Author |
Message |
David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
|
The Equalizer 2
Quote: The Equalizer 2 is a 2018 American thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
|
Fri Jul 20, 2018 4:02 pm |
|
|
David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
|
Re: The Equalizer 2
A decent film and a modest improvement on the first, I thought. A few of the more sentimental elements fall flat (particularly a Woman in Gold-esque subplot involving an elderly Holocaust survivor and its garishly over-the-top conclusion), but the core espionage-and-revenge story is fairly involving and soundly told. And there are a lot of satisfying set pieces (the brutal close-quarters fight in the car, the incredibly suspenseful panic-room sequence) and creative action-movie flourishes (rather flamboyantly staging the final fight in an evacuated seaside town during a hurricane). And though obviously no one is going to cite The Equalizer 2 first when reflecting on Denzel Washington's legacy, he undoubtedly (and adeptly) delivers his usual blend of charisma and stoicism.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
|
Fri Jul 20, 2018 4:05 pm |
|
|
Jmart
Superman: The Movie
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 8:47 am Posts: 21157 Location: Massachusetts
|
Re: The Equalizer 2
Everything good is in the trailers. Everything involving Melissa Leo and Pedro Pascal (minus the panic room sequence that David mentioned)? Not good. And the idea that Denzel hangs up the pictures of Leo for the bad guys to see, Dark Knight and Spectre style, in the middle of a hurricane, is fucking absurd.
I didn’t think I’d be bored by the end of the movie, but yeah, it was boring.
C
_________________My DVD Collection Marty McGee (1989-2005)
If I’m not here, I’m on Letterboxd.
|
Fri Jul 20, 2018 7:32 pm |
|
|
Dil
Forum General
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:48 pm Posts: 8942 Location: Houston, Texas
|
Re: The Equalizer 2
A solid sequel. I enjoyed it about as much as the first movie overall even though I think this one has weaker villains and a somewhat underwhelming finale. The action sequences are still very well done and as brutal as ever though. Denzel is great as well and it says something about his level of talent when IMO one of the best scenes in the movie isn't even an action sequence, but an exchange of dialogue between two characters.
B
|
Sat Jul 28, 2018 10:46 pm |
|
|
MadGez
Dont Mess with the Gez
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 9:54 am Posts: 22704 Location: Melbourne Australia
|
Re: The Equalizer 2
I found it to be better than the first.
_________________
What's your favourite movie summer? Let us know @
http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=85934
|
Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:31 am |
|
|
stuffp
Keeping it Light
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:06 am Posts: 11224 Location: Bright Falls
|
Re: The Equalizer 2
What made it better, not that I'll be readying your reply until I see the film myself, but I might as well ask already.
|
Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:47 am |
|
|
Jack Sparrow
KJ's Leading Idiot
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:15 pm Posts: 36923
|
Re: The Equalizer 2
I found it much worse than the first. On a technical level this is a much better sequel than the first but it fails in the story and narration. The movie is completely by-the-book scene after scene and you can see the villain even before the murder actually happened. I liked the bits where Denzel figures out how the bedroom murders happened but its not something that police shouldn't have figured out before. The final scene is very well staged as well but none of these scenes build any suspense or stakes. It became boring to watch it in the end.
4/10
|
Thu Sep 06, 2018 1:40 am |
|
|
Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 67066
|
Re: The Equalizer 2
This was fine. It suffers from being a bit bloated and goofy at times, and it's not as good as the first, but it's fine. The first hour is odd. I felt that it took ages to actually get into the plot, and it cuts from Boston to Brussels to Washington DC far too many times. There was honestly no good reason why it had to be Brussels. It could have been just another US city, and it would have made them travelling to each more believable. Denzel travels to these places for a short scene then the next scene is being back again in Boston washing dishes. And I'm not sure I liked him being a Lyft driver and righting the wrongs like a neighbourhood hero/Spider-Man. I prefer it when he's actually connected to something, then his skills are warranted. But to just go around looking for things to "equalize", it was a bit dumb. And that whole subplot with the old guy was stupid and unneeded. I had no fucking clue who that woman was at the end. Shouldn't have been included. It added nothing. But the action is good and I do like Denzel a lot. I felt he might've only agreed to do this sequel if he could add things to the story, such as mentoring that kid. A lot of the lines were very much like things Denzel would say in an interview. B
|
Wed Oct 31, 2018 7:43 pm |
|
|
stuffp
Keeping it Light
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:06 am Posts: 11224 Location: Bright Falls
|
Re: The Equalizer 2
It's a good and not totally unnecessary sequel, just it unfortunately doesn't tread any new ground either. Denzel is ever as good as the steel-cold retired operative McCall, and for the first hour the film is very engaging and we get several cool action scenes with him doing his thing. Once the reveal comes around that Dave is in on it and that his old army buddies are the baddies, the script takes a generic turn and its just not as exciting anymore. There's still some cool kills, and Fuqua is able to set a good thrilling vibe, but it ends up being an obvious step down from the first part. It gets a bit more international with some European tints, but they don't add any really desirable flavor to it either (the train sequence is also too much an inferior set-piece copied from the first execution style set-piece in the prev. film). And the Miles character is pretty much just as annoying as Moretz in the first one. It has enough going for it to still be an enjoyable actioner, I like the style and Denzel's character, but especially the ending (though the setting was neat) was a bit disappointing compared to the first's hardware store scene.
B
|
Thu Dec 06, 2018 1:17 am |
|
|