The Sequalizer
I binge-watched The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2 over the weekend. Denzel Washington was compelling, as always, and both films could definitely be considered quite good. But both also suffered from those WTF
moments that suggest that the writers just couldn't be arsed to finish the job properly.
The Equalizer finds its antagonists from within the heavily-tattooed Russian mafia trope. McCall does the do against the mean men with funny accents, and wops their arses all the way back to Moscow. Except…[spoiler]at the warehouse, where the mob's money is being counted, McCall outclasses the mobsters after effortlessly disarming their leader. We see nothing after that until it's all over. But there was at least one mobster behind him, and he could so easily have popped a cap in McCall's ass. So why didn't he? Why risk the wrath of Pushkin, who's quite clearly a sociopath?
8/10.
The Equalizer 2 ploughs the redoubtable ex-comrades-turned-bad furrow. The fight scene in which McCall avenges Amy is excellent, especially when he uses the lead punk's tie to finish him. Having said that, he relied on the weakest guy's word to tell the truth, and left without their cameras, cell phones, or anything that would've counted as real evidence.
The final battle scene is also right up there with the best, except…[spoiler]WTF was it that conveniently blew Dave (Pedro Pascal) off of his feet and across the tower roof? A gust of wind? I thought he was supposed to be a hard man. And he fought like a girl; I'm beginning to see what Burebista meant about Timothy Olyphant's eyebrow.
7/10