The Equalizer 2 (2018) Review
5:14 PM
There is no equal.
I hadn't seen The Equalizer until the night before I watched The Equalizer 2. I was impressed by the 2014 film's action, intriguing story and fast-paced. I'm glad I hadn't seen The Equalizer when it was first released and spent wasted four years looking forward to the sequel because it disappoints on every level. Less thrilling, less exciting and less stylish; The Equalizer 2 is a disappointing sequel that loses almost everything that made the first so enjoyable. I preferred watching Denzel Washington get hunted by a Russian mob more than watching Washington solve an underdeveloped mystery. The Equalizer 2 is underwhelming...and I was only on the hype train for one day.
Richard Wenk's screenplay is where The Equalizer 2 stumbles. The film's story doesn't kick into gear until 50 minutes in - Wenk tells a 70-minute story in an overlong 120 minutes. Weirdly, the film's unnecessary first act is its strongest. Washington's Robert McCall kicks multiple asses in some brutally satisfying action sequences. From saving a kidnapped girl to seeking revenge for a sexually mistreated woman, Robert McCall continues to be a figure who fights for those who cannot. Washington's disguise in the opening scene did look a little silly though. It is based on a TV series and I can see why the same concept would work so well on the small screen: it could be an anthology series of McCall saving and seeking revenge for different victims. The film's first act may add nothing to the plot but it adds plenty of much-needed action (which the rest of the film lacks).
By the time the film passed the 50-minute mark, I was left wondering when an actual story would materialize. In The Equalizer, Chloe Grace Moretz's Teri is introduced early on and soon becomes a victim that McCall wants to liberate. In The Equalizer 2, it is not until Melissa Leo's Susan Plummer (whose relation to Robert is still unclear) is killed that McCall has a reason to seek revenge. The film teases the case that Suan is trying to solve before she is murdered. Inevitably, McCall picks up the pieces and starts trying to figure out what is going on. McCall the detective isn't quite as entertaining as McCall the vigilante. The Equalizer 2 is almost comparable to The Spy Who Dumped Me: Mila Kunis has to carry out her dead boyfriend's mission and Denzel Washington has to solve his acquaintance's case. Wenk tried to pull a John Wick and have his protagonist fight for a lost loved one but The Equalizer 2 doesn't quite have the same effect.
Since the last film, Robert McCall has become a Lyft driver (Yes, there is a likely legally required montage of McCall driving numerous passengers). This makes sense because McCall is a people person who loves his local community but writer Richard Wenk takes this too far. There are sub-plots about newly introduced characters and they take up lots of screentime. Although this demonstrates McCall's love for his neighbours, the Lyft montage already made this clear enough. Orson Bean's Sam Rubinstein is an elderly man with memory loss. Sam doesn't even come into the film's main story; I am still unsure what the character's purpose was. Ashton Sanders plays Miles, a young boy with identity issues. McCall becomes a father figure to Miles and tries to put him on the right path, Ultimately, McCall's love for Miles is used against him by the villains. Although Miles does become involved in the main plot, it was unnecessary for Wenk to overly develop a relatively insignificant character.
The Equalizer's third act is a mess. The Equalizer 2's third act is more coherent. The film reaches its climax when McCall leads the villains to his hometown, which has been evacuated because of a storm. This setting had the potential to outdo the warehouse in the first film. Unfortunately, as McCall fights the group of five one by one, his killings are never quite as inventive or brutal in comparison to how he took down the Russian mob (remember the drill?). The sequel's third act should blow the first's out of the water; McCall is taking on a group of his ex-colleagues who are all as skilled as him. Instead, The Equalizer 2's third act feels like a live-action version of Fornite where McCall is taking on amateurs. Fuqua and Wenk picked a great location for the finale but failed to utilise it well.
Denzel Washington impressed in the first film; his performance blended Liam Neeson with well, Denzel Washington. It's always fun to see an acclaimed actor in a role that lets them have fun. It's no surprise that The Equalizer quickly became an audience favourite. Washington brings as much charisma to the role in the sequel as the script allows; he shows more empathy than savagery this time around. Wenk stripped The Equalizer 2 of all the fun which has resulted in a more serious performance from Washington. The character's background is still vague but it is hinted that he was apart of the armed forces. McCall still enjoys to read and thinks more about his late wife. Washington and his character just aren't as captivating in this instalment and I'm sure that audiences wouldn't have rallied behind Washington's McCall if this was the film that introduced him.
Pedro Pascal has never looked less like Pedro Pascal. This film completely wastes him. Pascal's role has potential but his performance is unrewarding. Fuqua gives Pascal just one action sequence (he spends most of it aiming his gun at the top of a building). Pascal's Dave has an interesting twist that is obvious from the character's introduction. Not only is Pascal underused but his performance is lacklustre. Ashton Sanders proved he was a talented actor in Moonlight but is stuck in a generic and unnecessary role. Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo are the only other familiar faces to return for the sequel. It was great to see a female at the centre of an action sequence; Leo held her own but her character's fate is unfortunate. It cannot be a coincidence that an acclaimed cast delivers flat and fairly forgettable performances. Wenk's uninspired script and Fuqua's direction should be blamed.
Usually, when a sequel is greenlit, the creative team behind the first film regathers to map out what worked, what didn't and what was missing. Fuqua and Wenk completely missed the mark with The Equalizer 2. There's less action; less of beastly Denzel Washington; less hunting; less cohesion. Instead, Fuqua and Wenk slow down the pace, add unnecessary characters with unneeded subplots and fail to establish a clear plot from the outset. The Equalizer 2 is a snoozefest with glimpses of what made the first so enjoyable. Forget matching (or equalizing) the first film, Fuqua and Wenk have failed to create a worthy sequel to The Equalizer.
48
/100
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