The Equalizer 3

©2023 Columbia Pictures

9 Seconds to decide

 

When a shady Italian winery owner arrives at his estate, someone has killed all but three of his guards. Sitting calmly in the cellar, the intruder turns out to be Robert McCall.

 

The former agent of the American Defence Intelligence Agency is acting on his own against smuggling, through which a Syrian militia is shipping drugs to Europe. His motives and his stay on the estate remain unclear at first.

 

As a result, McCall is seriously injured in the hip, but is able to escape into a car and is discovered unconscious by the policeman Gio Bonucci. He brings him to Enzo, a doctor in his home village on the coast.

 

 

Roberto in holiday paradise

 

Thanks to the help of Enzo, "Roberto", as he calls himself here, is slowly getting back on his feet. His wound in the back is healing, but psychologically he seems to be in a bad way. The friendly people in the village are like medicine for the soul.

 

The coastal town is under the control of Camorra boss Vincent Quaranta (pictured below, right with a henchman) and his little brother Marco. Actually, the citizens have more or less accepted this, if the Mafiosi didn't get too carried away and take "Roberto" to task for his professional honour.

 

 

We know more than the bad guys

 

The third and last part of the Equalizer series with Denzel Washington thrives on the fact that viewers probably know more, or at least suspect more, than the criminals opposing him.

 

The actions and ruthlessness of the retired agent make you curious from the start as to what McCall will do to the Mafiosi. In the process, director Antoine Fucqua puts all the tricks of the genre like cards on the table with relish.

 

 

Little words - with all the more impact

 

Despite the two previous films, viewers still know relatively little about McCall. He speaks sparse, willingly helps his friendly environment and uncompromisingly takes care of opponents. He usually prepares them for consequences with well-intentioned advice.

 

Nobody can say what happened between parts 2 and 3 either. In the meantime, the main protagonist seems to have become disillusioned and tired of life. Denzel Washington plays this role as well as probably few actors besides him could, with recognisable emotions in only a narrow range between iciness and anger.

 

×

Unexpected development

 

One of the few weak points of Equalizer films 1 and 2 was the predictability. It seemed stale, like a mediocre action thriller from the 90s. In part 3, it has thankfully disappeared.

 

You guess what violent actions McCall will be forced to take, but when and how it happens is very surprising. I winced several times in the cinema, even though you should know what you're in for in this vigilante epic.

 

 

Italian is spoken

 

All the characters except McCall, Emma Collins and Frank Conroy are Italian. Accordingly, they speak their language as far as possible, which is subtitled. This can be tiring to read. On the other hand, the conversations are simple and relatively wordless.

 

Do you have to have seen the prequels?

 

It helps a bit to have seen Equalizer 2 in particular, as one of McCall's plots is explained that way. Nevertheless, the third part stands on its own and doesn't really need a knowledge of the context.

 

 

Shortcomings

 

We viewers do not know why Robert McCall is so mentally broken. This is not explained in the course of the film. The explanation for McCall's stay in Sicily is given at the end, but it is too thin.

 

What succeeded?

 

Surprisingly unmediated action

Fantastic classical music

Beautiful holiday ambience

Irritatingly ambivalent main character, brilliantly played by Washington

 

Summary

 

Successful conclusion to the Equalizer trilogy with hard violent action that occurs at moments you don't anticipate

 

I didn't expect Equalizer 3 to conclude the trilogy so successfully. Other reviews of this film describe it as average, which I can't understand, because a lot has been done right here in terms of structure, editing and background music.

 

The best thing about the film remains, of course, Denzel Washington's minimalist acting. He occasionally just sits there calmly in the café with a cup of tea; moments later he torments mobsters with a blank stare so that you can feel sorry for the antagonists.

 

Of course, Equalizer 3 doesn't offer much plot, focusing only on intense moments of retribution contrasted with harmonious life in the seaside town. But it succeeds so well that it is one of the two best films of the year, along with Oppenheimer.

 

 

 

Altamonte does not exist

 

The location is Altamonte in Sicily, but this place does not really exist. Filming took place in no less picturesque locations on the Amalfi Coast in Campania, south of Naples, as well as in this very city and Rome.

 

Actors

 

Italian persists in the film. Denzel Washington also speaks a few words in this language, but most of the conversation remains in English.

 

Infos to