ThereB次元官网网址檚 an about considering Denzel Washington is right over here, walking around.

Antoine FuquaB次元官网网址檚 a taut and textured sequel to WashingtonB次元官网网址檚 vigilante series, isnB次元官网网址檛 one of the actorB次元官网网址檚 best films. It wouldnB次元官网网址檛 crack his top 10. But it vividly encapsulates WashingtonB次元官网网址檚 formidable on-screen potency.

You might think this would be in the movieB次元官网网址檚 brutal action sequences, but no. ItB次元官网网址檚 the scenes of Washington fastidiously having a cup of tea at a sidewalk cafe or strolling the streets of a Sicilian town. This is a movie stitched together less by its plot mechanics than the pleasure of watching Denzel smirk, scowl and smile, in leisurely scenes mixed in with all the murder.

In that way, the B次元官网网址淓qualizerB次元官网网址� movies (the third of which is certainly the best of a so-so bunch), remind me of those great Walter Matthau thrillers like and B次元官网网址� movies about old men with expressive eyebrows who are set in their ways but have plenty of tricks left up their sleeve. (Washington, now 68, also took over MatthauB次元官网网址檚 role in the remake of )

ThereB次元官网网址檚 no shortage these days of older stars plying their special sets of skills in action thrillers. Throw a stone in a movie theater and youB次元官网网址檙e likely to hit (and risk drawing the lethal ire of) Liam Neeson, Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise. B次元官网网址淓qualizer 3,B次元官网网址� an all-in-all good entry in the genre, is on the bloodier end of the spectrum.

Yet curiously neither the fight sequences (rapid and grotesque) nor the filmB次元官网网址檚 sense of suspense (perfunctory) are much of a selling point. The film, scripted by Richard Wenk, opens with a trail of bodies through the main house of an Sicily vineyard. In the wine cellar calmly sits Robert McCall (Washington), who shrugs, B次元官网网址淲ouldnB次元官网网址檛 let me in, soB次元官网网址�B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he EqualizerB次元官网网址� is loosely based on an 1980s TV series about a former intelligence service agent who spends his retirement bringing the scales of justice back in balance for regular folks he happens to encounter. And thereB次元官网网址檚 a pleasantly episodic quality to the third film in the series.

A bullet in the back leaves McCall laid up in recovery after heB次元官网网址檚 taken in by a kindly village doctor named Enzo (Remo Girone). WeB次元官网网址檙e in Southern Italy. Most of the film was shot along the Amalfi coast, specifically the enchanting medieval fishing village of Atrani.

If thereB次元官网网址檚 one truly implausible thing about B次元官网网址淓qualizer 3,B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 the fact that there isnB次元官网网址檛 a tourist in sight. McCall, who once out of bed strolls the villageB次元官网网址檚 cobbled steps with a cane, seems to be the only American in town. HeB次元官网网址檚 quickly charmed by the people who warmly welcome the B次元官网网址淎mericano.B次元官网网址�

And the same time, the Camorra mafia is pushing harder into the village, with intentions of driving out locals to make room for hotels and casinos. They make a small army of designer-dressed, tattoo-covered thugs, and they descend on the village, unaware of the lurking elite vigilante quietly sipping tea across the street from their shakedowns or eating pasta at the next table.

The well-traveled Fuqua, who helmed both prior B次元官网网址淓qualizerB次元官网网址� movies and first directed Washington in B次元官网网址淭raining Day,B次元官网网址� is in his genre wheelhouse here. He trails McCall patiently and soaks up the local color, with a few touches of Christian imagery from the church above the town. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a sinister, ominous sense of evil scourges B次元官网网址� a heinous drug from Syria, sold by the mafia is funding terrorists cells B次元官网网址� seeping into a society of B次元官网网址済ood people.B次元官网网址�

The clear dichotomy of good and bad is cozy, and so, too, is WashingtonB次元官网网址檚 savage, untroubled dispatching of the mafia ring. There are CIA officials in the mix, too, including Dakota FanningB次元官网网址檚 desk clerk turned operative. But they are mostly following McCallB次元官网网址檚 lead. He B次元官网网址� Washington really B次元官网网址� is in a league of his own, and B次元官网网址淓qualizer 3,B次元官网网址� smartly, doesnB次元官网网址檛 even try to suggest itB次元官网网址檚 a close race. Not all are created equal, after all.

B次元官网网址淓qualizer 3,B次元官网网址� a Sony Pictures release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for strong bloody violence and some language. Running time: 109 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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