When a close friend is murdered, Robert McCall stops at nothing to
​find the murderer and discovers a shocking connection to his past.

​ACTION/CRIME

The Equalizer 2 (2018)

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Written by Richard Wenk

Starring Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders,
​Melissa Leo, Bill Pullman, Orson Bean, Jonathan Scarfe

Sequel to 2014's The Equalizer

Based on the 1985-1989 TV series

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Connor Eyzaguirre

July 20, 2018

6/10

It was only a matter of time before The Equalizer got the Taken treatment and abandoned all its nuances and layered storytelling for one-note characters and popcorn violence. Even Denzel looks like he doesn't want to be there half the time. The Equalizer 2 is an action-heavy, violent film that's missing the social commentary and morally gray characters that made the first film so intriguing. The story is virtually nonexistent and the film's attempt at a twist reveal is so unoriginal that audiences will no doubt see it coming from a mile away.

Denzel Washington is back as retired agent Robert McCall, who now works as a fixer of sorts who helps people in his neighborhood with serious problems. When a good friend of his is murdered, he drops everything to find the killer and get revenge. Of course, it's not that simple, and he ends up in quite a pickle. By this time, we all know who the bad guy is, though the film has yet to tell us directly, which makes the reveal pretty anticlimactic. There's a couple of tense moments and a few good action scenes, but overall the film is quite dull and suffers due to a lack of a good story or any interesting characters that aren't just cardboard cutouts of government or military characters from every action movie ever made.

The Equalizer was a solid action flick that didn't need a sequel gumming up the works. But we live in an age where everything gets a sequel, regardless of whether or not it makes sense or is deserved. It's starting to get annoying, to be perfectly honest. This film isn't very good because, like Sicario: Day of the Soldado, it feels studio-mandated. The first one was good so we have to make another one, and we have to do it fast. It's the surefire way to make a s**t movie, that's for sure.