Movie Review The Equalizer 3

The Equalizer 3 (2023) 

Directed by Antoine Fuqua 

Written by Richard Wenk 

Starring Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, David Denman 

Release Date September 1st, 2023 

Published September 1st, 2023 

I was not ready for how astonishingly violent The Equalizer 3 is. In the opening scenes we see a parade of viscera, a series of dead bodies that have been wrecked and bloodied in a fashion that would shame Jason Voorhees. When we finally see the man responsible for this buffet of brutality, our old friend Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), he's being held at gunpoint but seconds away from murdering everyone in the room. In a scene punctuating moment, McCall picks up a shotgun and blasts buckshot into the backside of the main baddie as he attempts to crawl away. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review 16 Blocks

16 Blocks (2006) 

Directed by Richard Donner 

Written by Richard Wenk 

Starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse

Release Date March 3rd, 2006 

Published March 2nd, 2006 

16 Blocks is the latest suspense-thriller from director Richard Donner, best known for the Lethal Weapon pictures. Those films are remembered more for Mel Gibson's manic performance and Donner's bombastic action scenes than for intricate or clever plotting. That makes 16 Blocks something of a surprise. Donner's attention to character details and fast-paced plotting in 16 Blocks turns what might have been another average action exercise into a compelling nail-biting suspenser.

A burned-out, drunkard cop, Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) thinks his shift is over for the day. Heading for the door, and another bottle, Jack is stopped by his lieutenant and given one last assignment. Jack has 118 minutes to escort a prisoner, Eddie Bunker (Mos Def), 16 Blocks to the courthouse before the grand jury wraps for the day. Little does Jack know that the case the kid is testifying in is dangerous enough to get them both killed.

Bruce Willis is easily the most reliably compelling action star in film today. Even in his most rote or underwhelming vehicles like Bandits or Mercury Rising, Willis' flair and charisma are undeniable. In 16 Blocks Willis gives a character-driven performance that is becoming a trend as he transitions to elder-statesman action hero.

From his cop in Sin City to his cop in Hostage to his cop in 16 Blocks, Willis understands his niche and goes about finding unique notes for each character to play. The results have been very good thus far, with another unique character-driven performance coming this spring--a supporting role in the buzzworthy flick Alpha Dog.

Mos Def has proven himself an exceptionally-talented actor well beyond the stereotypical rapper-turned-actor. Seeking roles that most rappers-turned-actors either never seek nor pull off, Mos Def has excelled in the medical drama Something The Lord Made--for which he was nominated for an Emmy--and the effervescent Lackawanna Blues.

In 16 Blocks ,Mos Def cuts the figure of Eddie Bunker by adopting a unique, if occasionally unintelligible, patois that gives his motor-mouth character another layer of backstory for us to ponder. As the loquacious Eddie runs his mouth, Willis' cop becomes as irritated as we in the audience do, but just as he is eventually won over by Eddie's spirit and good nature, so are we.

Written by Richard Wenk, the screenplay for 16 Blocks is a cleverly-constructed action piece with two exceptional lead characters. Wenk strikes a near-perfect balance of character quirks, plot twists and big action sequences that, in retrospect, create a script that could not have been better suited for director Richard Donner, a master of the big action scene who's never had an action plot this good to back him up.

In 16 Blocks, Bruce Willis takes on the kind of role that Harrison Ford should consider. Willis, playing to  his age and capabilities, crafts a believable character. There is little ego to Willis' performance. The character is vulnerable, human, and very flawed. Where Ford cannot let go of his superman-action-hero persona, Willis defies his persona in ways that bring depth to his most recent performances. Am I saying one actor is better than the other? No, I am saying that Willis is currently making better choices than Ford and that Ford could learn a little something from watching Sin City, Hostage or 16 Blocks.

Director Richard Donner knows how to direct a crowd-pleasing action flick--he's been doing it since 1978's Superman. Three of the four Lethal Weapon movies are endlessly entertaining (the less said about the last Weapon sequel the better). Conspiracy Theory, Maverick and The Goonies are other terrific examples of Donner's crowd-pleasing abilities. What sets 16 Blocks apart from those films is the whipsmart plotting that backs up his other forte as a director--big, dumb, loud action. Keep an eye out for the bus chase scene which satisfies Donner's required major action set piece.

With Bruce Willis in the lead, 16 Blocks becomes almost infallibly entertaining. Watching Willis transition from action hero to aging character actor and yet maintain that star charisma is a real treat. His new persona solidified, we can only wonder now about his upcoming fourth Diehard film and how John McClane will fit with the new Bruce Willis. I cannot wait to see that, but even if Diehard 4 turns out to be a mistake, the new Bruce Willis should be able to recover quickly with another cheap, but efficient, thriller like 16 Blocks.

Movie Review The Equalizer 2

The Equalizer 2 (2018) 

Directed by Antoine Fuqua 

Written by Richard Wenk 

Starring Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo

Release Date July 20th, 2018

Published July 18th, 2018

The Equalizer 2 stars Denzel Washington, once again in the role of McCaul, a former CIA Agent turned good guy vigilante. When we meet McCaul in this sequel he is on a train in Turkey with a fake beard. McCaul is attempting to retrieve the daughter of a woman he knows that has been illegally taken by her ex-husband and scuttled out of the country. The scene is a re-introduction to the unique set of skills McCaul has; which includes timing the way he beats up bad guys. 

This scene has nothing to do with the plot of The Equalizer 2 other than as a way of contextualizing the character for those who may not have seen the first film in this budding franchise. Then again, the plot of The Equalizer 2 is so loose and threadbare it’s hard to say which scenes are necessary and which are indulgent, unnecessary scenes intended only to show what a god-like, benevolent being McCaul is.

The plot, such as it is, kicks in when McCaul’s friend, Susan (Melissa Leo) is murdered while investigating a murder in Belgium. McCaul immediately smells a rat and decides to come out of hiding in order to investigate. His first visit is to his former partner, Dave (Pedro Pascal). Dave was with Susan in Belgium when she was murdered, helping her investigate. Is Dave a friend or a suspect? You will have to see the movie to find out but if you’ve seen a movie, you likely already know.

Antoine Fuqua hasn’t made a movie this lazy and loosely structured since King Arthur, which is the last time it felt like he was making something even he didn’t care for. The Equalizer 2 ranges from boring action to boring scenes of unneeded exposition to equally boring establishing scenes of a character who is on hand only to be device later in the movie. I’m afraid that if I even begin to describe this character it might be a spoiler as the device is so nakedly predictable.

Denzel Washington has been on auto-pilot since his 2012’s Flight. That’s the last time I can recall seeing Denzel fully invested in fleshing out and living within a character. That may sound funny for those who point to his Academy Award nominated work in Fences and Roman J. Esquire and think I am crazy, but I am not a fan of either of those performances. Both of those movies are showy, over the top, capital P: Performances, not great acting.

In Fences, Washington is performing for the stage and not the screen. His bombastic performance is ill-suited for the movie screen. Roman J. Israel meanwhile, is a different kind of over the top, a performance that is all tics and mannerisms. These performances are, at least, not boring, they have a vitality that The Equalizer 2 does not have. Despite how much he shapes this character and seems to care about it, he comes off as rather bored.

Bored is probably an unfair, even inaccurate way of describing Denzel’s performance. I’m sure his intent is to be inscrutable or unflappable, but it comes off unaffected and uninvested. Part of that is Denzel’s fault but a bigger part is the fault of Fuqua who fails to give the movie around Denzel’s performance much life. The film aims for moody but arrives at tired, it aims for gritty and ends mildly irritated.

Even the action, which had been the best part of the original The Equalizer, is lifeless in comparison and that film wasn’t exactly lively. The first The Equalizer appeared invested in its action, if not in creating memorable characters or a believable story worth investing in. Denzel’s physicality is fully present in that performance and is less so here. I’m not going to speculate about Denzel aging, because he could easily take me in a fight, despite having 20 years on me age wise, but regardless he appears slowed.

Denzel being a little slower might have worked in the film’s favor if the movie had used it but instead, the movie appears slowed down so Denzel can keep up. Denzel is at all times quicker and smarter than everyone else in the movie, even people younger than him who he apparently taught and influenced when he was a member of the CIA. I’m nitpicking here but shouldn’t this character, at very least, feel a little bit of angst about this fight?

I won’t go into spoilers but the ending of The Equalizer is nonsense. It’s filmed in the midst of a

hurricane on an empty Martha’s Vineyard or some such town and it’s a shame to say, it’s not nearly as fun or exciting as a similar scene in Hurricane Heist earlier this year. Hurricane Heist is basically a parody of an actual movie. That movie, at the very least, knew how to have fun. The Equalizer 2 has the audacity to be dour on top of being predictable, lazy and sloppy.