Official Trailer for THE EQUALIZER II Starring Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington, who is now a ripe sixty-three years-old, has finally decided to make a sequel and while that may sound exciting and enticing given the actors prolific and well-regarded career it might get a little less enticing when I tell you the character Mr. Washington has decided to re-visit for the first time in his nearly thirty-five plus year career is that of Robert McCall, a retired agent turned hired gun. Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Magnificent Seven) is back as well with Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and the first The Equalizer screenwriter Richard Wenk. That is to say, if you enjoyed the first one-which I liked well enough, then odds are we're in for more of the same here as it will no doubt be done just as effectively. I remember being surprised by how methodical the first half of that first film was-Fuqua and Wenk really giving the movie time to breathe and the character of McCall to really be defined before getting pulled into what the movie inevitably was-another of Washington's shoot 'em up actioners in the vein of 2 Guns, Safe House, and Out of Time that would be profitable due to Washington's name above the title and the fact every credible leading man from the nineties was now getting their own shot at an action franchise. Washington is different in this regard though, as he has always been able to walk the line between critical and commercial projects rather seamlessly and has built a brand because of that. Now that Washington has actually engaged in a franchise with which he will forever be associated it will be interesting to see if Fuqua went about doing anything different in his approach to the continuation of McCall's story or if they will ditch the nuance of that first film altogether for little more than revenge scenarios and broken bones. What we glean from this first trailer is that McCall is still serving justice for the exploited and oppressed, but his limits are seemingly put to the test when someone he loves is brought into the fold. Not much to go on, but if you're up for another gritty action thriller starring Denzel Washington you likely can't go wrong with what this will deliver. The Equalizer II also stars Melissa Leo, Bill Pullman, Pedro Pascal, Jonathan Scarfe, Sakina Jaffrey, Ashton Sanders, Abigail Marlowe, and opens on July 20th, 2018.