In a cinematic world of sequels and franchises, it’s no
surprise that actors seek to get their name at the top of poster for their own
action series. Doing so is not a frowned upon choice, a lot of iconic roles are
born from somewhat mindless action films becoming more than the good first
film. Most recently, Liam Neeson had a great career resurgence with the Taken
films, springing him into other movies of the same caliber. Thus, it only
makes sense that Denzel Washington would sign up for the first sequel of his
long career with The Equalizer 2.
If you have a problem and there is nowhere else to turn, the
mysterious and elusive Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) will deliver the vigilante justice you
seek. This time, however, McCall's past cuts especially close to home when
thugs kill Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) -- his best friend and former colleague. Now out for
revenge, McCall must take on a crew of highly trained assassins who'll stop at
nothing to destroy him.
While not exactly expected to be deeply enthralling in any
way, the story for an action film needs to at least keep one engaged during the
quieter moments. When the highly trained and lethal McCall isn’t shooting bad
guys, the audience needs to be able to stick with the film until he picks up
the gun again. The Equalizer 2 does not manage this whatsoever, as it
lulls you to sleep with exposition from a lazy excuse for a plot. In fairly
typical fashion, as it goes in most any film where an ex-partner is involved, a
betrayal takes place, setting in motion a string of action scenes strung
together by this thin plot line.
Denzel Washington is absolutely tremendous in just about
every film he signs onto. Hell, even the films he gives less than 100% on
result in a performance that is better than other actors could hope for. But
even the somewhat furious Washington can’t save The Equalizer 2 from
being absolutely and irrefutably dull.
However, there are moments of potential in the action.
Unfortunately, the film lets most of them slip by, opting for clichés instead
of anything clever, and making this overlong film blend in with all of the
other forgettable action movies that come out in any given year. The climax is
the prime example of clichés running rampant. Please stop me if you’ve
heard this before: the hero faces off against a squad of highly trained and
heavily armed men that he proceeds to eliminate with precision that can only be
matched by the Terminator himself. Oh, and it’s raining the whole time.
Overall, The Equalizer 2 does not measure up to the
first film even slightly. Washington is still good, with flashes of great, but
everything surrounding his performance is undercooked. There’s enough there
that it could make for excellent background noise should you stumble upon it on
cable on a rainy Sunday afternoon, but it certainly is not worth a trip to the
theater.
No comments :
Post a Comment