Written by Wayne Townsend
The Equalizer 2, or EQ2 is the sequel to 2014’s The Equalizer and marks the first time in Denzel Washington’s career he has done a sequel. As a reminder, The Equalizer was a television show from the 80’s staring Edward Woodward about a retired intelligence agent helping downtrodden people in New York City. It worked because NYC in the 80’s was a place reminiscent the Paris depicted in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, homelessness, drug epidemic, graffiti subways, and crime rates that forced tourism to an all-time low, Robert McCall, Washington’s character, was the cure to the plague. The updated version lacks the utter despair felt by the victims from the TV series, but there still is the frustration of helplessness of the situations that McCall will address anonymously. Washington returns as a Lyft driver, a clever plot device that allows him access to the problems of his passengers and explains how he gains information and inserts himself into their lives. There are many subplots in the movie that are meant to highlight his ability to rectify the wrongs and pays homage to the original intent of the TV show, which I liked. However, in doing so director Antoine Fuqua slows the pace, making the storying telling little uneven but should be forgiven because without sprinkling Washington’s good deeds, you just have a run of the mill vigilante movie. The main plot of the film deviates from his usual motive of helping strangers to a personal one as he investigates the murder of his best friend and former colleague portrayed by Melissa Leo. The action is top notch, and Washington is well, Washington (that’s a good thing folks). The violence inflicted on the baddies is deliciously delivered. The film isn’t as good as the first, but by adding an emotional element to the character’s motives we get to see the inner workings of McCall. This movie is worth a watch, 2 1/5 out of 5