Denzel Washington returned for a third time as former government assassin Robert McCall, in the action franchise film, The Equalizer 3, directed by Antoine Fuqua. The movie was originally loosely based on a CBS TV program from the late 1980s.

While on a case on Italy, McCall is wounded and ends up in Altamonte, a remote coast side Italian town, where a kindly doctor Enzo (Remo Girone) was nursing him back to health. With his injury forcing him to slow down, McCall started to appreciate the quiet life in the small Italian village.

Unfortunately, trouble was still around as a pair of brothers in the local mafia the Camorra, Vincent and Marco Quaranta (Andrea Scarduzio and Andrea Dodero) are involved in drug smuggling with a terrorist organization to raise money for their plans. McCall tips off the CIA, specifically Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning), creating suspicion among the agent.

All McCall wanted is to be able to be left alone and to keep the people of Altamonte safe. Sadly, this would not be possible.

I really enjoyed this movie, as there was a lot to like about it. Let me start with the negatives though because there are not a lot of them. The biggest issue is that the villains of this movie, the Quaranta brothers and their assembled hoodlums never felt like threats to McCall even a little bit. They are one note villains that I never believed would cause any real trouble for McCall. Every time McCall stepped up to anyone, he destroyed the fools. Even when he was wounded, it was from someone that he did not expect (no spoilers, but that moment when he is shot feels tacked on and did not provide any closure.

Other than that, this movie was great. It felt like a classic Western where you had an aging gunslinger who found a place where he wanted to live out his life in peace, only to have the danger/threats still find him, forcing him back into action. There is a bit of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven here, though that is a better film.

Denzel Washington is great here, though this does not feel like the character that we see in the first two Equalizer movies as much. I really thought Washington was excellent as the former assassin who wanted to just not have to use his violent skills, but would take any actions to protect the people around him. Denzel Washington is always good, but he feels totally comfortable in the skin of Robert McCall. You can see how much fun Washington is having with this role.

He has a nice, easy chemistry with CIA agent Collins. There is a pretty easily guessed connection between these characters but they have some excellent scenes together.

There is a ton of action in the film, even though a lot of times it is hard to believe. Everything is filmed beautifully and there are many scenes that look fantastic. The action choreography really works throughout, and the visuals are stunningly brutal, including some real gory moments. The contradiction of the violence and the peaceful moments of tranquility in the Italian village serve as a wonderful counter-balance.

I enjoyed The Equalizer 3 quite a bit. I’d go as far as to say I liked it more than the first two, which blend together in my head. Yes, the story has some cartoony nature to it and the villains are not threats, but the work from Denzel Washington is top notch and the action is wild to see.

4 stars