The Equalizer 2 (2018)

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua | 121 minutes | action, crime | Actors: Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Orson Bean, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Jonathan Scarfe, Sakina Jaffrey, Kazy Tauginas, Garrett Golden, Adam Karst, Alican Barlas, Rhys Olivia Cote, Tamara Hickey

Criminals, rapists, murderers, drug dealers, kidnappers, dirty cops and politicians; they are not sure of their lives if Robert McCall is around. Created in the 1980s by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, the character starred in his own CBS television series, “The Equalizer,” for nearly four years. The English actor Edward Woodward took on the role of McCall, a former commando who carried out so-called ‘black operations’ on behalf of the American intelligence service, but now plays avenging angel, vigilante and peacekeeper on his own. Nearly thirty years after the series premiered in 2014, director Antoine Fuqua and star actor Denzel Washington revived Robert McCall aka The Equalizer. The duo, who reached great heights with the Oscar-winning ‘Training Day’ (2001), turned ‘The Equalizer’ into a hard-hitting crime thriller that received mixed reviews, but became a huge commercial success. A follow-up film was inevitable and so there is now ‘The Equalizer 2’ (2018), jokingly christened ‘The Sequalizer’ by the cast and crew.

In the first film, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) still worked in a do-it-yourself store, in part two he exchanged that job for a job as a taxi driver. That is of course purely a cover, because in between the rides McCall still plays the – if necessary very violent – morality knight. He immediately shows his skills as a killing machine in the opening scene, when on a Turkish train he teaches a man who has taken his daughter from her mother a hard lesson: Robert McCall is not to be messed with. In his own time he is the peace and tranquility itself, then he prefers to sit with his nose in a book, he cooks soup and he takes care of his neighbor Miles (Ashton Sanders) who threatens to fall into the clutches of a street gang. But as soon as he smells danger or injustice somewhere, the switch switches without hesitation. A bloody double settlement in Brussels turns out to be the reason for a complex case. Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo), one of Robert’s few real friends and an investigator for the CIA, throws herself into the events but ultimately pays for it with her own life. It’s up to McCall to find out who was targeting her in order to exact revenge.

‘The Equalizer 2’ is only the first sequel to which Denzel Washington cooperates. Apparently he is quite fond of the character Robert McCall (there are strong rumors that a third film will follow). That is certainly understandable, because the contrast between McCall’s calm nature on the one hand and his hard-hitting instincts on the other is fascinating. In this second film, however, it is also striking that always wanting to help the weak and wanting to remove the injustice is very much on top. At some point we will know that deep down McCall is a good guy who wants to save the world from destruction. It could and should have been a little more subtle. For the fans of the brutal action violence, it is best to suffer except for a handful of scenes; compared to the first film, the emphasis is less on violence and more on the person McCall. There are some thrilling scenes, culminating in poor Miles having to shake off his assailants in Robert’s apartment. The screenplay, again by Richard Wenk, reveals just a little too early how things are going, but also works towards a climax for action lovers; a showdown between McCall and his nemesis in a hurricane-ravaged harbor town.

Denzel Washington is more than decent; these kinds of roles are played by the experienced Oscar winner with his eyes closed. Whether he’s in his killing machine mode or the quiet, reclusive bookworm; Washington is convincing in both cases. It is therefore a pity that the screenplay found it necessary to portray him so emphatically as a moral knight. It’s also unfortunate that we see so little of the great Melissa Leo (Oscar winner for her role in 2010’s ‘The Fighter’; she starred not only in ‘The Equalizer’, but also in the 1980s television series). It’s also frustrating that if there’s a third film, she won’t be in it because her character has been slaughtered. While she manages to pull ‘The Equalizer’ just above average with her strong acting.

As is often the case with sequels, this sequel is also slightly less than its predecessor. Fans of pure action violence will regret that they see McCall’s killer skills displayed a lot less often. And for those who appreciate a film more for the story, ‘The Equalizer 2’ has too little to offer and a plot twist that comes just a little too early. Moreover, the scenario follows the well-trodden paths too much. What remains is the reliable acting of Washington and Leo, the solid direction of Fuqua and a handful of exciting or exciting scenes that make ‘The Equalizer 2’ entertaining but certainly no more than that.