First Take: The Equalizer 3 - progress over perfection

SYNOPSIS: Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.

The one word I thought a lot during The Equalizer 3 was ‘authenticity’- it isn’t often that an action film comes around which features a sequence where the hero rehabs an injury, but much like the 1980s show which loosely resulted in this film adaptation, as well as the recent reboot series on CBS in the states, this film is properly rooted in its past, and looks to the future as it brings the McCall story to an end - this time in Italy.

Returning to cap off this trilogy is director Antoine Fuqua, who turns in a rather neat 1 hour 49 minute slow burner of an action film, and just like 1 and 2, Richard Wenk provides the script - this is a nice and slow kind of vibe, and while there is some seriously violent setpieces that warrant the 15, this is a brutal story that ties up a lot of loose ends and still has enough time for you to get a coffee - just as you see on screen a lot. It is shot damn well by Robert Richardson, and Marcelo Zalvos’ score does what it says on the tin for a film like this, coming in when it’s needed- with a very clever needle drop that gets utilised throughout the score too.

As you would expect Denzel Washington carries this film, with his executive producer influence clearly showing- but where there was a lot of interest is his work with Dakota Fanning, with this being the first time she has worked with Denzel since 2004’s Man on Fire, and it is so good to see them back on screen together. Rounding out the cast is David Denman, Sonia Ammar, Remo Girone and Eugenio Mastandrea amongst others, and ultimately, this film is just about fine in every aspect - it’s not good, it’s not bad, and importantly it’s playing well with cinemagoers, even without the lure of £3 tickets like it had on opening weekend in the UK.

THE VERDICT

The Equalizer 3 is a slow but impactful film, and while at times it struggles to nail its pacing, the authenticity of what goes down with the violence, and the ending of 3 films worth of storylines makes it a film that Denzel can arguably carry on his back without any major issues.

RATING: 3.5/5