Man On Fire (2004) - The Equalizer 3 (2023)
A true brilliant stroke of casting brought together two of cinema's most gifted talents.....Denzel Washington and the A-List child actress of the era, 10 year old Dakota Fanning.
The result? Pure gold. How could audiences resist such a crowd pleaser that cleverly cut across multiple demographics. The film offered up ultra-violent action-adventure as only one of the genre's premiere specialists Tony Scott could deliver....also, some serious, reflective drama for Washington and the supporting cast to sink their teeth into.
But most of all, there was the heart-melting story of a damaged man at the end of his rope, rediscovering his long gone humanity while serving as the unlikely protector of a little girl. (The basic template of such a story is nothing new - it's been reducing audiences to blubbery tears since Shirley Temple thawed out her grumpy grandfather Jean Hersholt in 1937's "Heidi")
As burned out, alcoholic, black-ops mercenary John Creasey, Washington's given a last-chance gig from old friend Rayburn (Christopher Walken),....bodyguarding precocious Lupita Ramos (Fanning). She's the daughter of a struggling young corporate wheeler-dealer (Marc Anthony) and his American wife (Rahda Mitchell). Living in Mexico City, they're under the constant threat of brutal kidnappings that infect the city like a virus.
The first hour of this 2 & 1/2 hour film completely enthralls you as watch the impossibly adorable Lupita gradually turn the near suicidal Creasey into a loving mentor, teacher and practically a surrogate parent.
And then the city's infamous kidnappers strike in broad daylight (and in league with corrupt Mexican cops)......leaving Creasy riddled with bullets and Lupita held for ransom. After a ransom payment attempt goes south and Lupita's presumed dead, the now recovered, enraged Creasey regains his assassin-mercenary skills. And he proceeds to unleash Old Testament eye-for-an-eye revenge on every scumbag involved in the kidnapping, even the untouchable criminal cops.
But constantly interrupting the flow of the story comes director Tony Scott's usual bag of trademark visuals......sequences shot with yellow filters and chopped into smithereens in the editing....looking like poorly stitched together, random pieces of film that Scott pissed on after a downing couple of six-packs.
I guess Scott's reliance on those effects was meant to add a frenzied immediacy to the proceedings, but after 146 minutes of it, it becomes nothing more than an affected, intrusive annoyance....
As the film lurches in and out of these jagged chunks, I could only wonder if Scott realized he already had the film's two best special effects right in front of him.....Washington and Fanning. Their scenes together easily out-shine and out-dazzle any of the director's "Look at me! Look at me!" camerawork. And for that dynamic duo's most compelling work together.....3 & 1/2 stars (***1/2)
Now imagine everyone's excitement at the news of Denzel Washington being reunited 19 years later with his "Man On Fire" co-star Dakota Fanning. Even more exciting news - the film bringing them back together would be "The Equalizer 3", with Washington once again as Robert McCall, the mysterious, wandering operative who evens the odds for defenseless victims tormented by thugs, gangs and assorted bullies.
But what a letdown, after seeing the results.......
Unlike the major part that 10 year old Fanning enjoyed in 'Man On Fire', the 'Equalizer' filmmakers, squandered a golden opportunity for a grand reunion with her original co-star. The new film consigns her to a worthless, non-descript throwaway supporting role......a part that any of over a thousand less talented young actresses could have taken.
It's frustrating and downright stupid to watch Fanning's immeasurable talent, equal to Washington's, wasted like this. She's reduced to playing a CIA operative sucked into the story and then abruptly sidelined even further until the final scenes. Makes me nostalgic for days of the old Hollywood moguls......they would've commanded screenwriters to create an indelible character for the adult Fanning and fashion some crackling byplay and dialogue for her reunion with one her best co-stars ever, Don't look for anything like that here......a damn shame, if you ask me.
For Denzel Washington's 'Equalizer' fans, everything's in place for another epic McCall smackdown, relocating him to a small coastal village in Italy. Setting into what he thinks of as a relaxed, sedate retirement, it doesn't take long for McCall to notice the villagers terrorized and extorted by a vicious local Mafia chapter and their repulsive minions. And engulfing the village to turn it into an Italian Vegas is only a small part of the gang's agenda, which also includes arming international terrorists......
But we just know that our guy 'Roberto', who luckily ended up in the town to recover from a rare, near fatal error of judgement won't sit still for this evil.... since after two previous movies, we're all well aware that when people he's befriended fall victim to vicious hoods, it's equalizin' time with a vengeance and major pain will rain down on the bad guys.
I wish I could promise you that number three of this series delivers a line up of thrills 'n kills as satisfying as the first two, but sorry.....not really. McCall's expected wrap-up slaughter seems rushed, unimaginative in execution and perfunctory, as if the film just wants to get it over with. So don't expect anything close to the the first film's memorable finale, which featured McCall's brutal, urgent showdown with the Russian mob.
Having pointed out all of "Equalizer 3"s deficiencies, allow me to throw in some positives. As always, Denzel Washington is pure pleasure to watch, even in a film that doesn't quite come up to his level of excellence. Originally embodied by stalwart British character actor Edward Woodward in a TV series, Washington makes his Robert McCall uniquely his own......worldly wise, attuned to everything and everyone around him, armed with an unshakable sense of justice......and most importantly for us, possessed of lethal skills to dispense it without mercy.
But unlike Woodward's staunchly serious modern day knight, Washington indulges himself in devilish fun at his enemies ' expense. He's not above entertaining himself by toying with the miserable miscreants whom he'll soon send on their way to hell. And for us.....amid theaters clogged with DC-Marvel comic book sludge and low grade horror movies, the Equalizer's exploits still mean a good time at the movies....2 & 1/2 stars (**1/2)
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