Ever since Liam Neeson found a renewed vigour in his career with his surprisingly thrilling Taken, every other veteran actor in Hollywood is trying to take a page out of the success of the film and having their own Taken series. The Equalizer has been the terrific Denzel Washington's, and perhaps for the first time in his career, he is doing a sequel to the same. The first movie came out in 2014 and was an entertaining fare, even though it did borrow some of hijinks from the Liam Neeson film. So what about the sequel? Sadly, it disappoints! Denzel Washington's The Equalizer 2 Gets India Release Date.

Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has left his retail job behind and is now working as a Lyft driver in Massachusetts. He also moonlights as a do-gooder vigilante, who breaks bones and necks of bad guys as a sort of justice to harmed victims of their crimes (even if they haven't asked him for his help). He also acts as a mentor to a neighbouring black kid (Ashton Sanders), who dreams of being an artist, while also helping out a veteran (Orson Bean) look for a painting of his long lost sister.

Meanwhile, his former colleague in the Defense Intelligence Agency Susan (Melissa Leo), the only person who knows his real identity, is killed in Brussels while investigating a high profile murder. Wanting to find out who is behind this, Robert takes the help of another former colleague Dave York (Pedro Pascal) in finding out the real killers and use his special set of kill-skills to take them out!

Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua have a hot combo going around for some time. Denzel got an Academy Award for the Best Actor in their first collaboration itself, Training Day. He also got a big hit in The Equalizer which showed the world that Denzel can do action with immaculate ease as he does emoting. However, the quality of their further collaborations, including an okayish remake of The Magnificent Seven, started dipping with The Equalizer 2 being at the lowest ebb.

The film is not totally bad. The fight sequences are the highlights and they are wonderfully executed with some sharp editing (Conrad Buff IV). The cinematography by  Oliver Wood is stunning while the background score is adequate. The opening fight sequence gives the movie the much needed big bang start, while the scene where McCall provides his brand of justice to a bunch of corporate rapists is nicely done.

However, the main premise and the whole investigation angle pass muster, especially the so-called big villain reveal. While the sequel showcases the hero's skills in thinking ahead of his rivals and taking them down accordingly, it doesn't use them in a better, more efficient way as the first Equalizer movie did. The premise has its thrills in parts (the in-car fighting scene is really good), but when the villain's reveal is off, then it falls into familiar territory and refuses to go beyond.

Even the subplot of McCall connecting with his young neighbour, paralleling his equation with Chloe Moretz Grace's character in the first film, feels half-baked and adds tedium to the proceedings.

The Equalizer 2 had a chance to shine in the climax, where McCall takes on the bad guys while a hurricane hits his beachside home-town. The fighting amidst the gale would have given the movie an excellent action sequence worth remembering for years. However, some very dodgy special effects and very unconvincing closeups of actors (which makes the wind hitting their faces look like a breeze) throw out most of the impact from the scene. There is also the fact that McCall takes down the bad guys, even the main one, with relative ease. Even John Wick had to face some really strong adversaries and all he wanted was revenge for killing his dog!

The Performances

Can Denzel Washington even go wrong with a performance? Not even in a silly action movie like this! The actor is committed to his role and it is his dedication that makes us wish Fuqua could have made a better film for him. Pedro Pascal is getting typecast in similar roles. At the first glimpse of his character, I saw easily through the cover and the movie does nothing to surprise me. Melissa Leo is affable, while Bill Pullman is wasted. Ashton Sanders of Moonlight fame is good, though I cannot say the same about his arc.

Direction:

VFX:

Technical Values:

Script:

Yay!

- Denzel Washington

- The action scenes

- The cinematography and BG score

Nay!

- The main premise

- Disappointing villain reveal and climax

- Uninteresting subplot

Final Thoughts

The Equalizer 2 may be seen as a passable action flick with an always excellent Denzel Washington in lead. However, it is a disappointing followup and fails to bring anything new to the action genre.

Rating:2out of 5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 21, 2018 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).