 2, which, according to star Denzel Washington, is not a sequel, continues to follow the life of former Black Ops Commander Robert McCall, as he meanders his way through life as widower who hates to see injustice. The film is getting destroyed by critics and movie-goers, as Rotten Tomatoes shows people who have seen it give it only a 50% positive rating overall, and those reporting to Entertainment Weekly score it a “C.” Ok, I get it, but I don’t.
Equalizer 2 is boilerplate and is not nearly as good as the first. They tried to jam in a bunch of McCall’s good deeds without making us understand or care much about them and the ending scene of the modern day “showdown at the O.K. Corral ,” at Cape Cod was pretty hokey and predictable. The truth is, I liked the movie for the exact reason many people are complaining about it; the plot. I thought Denzel was, as usual, amazing, as he imparted wisdom to a young would-be gangbanger, had a verbal take-down with a former black-ops partner in his kitchen, and opened up a bit about his dead wife. Even the scenes of him as a Lyft driver briefly interacting with his passengers gave a window into the character’s true soul. Quite frankly, I enjoyed the “slow” parts of the movie more than the “action,” since most of it was, quite frankly, pretty dumb and predictable (with the exception of the credit card scene and the spear gun scene). I mean really, how did his fellow black-ops partner NOT know he was setting a bomb in the bakery? Did people not take basic chemistry?
In other words, Denzel carries the movie in my opinion with his acting, not his action. If you didn’t see the first Equalizer, you’re fine to enjoy this one (my wife LOVED it, even though she didn’t see the first), buy you’ll miss the inside jokes on McCall’s ongoing OCD, obsession with his stopwatch, and why he reads so much. All in all, it seems people who like the movie, like the action and people who hate the movie say it’s too slow. I liked the slow parts and was indifferent to the action, so I’m a weirdo. Thumbs Up!
