Usually in filmmaking franchises when Part 3 comes around, the inclination is to steer clear. But with “The Equalizer 3” the goods get delivered.
With this entry, the locales get switched. We are no longer dealing with an American inner city. We’re in Italy. The female lead here is played by Dakota Fanning, who some might remember from her younger years in films such as “War of the Worlds” and “I Am Sam.”
The story line shift in this entry involves dealing with gangsters overseas. They’re nefarious characters who don’t care about anybody. They’re all bad; not a decent one anywhere in the group.
Robert McCall (Washington) feels comfortable in his new environment. He doesn’t feel like he needs to look over his shoulder all the time. Fanning portrays a CIA operative who gets involved with McCall. He called her to help dealing with ne’er-do-wells involved in drug smuggling and distribution.
Washington, much like Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves, still looks fit as a fiddle and able to carry an action franchise forward. This is a solid movie that doesn’t falter in the development of the plot lines.
Antoine Fuqua “The Magnificent Seven,” who has been in the director’s chair for all three “Equalizer” entries, handles the camera work and angles of this crime-thriller second sequel like he knows what he’s doing every step of the way.
Emma Collins (Fanning), the female lead in this one, is strong-willed and dynamic with a lot of moxie, much like Chloë Grace Moretz’s Teri in the 2014 original.
“The Equalizer 3” is worth seeing in a theater because Fuqua knows what he’s doing and he’s adept at every angle he takes on.
Grade: B+
