The Equalizer 3
It’s not the most original of stories, with many of the action movie cliches we’re very much accustomed to, but I always felt that it’s the execution that matters in this genre, and the movie delivers in spades on that.
★★★★1/2
Mild Spoilers
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Written by Richard Wenk, Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim
I suggest that you go watch this one before reading my review. You won’t regret it. I came out of the cinema with an adrenaline high. A little emotional too. It’s that good!
The Equalizer 3 is kind of a mystery. It opens with our hero Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) in an unexplained situation where he is in Italy, Equalizing a bunch of baddies, but we don’t know why. Then he gets entangled with more baddies, helps out a small Italian town, and somehow gets Dakota Fanning involved in the fiasco. But it will all be explained in the end.
If you’ve seen the first two movies or even the TV show they are based on, you know that McCall is some kind of retired secret agent badass who goes around helping regular folks with his particular set of skills. I might be remembering the past two movies wrongly, but I didn’t recall that the character was this ruthless, because McCall v3 is one scary mofo in this one. I know John Wick is the boogeyman among criminals and assassins, but he was fearsome because of his efficiency in killing. But McCall is more frightening because of how brutal he gets and how much he seems to actually enjoy it, not unlike a serial killer. The bad guys here are merely sadistic and cruel, because they haven’t yet met McCall. It was glorious to see these Mafia scumbags get their gruesome comeuppances when they realised too late that a far bigger alpha male was in town.
It’s not the most original of stories, with many of the action movie cliches we’re very much accustomed to, but I always felt that it’s the execution (executions?) that matters in this genre, and the movie delivers in spades on that. And I loved that they put the effort to set up and pay off with some nice surprises and reveals in the end.
Denzel Washington is really good in the role. Not sure if his sometimes odd and bizarre demeanour was a symptom of his character’s OCD, or just Denzel doing his Denzel thing. Nice to see Fanning reframing with Washington again since Man on Fire, chemistry from that flick still intact here. Man on Fire fans will not be disappointed.
Heard this was the last one, which is sad because I actually want to see more adventures of Robert McCall now.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Fret not, this isn’t a stuffy arthouse treatment, but a surprisingly fast-paced, genre-leaning, effects-laden sci-fi actioner with a strong dose of family drama at its core. So, not only do you get to see Yeoh bringing her action chops, but flex her acting ones too.
★★★★1/2
No spoilers
Laundromat owner Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) must grapple with a multitude of issues, including potential eviction from her premises, being emotionally estranged from her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu), feeling disappointed with husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) and being a disappointment to her father Gong Gong (James Hong). But things are about to get worse when another Waymond from another multiverse (also Ke) appears to recruit Evelyn to fight in a multiversal war and save the world.
It’s interesting that there are two separate movies about the multiverse (the other one being Dr Strange 2) playing at the same time right now that couldn’t be more different in feel and approach. But they both have protagonists with a third eye on their foreheads. It’s like they’re each their own multiversal branch-offs. I’m a Sam Raimi fan, but even I have to admit that the title Multiverse of Madness would have been better suited to this far more bonkers Michelle Yeoh flick. The multiversal concept is more creatively utilized here whereas Raimi’s film only conservatively toys with it.
Fret not, this isn’t a stuffy arthouse treatment, but a surprisingly fast-paced, genre-leaning, effects-laden sci-fi actioner with a strong dose of family drama at its core. So, not only do you get to see Yeoh bringing her action chops, but flex her acting ones too. I still think her best performance was in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but she gets to do more here, and it’s a blast to see that.
Another great highlight is the “return” of Ke Huy Quan playing a lead role as Yeoh’s husband Waymond, most well-known for his role as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It’s hard to believe that he has done very little acting in almost 40 years, because he so effortlessly juggled a myriad of alternate Waymond characters like a pro, including one that could have been a Tony Leung role in a Wong Kar Wai flick. His character struck close to home for me, but that’s a discussion for another time.
It’s no secret that 93-year-old legend James Hong is in this film also, and no, it isn’t just a fleeting cameo, but there was one other casting that was a genuine surprise for me, and she was terrifically funny and was completely relishing her role. I won’t spoil it here for those who don’t watch trailers and follow entertainment news. Stephanie Hsu also did a decent job here having to go toe-to-toe with so many acting legends during the dramatic moments.
The only very minor gripe is that the Daniels (directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert of Swiss Army Man fame) piled on the silly or gross-out humour a little too much, that they sometimes took the wind out of a few dramatic moments.
Nevertheless, this is still a very heartfelt, adult story about family, nestled within a visually frenetic and funny film where sex toys can be used to access the multiverse. For people who griped about the lack of originality in blockbuster films, it’s time to walk the talk and watch this film instead. Highly recommended!
Originally published on my Facebook Page, here.