A review of the new movie “The Equalizer 2”

In his long and distinguished career of almost 50 films, 63 year old Denzel Washington has never made a sequel – until now. Like Liam Neeson with “Taken”, he has found a money-spinning action role in later life and he’s going to run with it.

Between the two “Equalizer” movies, Washington has turned director in “Fences” in which he was also the star, but retired CIA agent Robert McCall is a much more laconic character who speaks more through fists, guns, knives, and his old espionage skills.

In this sequel, we have the same director (Antoine Fuqua) and the same writer (Richard Wenk) but, starting with a pre-title sequence on a train to Istanbul, the action comes earlier than in the first film and then satisfyingly often.

This time, McCall is a cab driver in Boston who is pulled back into his old life when a former colleague meets a gruesome end in Brussels. As he performs the role of avenging angel, he manages to touch the lives of smaller folk in various acts of kindness. There’s nothing new here, but it’s a stylish work that entertains sufficiently that a third outing is assured.


 




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