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baumer

The Equalizer 2 (2018)

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Truth be told, I think I'd rather just have two hours of Denzel being a Lyft driver and looking after his buds in the process.

 

Still, these movies are fun. Denzel as a full-on slasher villian is entertaining as hell. I got a few grievances (mainly that they keep making Pedro a secret bad guy, just let the man be nice for once) but it's a good time. The third act is nuts in the best way and now I want more hurricane fights.

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23 hours ago, aabattery said:

Truth be told, I think I'd rather just have two hours of Denzel being a Lyft driver and looking after his buds in the process.

 

Same here. Then they went and messed it up with Pascal and Leo. It’s not their fault, but I just didn’t care about that part of the plot at all. It was obvious from the trailers that he was the bad guy. At least they didn’t wait too long to reveal it.

 

So yeah, this mostly stunk. Pretty much all of the action is given away in the trailers, and the final showdown in the hurricane where Denzel used to live (Does he still pay for the house? How is it only just a little bit dusty?) is just dumb, especially when it went all Dark Knight, Spectre and briefly Home Alone again. Why would Denzel put up those pictures in the middle of a hurricane? When did he print out all of those pictures? Why did he do it if only one of them would see them? And how did the four manage to miss him putting up the pictures? It’s not like he was in that town for an extended period of time getting ready for them.

 

Stupid, boring, and the first was better.

 

C

Edited by Jmart
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I just don't see what the whole point of killing the guy and his wife at the beginning.  They're paid assassins?  So now these guys who used to work for the agency just go around killing people?  And somehow the only person that was going to figure out that Dave was involved was Susan?  Why was she going to figure it out?  And why did Dave have to kill her himself? Why not just let the two thugs finish it off?  

 

I thought there was going to be more to the story than this.  I enjoyed him helping people, but it seemed to fall apart when he wasn't.  

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8 hours ago, baumer said:

I just don't see what the whole point of killing the guy and his wife at the beginning.  They're paid assassins?  So now these guys who used to work for the agency just go around killing people?  And somehow the only person that was going to figure out that Dave was involved was Susan?  Why was she going to figure it out?  And why did Dave have to kill her himself? Why not just let the two thugs finish it off?   

  

I thought there was going to be more to the story than this.  I enjoyed him helping people, but it seemed to fall apart when he wasn't.  

 

Could def have been explained better but I think the idea is that since she worked with their team before they left the agency, she would've known or recognised how they operated. With her dead, they think no one else who knew about their team would be around to investigate. Then it turns out Denzel's alive and shenanigans ensue.

 

That's my mental justification, anyway.

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Anyway, despite overall liking it, I do think this movie struggles with sustaining momentum in a few parts.  There was one large chunk of 20-25 minutes that just lost me because I had no real interest in what was happening (it was a little bit after Melissa Leo was killed), and I think the buildup to the final fight went on for too long.  Both of these parts came after moments that I thought were entertaining and/or held my attention, but it's almost like it comes to a dead halt after those previous bits happened.  Other than that though, this is a lot of fun and Denzel continues to be a phenomenal actor.  Props to Ashton Sanders as well, who delivers another great performance after impressing me in Moonlight.  B/B-

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This was *Immortan Joe voice* mediocre. The script feels like a first draft that needed fleshing out for certain details, as a lot of plot threads aren't given sufficient development for us to care about them (the Holocaust survivor friend who is still looking for his sister is especially a victim of this). There's a couple of good action bits, but the climax, which takes place in an abandoned town in the middle of a hurricane, is way too goofy for an action movie that's playing it completely serious otherwise. One thing it does do is solidify Denzel Washington as one of the coolest actors around and that he'll always give completely committed performances even in a project that is pure "paycheck" like this is. Too bad his first sequel in his entire career wasn't better than this throwaway, easily the weakest of his four collaborations with director Antoine Fuqua to date. C

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I'm still wondering why the husband and wife were murdered at the beginning.  That was never explained.  I realize it's not a huge lot piece, but they were killed in particularly gruesome ways and the husband was made to watch as they killed his wife.  Why?

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I got the idea that Denzel and the other dudes ( including Pedro Pascal ) operated as a group, working together doing very bad things. 

 

In the first movie, Denzel says he did many wrong things in the past. So, it seems he faked his death ( Melissa Leo talks about that, and Pedro Pascal was surprised because he said he went to Denzel's funeral ).

 

Denzel was the leader. When he "died", the whole thing (operation ) was dropped. The other dudes started working as freelancers. The woman and the guy killed at the beginning were targets ( one of the mercenaries says their name was on a paper and it wasn't anything personal ).

 

So, they staged a suicide scene in order to avoid future investigation. Melissa Leo noticed there was something wrong ( I guess the modus operandi didn't fit with a suicide ). Pedro Pascal got scared and then sent 2 goons to fake a robbery scene and then kill her. 

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Grade: B

 

This is a very serviceable film. It doesn't do anything memorable, have any quotable moments or make me want to see it again. For me this is like John Wick 2, largely forgotten by next week. Comparing a more recent-ish type film I can say I enjoyed Death Wish(Willis) more. I actually liked Skyscraper more. Both of those films had the hook of heart that I bought into. I get that McCall want justice for his friend Susan I just didn't feel the immediate emotional attachment of the aforementioned films.

 

The "epilogue" of the film caught me a bit by surprise and felt long. It was only 4-5 min but after it's over and the camera begins it's fade(you think to black & credits)...into another scene.....than another scene....then credits. 

 

I'm sure they will do a third, and I'll see it. Denzel still has charisma to get me in a seat just like Willis and Dwayne. 

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SPOILERS

 

The beginning had me chuckling right before they showed "the Equalizer 2" title.  Denzel was giving some speech about having a choice, then the camera zooms out and you see the subway go down the dark tunnel and it says 'Equalizer 2'

 

then two hours later, he is at this condo on the beachfront during an epic hurricane and he is sitting in the couch next to the window as the hurricane-forced waves and crashing and splashing over whatever it can.

Edited by dmatrixfilm1715
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The Equalizer 2 is about on par with its predecessor: a generic but still passably entertaining action flick that Denzel Washington carries almost singlehandedly. There was no reason to do a sequel to the 2014 film and this film sometimes feels like three different movies stuffed into one, but Washington is still plenty of fun to watch as a benevolent citizen who also happens to beat bad guys to a bloody pulp or kill them in creatively gnarly ways. Of the three threads competing for attention, the most successful is the collection of vignettes in which Washington acts as driver righting wrongs for various clients; scattershot as these vignettes might be, they’re entertaining and unencumbered by the need to go through the motions of a standard plot. The subplot with Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders as a young man whom Washington takes under his wing is affecting, though underdeveloped. Unfortunately, the thread concerning the murder of Melissa Leo’s character takes off as the most prominent part of the plot, and it’s a predictable, often undercooked affair that struggles to hold viewer interest between well-constructed set pieces. After seeing his powerhouse work in Fences (and, to a lesser extent, his committed work in the disappointing Roman J. Israel, Esq.), I must confess to at least a little disappointment in seeing Washington tread old ground rather than stretch himself further, but he’s so good at making this type work time and time again that I had a good time with this one despite its familiarity. 

 

B-

 

Stray Thoughts:

- The final standoff feels pretty generic and all, but the death by harpoon moment was badass.

- The scene where Sanders hides in the panic room was legit suspenseful - hands down the best-executed scene in these two movies.

- I'm probably one of very few viewers outside of New England who spotted a random Rhode Island license plate driving by in one of the scenes when Denzel was returning to his parked car in Boston.

Edited by Webslinger
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Not as good as the original, but better than these shitty action sequels we’ve had in the past 6 years. Denzel’s character is more fleshed out in this one, the action scenes were good, the kid that lives in the apartment with Denzel is likable and isn’t some wannabe thug, and the chemistry between him and the boy are very good especially the scene when he comes to get the boy from joining a gang. The payoff was also satisfying in the end, and no bullshit.

 

only problem was the villain was going to expected earlier in the film. 

 

while it’s not as good as it’s predcesdor, The Equalizer 2 is a solid sequel that actually has some meat in an age where we have too many rehashes, carbon copies, and unnecessariness.

 

grade: B

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