It was recently Father’s Day in Australia, and my son’s present to me was to take me to the Hoyts cinema in the luxury seats to see this film. (By the way, best way to see a film; the seats were so comfortable and the surround sound just immersed you. Give it a go!)
It is incredible. Violent and brutal, yes, but well done and with a story that follows on from the first The Equalizer films.
The Equalizer 3
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Writer: Richard Wenk
Stars: Denzel Washington & Dakota Fanning
Rated: MA15+ (Australia), R (USA)
from Hoyts.com.au
So, first things first. This is a violent film. There is not violence all the way through, it only happens at certain times, but when it happens… Nothing is left to the imagination. It is in your face, and yet it is not gratuitous. It is just there. Without it, the film and the peace that comes at the end, would not be as impactful as it is.
So, this is Robert, the Equalizer, finding his own peace. It is a film of hope and a film that shows how a sense of community is so important to everyone.
Now… the film. No Spoilers, if I can help it.
We start with an Italian man arriving at a place and we see a lot of dead bodies and a lot of blood before coming to Robert McCall apparently in trouble. But not for long. However, at the end of it, he is hurt, possibly for the first time in the franchise, and is taken to a doctor in the small town of Altamonte. Slowly, the townsfolk accept him, but he notices that there are some punks doing things that he would prefer they didn’t do.
He stops them.
However, one of the punks is the younger brother of the head of one of the crime families, and this family just happens to be involved in the place from the first scene. There are drugs and terrorists here as well, putting Robert against some very powerful opponents. However, he has already alerted the CIA to what is going on, and there is an agent, played by Dakota Fanning (which ends up relating to the first film as well), who tracks him down.
So, the punk’s brother vows vengeance on the town. But after losing his home in the first film, Robert feels he has found a new home, and so decides not to let that happen. And he decides to get in first, even as the town gives thanks in a ceremony that is juxtaposed so well against the action.
Oh, I need to point out that the use of a piece of ‘Black Skinhead’ is such an incredible inclusion that it feels almost written for the film.
In the end, Robert finds the peace he deserves, and if this is the last film of the series, then it rounds off nicely. However, my son and I discussed it afterwards, and we reckon they might have been setting up Dakota Fanning’s character as the new Equalizer.
The acting was incredible throughout, but especially the bad guys. They felt real, doing things for money and little else. There was no sense of evil, just making money. Yes, they did some nasty stuff, but it was all for profit. No strange ulterior motives or getting back at society – money, pure and simple. And Denzel was so understated that he just became the epitome of cool.
The only negative I have is that Robert does seem almost indestructible and all-knowing. Like when he saves Dakota’s character via phone call. But that was easy to let slide when the film was this good.
It is NOT for everyone. It is violent and there is bad language throughout, but I thought it was one of the better one-man killing spree films I have seen, and that is down to tight writing and some really strong directing.
Really good film. Recommended most heartily.
WARNING: Trailer is not safe for everyone; NSFW warning!