Here he plays American as well as a duplicitous role that he carries of with ease much like he has throughout his career. The main addition to the cast is the always-excellent Pedro Pascal who in a different world would be a leading man but has continually taken supporting roles in major movies to really take the pressure of himself but always standing out in any cast. Along for the ride in “The Equalizer 2” and returning are Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo who in their short amount of screen time really underpin the emotional beats that drive the main plot of the movie. The partnership that Washington has formed with Fuqua echoes the same relationships he has had with Spike Lee, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott and to a lessor extent Norman Jewison, with all of them serving very different purposes, it does appear to me though that this latest one has been the most fun, considering they were able to make the Western “The Magnificent Seven” (2015) with such a large budget in a genre many consider to be dead. McCall decides to return to his old ways and seek out, find and punish the perpetrators.Īs with any action movie that revolves around one main character it is the casting of that role that is most important and here we have one of the greatest and talented leading men of all time in Denzel Washington who by now knows exactly what movie he is and how to deliver to the camera for maximum effect. The movie once again centres on Robert McCall who learns that one of his longtime friends, Susan Plummer, has been murdered. This is a mostly successful movie that operates on a number of levels that works because Washington, Wenk and Fuqua know exactly what they are doing and how to execute it for a large audience. The fact is that there is almost too much plot with another minor subplot involving an elderly man and the trouble he is having with some art that links back to World War II – this is an element that could have been ejected but it does add to how McCall operates within a number of different issues that he assists people with. In terms of this story Wenk has actually constructed a very tight plot with a narrative that is conventional, it has a strong A story with a nice subplot involving McCall’s neighbourhood in particular a young artist that is struggling with his own life that eventually joins up to the main plot. Fuqua is definitely known for directing action movies as well as being the person that directed Washington to his second Oscar for “Training Day” (2001). This is Fuqua’s fourth time directing Washington, it shows with how he frames and works with him within the narrative, which is something that Washington obviously enjoys. Returning to this sequel are original writer Richard Wenk and director Antoine Fuqua who both know what they want to accomplish, executing like the experienced duo they have become in terms of genre movie making. This is the most unusual of action movies with a cast that are all older but aged similarly dealing with issues that most can relate to as well as having a combination of thrills, action and violence, this movie succeeds at accomplishing what it set out to do, being an able bodied sequel that ups the ante, possibly leading to a third sometime in the future. Not only did the “The Equalizer 2” have a great opening weekend, it outdid the original which is something rare for a straight genre movie especially when similarly themed ones bomb outright. At this stage of his career Washington can see the importance of balancing films he wants to make for himself, even directing wise, then keeping himself relevant with movies like “The Equalizer 2” (2018) which have something to say on a personal level, it also helps that he can open a movie in the US reliably so there is little worry about getting them greenlit. It seems at this stage in his career Denzel Washington is that rare breed of actor who can pretty much do anything, he has accomplished so much that even at his age he makes an excellent action star because he makes his characters believable, rooted in something real so that we can all see his point of view, this is no more true than his characterisation of Robert McCall as a man who sees injustice, feeling the deep need to want to right it where he can, either through diplomacy or as a last resort, violence. It was also an origin story of sorts that, as most origin stories are, very easy to set up as well as pay off which is what made it so appealing for audiences, that and star Denzel Washington. And the only disappointment is that I only get to do it once.”Īfter four years star Denzel Washington reteams with director Antoine Fuqua for the sequel to the box office as well as mostly critical hit “The Equalizer” (2014) that itself was a reimagining of a 1980s television show to the big screen. So I’m going to kill each and every one of them. Featuring: Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Melissa Leo, and Bill Pullman
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