THE EQUALIZER II Review

Denzel Washington is sixty-three years-old and will be sixty-four this coming December. I can recall taking note of this fact when writing about the first Equalizer film when Washington was about to turn sixty and how impressive it seemed that the guy had no intentions of slowing down. In the interim between that 2014 film and what is the first sequel one of the world's most charismatic actors has agreed to be a part of, Mr. Washington has still shown no signs of slowing down. Since The Equalizer Washington has already paired with director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) again prior to this latest entry with their remake of The Magnificent Seven which I found to be immensely entertaining as well as having adapted, starred in, and directed August Wilson's seminal piece of work in Fences for which he was shrouded in awards love. And again last year, the actor earned another Best Actor nomination for his work in Dan Gilroy's quirky, but largely effective Roman J. Israel, Esq. (which I probably liked more than you). The point being, each of these gave Washington the chance to continue to do what he loves as he flexed a different muscle in regard to each respective project, but the choice to return to the character of Robert McCall among every character Washington has played is a curious one. I enjoyed The Equalizer upon initial release and was happy to find it wasn't simply another case of an aging star attempting to cash in on the Liam Neeson-proven method of combining a once valuable name on the poster above a newfangled action-centric conflict. Of course, Washington was never relegated to being a star whose name ever lost any value. Denzel is Denzel and no matter what he does people typically turn out in fair enough numbers to justify his mid-range action projects and awards contenders. In fact, since 2009 (which accounts for Washington's last ten films), the star has never seen less than a $50 million lifetime gross with the exception of Israel last year with seven of those ten releases doing over $70 million worth of business during their theatrical runs. Denzel, the man, is typically all the brand recognition that is required and so it feels weird that Washington has been brought into this fold of sequels and franchises. Maybe it's just the first time someone has offered the actor a follow-up to one of his projects or maybe it's just a sign of the times. Whatever the case may be, The Equalizer 2 isn't exactly what one might hope for in a "first" from Denzel Washington, but more it plays into what the first did more to subvert in not being your by-the-numbers action flick as this sequel, with nowhere else to go, had no choice but to surrender to the trend.

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.

RED SPARROW Review

Red Sparrow is at once a movie that feels so calculated and well put-together that it should be obvious it knows what it is and yet this thing can't help but to feel all over the place. It knows what it wants to be, but doesn't accomplish as much. It has style for days and the feel of an epic spy saga, but the events that actually occur within these constructs couldn't feel more mediocre or forced. This is terribly disappointing considering the talent and money behind such a large, original production, but something about director Francis Lawrence's (I Am Legend, The Hunger Games franchise) latest never clicks in the way it should. Red Sparrow is one of those films that asks you to settle into it; where the viewer becomes so entrenched in the proceedings it should feel as if the viewer is still in the world of the film when walking out of the theater, but Red Sparrow never hits a stride in such a way that the audience is able to make this transition from spectator to participant. Instead, Red Sparrow quickly shows all of its cards by letting us know this thing is going to be as bleak and brutal as one can possibly imagine and then some. Red Sparrow is a film that takes advantage of its star's status and places Jennifer Lawrence in this role where she is trained to use her sexuality in ways that are to the advantage of the men controlling her (timely, eh?). Lawrence's Dominika as well as the movie itself consistently relay that she's doing what she's doing to regain this feeling of being special that she's recently lost, but this quest holds no weight due to the fact she's the star of the film and we more or less can guess this aspiration is going to be fulfilled even when the odds are stacked against her. All of this is to say that Red Sparrow may as well be known as the movie where J-Law learns to expertly cover up domestic abuse with top-of-the-line make-up rather than the one where she kicks ass and takes names because, as was noted earlier, there is very little that occurs here that lives up to the style and scope on which it is operating. Likely the biggest mark against Red Sparrow though, is the fact this opinion is coming from someone who generally basks in the dark and gritty tone of movies that like to take themselves seriously. Red Sparrow takes itself seriously, no doubt, and it has spurts of tension that compel as well as several locations and shot compositions that are downright breathtaking, but in the end the final product tries so hard to twist social expectations that it ends up feeling like cheap shock rather than frightening truth.