The Equalizer 3 (2023)

I’ll admit that I came to the Equalizer films late. They never seemed to appeal to me when the first two came out and no one that I knew or any YouTube channels seemed to be highlighting these films as a must see. I thought I would take a chance with the first one and I quite enjoyed it, the second one was ok but nowhere near as good. The beauty of this third film is that you don’t really need to have seen the first two to understand Denzel Washington’s character of the style of the film. It’s based on the TV series of the same name that aired from 1985 to 1989 and in this film, Robert is in Sicily and after getting shot by a scared kid, he ends up in a picture postcard and takes on the local mafia. 

The plot is straight forward although they introduced a sub plot which seems to me to have been introduced to show people that the film could be more than just a standard shoot em up. The introduction of Dakota Fanning as Emma seemed a bit pointless as she didn’t really do very much and when its revealed that she is the daughter of Sarah from the first two films which I saw coming and I don’t normally see these things coming but you could see it coming a mile away. If you took out Emma then the course of this film would have happened exactly the same way. This film is the 2023 equivalent of Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

I loved the setting for this film. No real justification to set in in Sicily but I am glad they did every shot of the town was beautiful to look at and at no point during the 1 hour and 45 minute run time was I ever bored or felt like nothing was happening. Antoine Fuqua wasn’t a director I thought very highly of but after these films and the 2016 Magnificent Seven reboot, my opinion of him has changed. He keeps the action going but allows time for the heartfelt moments to take centre stage without them feeling too soppy. 

I think that as good as this series is, it is slightly inferior version of the John Wick films. Those films are fun to watch but don’t take themselves too seriously whereas The Equalizer films have a bit more of a straight face to them. The film has a very thin plot but you watch these films to see Denzel Washington beat up bad people. The film has some really good action scenes and Washington has become the better version of what Liam Neeson’s character in Taken was. The film ends with Robert getting the pension money that a couple were robbed of and were about to leave their home. The film leaves the path open for a fourth Equalizer and hopefully there is another one because Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua are a good double act and as long as the films don’t get too convoluted then people will keep seeing them for years to come although with Washington nearly 69, its hard to see how many more there could be. If there aren’t anymore then this trilogy of movies will belong in any argument about good trilogies. 

The Equalizer 3 is a good film that and should be seen.