Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors of his generation. Frankly, I could watch many of his greatest hits all day. His outstanding performances in films such as Malcolm X (1992), Philadelphia (1993), The Hurricane (1999), Remember the Titans (2000) and Training Day (2001) show his incredible range as well as his ability to leave audiences both gripped and moved. Yet for every Glory (1989), Washington has a The Book of Eli (2010), i.e. for every memorable dramatic role, a merely average action film. Of course, most actors would kill for this problem, but one gets the sense that Washington wants to conquer the more bankable box office genre too.

With The Equalizer 2, Washington has caused a bit of a stir. This is, after all, his first sequel in nearly 40 years of acting. If he wants a successful action franchise, one can see why he has chosen The Equalizer. With Keanu Reeves raking in box office gold with the excellent John Wick series and Liam Neeson printing money with the rather mediocre Taken series, it seems like audiences can’t get enough of the middle-aged uncle who is secretly an emotionally complex, vengeful, butt-kicking bad ass. And Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is certainly this as a retired CIA black ops operative with OCD who promised his late wife that he would leave violence behind, but can’t seem to as he battles bad guys to help strangers in need while working as a driver for Lyft.

The best thing about the The Equalizer 2 is Denzel Washington but he is let down by an episodic narrative

The narrative structure here is a bit unorthodox. The Equalizer 2 feels less like a feature-length film and more like a series of B-movie level interwoven shorts, where McCall goes from one mission to another, getting involved in the lives of his passengers like an anonymous superhero. In fact, some of these side adventures are more compelling than the main story. What’s more, the entire film has an essence of Marvel Netflix shows such as Daredevil or Luke Cage — you know, before they became awful.

With The Equalizer 2, Washington has caused a bit of a stir. This is, after all, his first sequel in nearly 40 years of acting. If he wants a successful action franchise, one can see why he has chosen The Equalizer.

The performances from the entire cast are top-notch, but Washington is particularly good, bringing all the intensity of his dramatic roles to this popcorn actioner. Usually, you see a lot of actors phoning it in, in roles like this where they are only interested in collecting paychecks. But Washington gives The Equalizer 2 his everything in a compelling turn. A fiery talk he delivers to a young artist (Miles Whittaker) who is on the verge of throwing away his future is cut from the same cloth as Washington’s legendary stage performances where his monologues have brought audiences to tears. The veteran actor is equally fiery in the film’s brutally violent action sequences that do everything to earn the R rating.

Where The Equalizer 2 falters is in a mostly unimpressive story that employs many of the tropes from the genre and holds the film back from being particularly memorable. Director Antoine Fuqua, with whom Washington made the first installment in the series as well as the award-winning Training Day, does his best to strike lightning here but is ultimately let down by the narrative. Thankfully, The Equalizer 2 doesn’t go down without a fight.

Rated R for brutal violence throughout, language and some drug content

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 29th, 2018