Read Mixed User Reviews for The Equalizer 2

6

EludiumQ36Dec 8, 2018

Denzel, now 64!, plays a retired (previously reported "dead") special ops guy that makes a prosaic living as a Lyft operator. This affords him various opportunities to perform vigilante justice, not far removed from Batman, where he kicksDenzel, now 64!, plays a retired (previously reported "dead") special ops guy that makes a prosaic living as a Lyft operator. This affords him various opportunities to perform vigilante justice, not far removed from Batman, where he kicks butts that are 20-30 yrs younger, hmm. In fact, given he always talks calm, measured and low and has a panic room in his place which further fosters the superhero image. So if you're expecting authenticity and plausibility, sorry. His fight scenes are purely showcases for his awesomeness, I don't think he's ever even injured, not a cut, so... The one scene that held my interest for a few moments was the table talk he had with Dave a bit more than half way through, discussing the philosophy that justifies. The rest of the film is Denzel as plainclothes Batman, meh.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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6

Voodoo123Jan 7, 2019

+Looks gorgeous in 4k HDR
+Great fight choreography
+Excellent cast elevate the limited writing After an incredibly silly bond style opening, Equalizer 2 does little to setup its main plot until a good 20 mins in. Sadly the more interesting+Looks gorgeous in 4k HDR
+Great fight choreography
+Excellent cast elevate the limited writing

After an incredibly silly bond style opening, Equalizer 2 does little to setup its main plot until a good 20 mins in. Sadly the more interesting material from the original has been stripped to its bare reducing our protagonist to just 'ex cia vigilante'. It feels like a missed opportunity to put out titular character to the test but instead its just another easy win for the infallible character.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

Rebecca31Aug 31, 2018

If there's one thing that's never missing from cinemas for very long it's an action movie about a middle aged man, retired from *insert generic suspicious job here*, tormented by his past, possibly the death of a loved one (usually the wife)If there's one thing that's never missing from cinemas for very long it's an action movie about a middle aged man, retired from *insert generic suspicious job here*, tormented by his past, possibly the death of a loved one (usually the wife) and dead set on helping the less fortunate. Sure he's no Keanu Reeves or Liam Neeson but Denzel ain't talking no crap from no one. I never saw the first Equalizer and I was able to keep up so you've no excuse.

Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) the lyft driver uses his spare time to help random people with certain problems which always tend to result in violence. I never knew I wanted to see a super slow-motion shot of some scumbag getting his bones snapped reflected in the shot of an eyeball. With a clear strong sense of justice Denzel finds himself in a situation where he must question how far he will go to protect those he cares about. The thing about The Equalizer 2 is there are quite a few subplots going on simultaneously which in this case isn't a bad thing. We've seen this type of film countless times before so the subplots keep you interested. That is to say most of the subplots were interesting. Losing 20 minutes and at least one subplot would have made the Equalizer more compact. For me the last act was the most engaging but overall The Equalizer 2 delivers exactly what you expect. Generic, predictable and it was really helpful how the ominous sound of thunder rumbling can be heard every few minutes to maintain the atmosphere. It may not be a groundbreaking action movie but already it's doing better than the Taken franchise so you can bet we'll probably be seeing another Equalizer movie at some point. Enjoyable in the moment but honestly I'm already starting to forget it. Recommended for all you Denzel fans out there.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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6

moviecritic68Jul 25, 2018

I really wanted to score this film in the green just because Denzel was playing the main character but the current 6.8 is more accurate. The story's theme kind of drifted in & out too much. Watchable but personally I enjoyed the original a bit more.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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5

JLuis_001Jul 22, 2018

Practical entertainment but really forgettable in everything else. The truth is that this is not the sort of film that needed a sequel. I mean it's good and nice to see Denzel Washington working at this level despite his age, let's say he'sPractical entertainment but really forgettable in everything else. The truth is that this is not the sort of film that needed a sequel. I mean it's good and nice to see Denzel Washington working at this level despite his age, let's say he's now playing in the same arena as Liam Neeson but in reality the film isn't providing you with something fresh.

You have seen this before and obviously if you saw the first one then you pretty much know what awaits you and certainly that's a big problem because there's nothing that would surprise you, it's predictable and in action films, predictability is death.… Expand

5 of 8 users found this helpful53

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4

amheretojudgeJul 21, 2018

an improvement but not an essential one..

The Equalizer 2 2 Out Of 5 The Equalizer 2 is a plot driven commercial action feature that depicts a typical revenge tale of a broken character that serves well to the society. The feature isn'tan improvement but not an essential one..

The Equalizer 2

2 Out Of 5

The Equalizer 2 is a plot driven commercial action feature that depicts a typical revenge tale of a broken character that serves well to the society. The feature isn't ground-breaking or has a newer perspective to its genre but it undoubtedly is a passion project which is clearly visible as the euphoric energy on the screen never wears off.

It is rich on technical aspects like its choreography of the action sequence, sharp sound effects and typical-cowboy-western-y dialogues (which may not work always) but unfortunately falls flat on cinematography, editing, background score and camera work which could have been a lot better.

The writing isn't as smart or mature as the writers think which creates this vortex of disappointment for the audience that never leaves them throughout the course of it. The relationship projected between Washington and Sanders easily connects with the audience and helps it bind the plot tracks and keeps it grounded. The screenplay by Richard Wenk may be gripping but is too shallow and unnerving for the audience to care and root for the characters. Antoine Fuqua; the director, holds on to his role convincingly and delivers the expected execution but the concept and the structure of the script is the real culprit that never had enough crisp to make it to the screen in the first place.

Denzel Washington; at the heart of it, is achingly good and makes it worth investing on it with a good supporting cast like Ashton Sanders and Pedro Pascal. The attitude of the protagonist and few little smooth action tactics are the only high points of the feature.

The Equalizer 2 may be an improvement on terms of keeping the audience tangled into its crime world but it surely isn't an essential one or layered as the makers might suggest; none is wiser after the curtain drops.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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4

StavNeuseJul 22, 2018

The problem with this movie is simple, it's mundane and depressingly boring at times. It fluctuates up and down through action and meaningless dialogue. Denzel Washington was good, but that's about it. This movie isn't worth seeing.

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

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6

TVJerryJul 29, 2018

Denzel Washington teams up director Antoine Fuqua (the 1st "Equalizer" & "Training Day") for another hard-hitting action film (well, at least some of it). To dilute the action, they've tossed in a few elements of Washington's Oscar-nominatedDenzel Washington teams up director Antoine Fuqua (the 1st "Equalizer" & "Training Day") for another hard-hitting action film (well, at least some of it). To dilute the action, they've tossed in a few elements of Washington's Oscar-nominated "Fences" with a subplot about a talented neighborhood teen who's headed for trouble. The main scenario involves finding the killers of some seemingly unrelated people (and it's never clear what the motive was). There are some scenes that allow Washington to wreak violent havoc, but there's plenty of heavy drama to let him show off his acting licks. This is combined with several unnecessary elements that just confuse the narrative. Overall, Washington fans will find plenty to like.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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5

ThegodfathersonAug 1, 2018

A much slower paced film that the first, even if Washington’s performance is remarkable.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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5

FelicityFenwickAug 16, 2018

The definition of mediocre. Sure, there are fun moments, but it just doesn't add up to anything coherent. And the bad guy/girl? (no spoilers) You never generate that hate for him/her that's necessary for you to get super pumped for DenzelThe definition of mediocre. Sure, there are fun moments, but it just doesn't add up to anything coherent. And the bad guy/girl? (no spoilers) You never generate that hate for him/her that's necessary for you to get super pumped for Denzel to waste him/her.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

GrantD243Aug 2, 2018

The Equalizer 2 picks up not that long after The Equalizer concluded and Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is now a Lyft driver. He picks up people and takes them wherever they need to be, and occasionally he does contract work for people onThe Equalizer 2 picks up not that long after The Equalizer concluded and Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is now a Lyft driver. He picks up people and takes them wherever they need to be, and occasionally he does contract work for people on the side. Eventually, one of his friends is killed and he is set onto a quest for revenge. The Equalizer 2 is not as good as its predecessor. That's just how it is. The first 25 minutes or so of the film are used to fill us in on what McCall is doing these days and drags on far too long. There's a lot of him just driving people around during this section of the film and frankly it gets kind of boring. And really, this film should have been severely cut down in editing. It's a two hour, maybe a little over, long film that could have easily been done in about an hour and forty minutes. Antoine Fuqua attempts to provide a more complex story than the first film, but he fails to keep it entertaining and when the "twist" comes it's not a surprise at all. It's a twist that has been done dozens and dozens of times before and most people will be expecting it. The B Story in this film feels like a side quest in a video game, not an integral or even necessary part of the film. It's meant to show us the human side of Denzel, but it never fully does its job. The action is very good when it happens, but considering the reason why most people will see this film is because of the action, it seems a bit too spread out. Sometimes that's fine, but the story here isn't good enough to warrant such long gaps in-between the action. Furthermore, the final fight should be the best part of a film like this. The entire film was leading up to it, after all. But it's incredibly disappointing and I still can't believe this but it's arguably the worst part of this film. There is entertainment to be had here. But unless you have a theater subscription, or maybe you're a huge fan of the first one, I can't recommend spending the money to see this one on the big screen.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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6

UnReelReviewsJul 25, 2018

How You view this movie will heavily depend on what you think of the first. I didn't mind the fist one, I was a bit disappointed because while though what I got was entertaining it wasn't as smart as I would have liked it to be and didn'tHow You view this movie will heavily depend on what you think of the first. I didn't mind the fist one, I was a bit disappointed because while though what I got was entertaining it wasn't as smart as I would have liked it to be and didn't give me those adrenaline filled action scenes that you normally get from most Antoine Fuqua movies. As much as I commend him for tying a different route I don't think it pulled off. This movie offers more of those wild and adrenaline filled action scenes that I like to see, similar to the magnificent seven. That's this movies biggest praise, the action scenes, they are filmed in a very old fashioned kind of way that reminds me of 90's action films. Denzel is great, there is no surprise there and I do like the emotions we get to explore with his character. Besides that, this movie does have a very messy plot with a lot of supporting characters that are very boring and bring no further praise to the movie. Its entertaining, if you watch this movie for the action scenes and Denzel then that's all you really need to see.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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5

TyranianSep 26, 2019

Washington is great and the film is stylistically very good but has serious issues with its script and story.