I don’t remember much from “The Equalizer 2,” other than the fact that I didn’t like it due to its schlocky, laughable action scenes and one-note protagonist in former Marine and DIA agent Robert McCall (Denzel Washington). So I wasn’t expecting much from the franchise’s third film but was more than open to being pleasantly surprised. 

This film sees McCall injured after taking out a crime lord in Sicily. Having been shot in the back by a kid, he passes out while driving near the small Italian town of Altamonte, where he is taken care of the locals, namely the town’s doctor, Enzo Arisio (Remo Girone) and Gio Bonucci (Eugenio Mastrandrea), a local law enforcement officer who asks no questions and doesn’t report him.

McCall is slowly adopted by this charming small Italian community who learns nothing of his past. His character is one that doesn’t have a place or purpose, which he finds in Altamonte — a big motif repeated in the film is ending up exactly where you need to be. 

But this is still an action film, and so we need a big bad, which comes in the form of Vincent Quaranta (Andrea Scarduzio), the head of the Camorra (the Italian Mafia), who has big plans to take over Altamonte and eventually build resorts there. For now, he collects protection money, which he tasks his brother, Marco (Andrea Dodero) to collect as well as punish those who don’t pay. 

The Camorra are described as a cancer in the town and when they turn violent, they peak McCall’s interest, who quickly decides he will not tolerate their terror. The rest goes as you’d expect. 

This is a huge improvement on the previous film, with its primary location injecting a lot of personality and stakes into the film. Other action franchises (“The Fast and the Furious”) get caught in this trap where they have to continuously one-up themselves to the point where they eventually become completely incoherent, while wiser ones go for smaller stories (“Logan”). 

This film also smartly maneuvers around Washington’s advanced age (68 years old, which is pushing it for an action star) by having him adopt a fast-paced martial arts fighting style that exploits precise pressure points with the filmmakers using smart cutaways and camera angles to avoid falling into schlock territory like the last film. I also like how we see more of what Washington’s character is like from the villains’ point of view, especially through its opening sequence and last fight scene, where he’s portrayed as an unstoppable, almost supernatural killer like horror villains Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. 

With that being said, the film does struggle to balance its large cast of characters. CIA officer Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning), Gio and Enzo fade in and out the movie but have no real impact other than ushering in plot events, whereas others like Collins’ boss, Frank Conroy (David Denman) and coffee shop worker Aminah (Gaia Scodellaro) are introduced in a handful of scenes and then seemingly forgotten about. 

The location of Altamonte has a lot of charm and arguably more character than some of the actual characters in this film, but its inhabitants — while pleasant — are one-note and forgettable. This film strives to portray a tightknit, small town but doesn’t put in the work to do so, so what we get instead is a hollow empty facsimile.

However, McCall’s story grounds the film and is pulled off wonderfully by Washington. His command of his scenes and his character is second to none and elevates the film above standard action fare. His performance — and character — is sharp, always two steps ahead of the enemy, which the film’s action and direction complimenting them to make a thrilling flick.  

“The Equalizer 3” gets an 8/10