Film Review: The Equalizer 2

"There Are Two Kinds Of Pain In This World. The Pain That Hurts, The Pain That Alters..."

With The Equalizer 2 being the first sequel in which Denzel Washington has starred in throughout his luxurious cinematic career so far, it goes to show the trust which has been established between actor and director Antoine Fuqua, a filmmaker who reunites with Washington for the fourth time after the likes of the excellent, Oscar winning Training Day and of course 2014's The Equalizer, a film based on the 1980's American television series of the same name in which Washington's Robert McCall beats down on the evil of the world in an attempt to save the helpless and aid the innocent in the most violent ways possible. Jump forward four years later and McCall returns once again in a sequel which attempts to blend an It's A Wonderful Life style story arc with gritty, hard-edge violence, culminating in a bit-part character study riddled with rather cliched twists and a strange lifeless tone which pushes the movie forward at almost walking pace, and even with flashes of brilliance at times and Washington at his mercurial best, The Equalizer 2 is still a forgettable sequel which fails to expand upon its' predecessor in a way which warrants its' reason for existence. 

With the opening thirty minutes re-treading old ground by once again establishing McCall's "hero for hire" type to an audience who potentially may have completely missed the first movie, Richard Wenk's screenplay seems more interested in showing how McCall fits into the everyday lives of random residents of Massachusetts instead of actually delivering the promise of the film's action-packed trailer, and whilst the next thirty minutes attempt to elbow in a murder mystery subplot featuring the return of Melissa Leo's (The Fighter) Susan Plummer, Fuqua's movie never really gets going until the final act when the film remembers it is meant to be shelved within the genre of action rather than dour, dramatic nonsense. With Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones) providing the most obvious character deception seen in cinema this year, the real fireworks within the movie undoubtedly resides between Washington and Ashton Sanders (Moonlight), with McCall's patriarchal relationship to Sanders' Miles providing the best scenes of the movie, particularly one set piece in which McCall rescues Miles from a criminal-infested high-rise and emotionally spells out the tight balance between life and death. Whilst there is something within the DNA of the character of McCall which makes him undeniably watchable and interesting, The Equalizer 2 unfortunately does not carry the same sense of intrigue, resulting in Fuqua's latest being a rather stale sequel which starves both action audiences and Washington fans alike for any real sense of engagement or emotional involvement. 

Overall Score: 5/10

90th Academy Awards: Best Actor

Oscars 2018: Best Actor

With the Academy managing to get the winner of the Best Actor category absolutely spot on last year, with Casey Affleck's performance in Manchester By The Sea one of the best on-screen character depictions I have seen in recent history, the spoils this year all seem to be heading in the direction of Britain's own Gary Oldman, whose portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour is one of uncanny excellence, a performance with much more credence and power than simply stating it's Oldman's "turn" to win an Oscar after being seemingly snubbed for previous nominations in a similar vein to Leonardo DiCaprio's seemingly odds on win for 2016's The Revenant. With Daniel Day Lewis shining as always in his so-called final role as Reynolds Woodcock in Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread and Daniel Kaluuya creating his own personal waves in Jordan Peele's Get Out, either performers would be worthy of awards success, whilst Timothée Chalamet and Denzel Washington fill up the remainder of the ballot paper for Call Me By Your Name and Roman J. Israel, Esq. respectively. In regards to missed nominations, Christian Bale's outstanding performance as Captain Joseph Blocker in Hostiles has been shockingly snubbed in every major awards ceremony worldwide, whilst the more out-of-there mind could argue Vince Vaughn's career changing role in Brawl In Cell Block 99 could easily have seen recognition too. Anyhow, here are the main points: 

Winner - Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Personal Favourite - Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)

Nomination Snub - Christian Bale (Hostiles)

Catch-Up Film Review: Fences

"Some People Build Fences To Keep People Out And Other People Build Fences To Keep People In..."

Before we begin, a small round of applause is needed alongside a suitable level of kudos for Viola Davis, with a win for best supporting actress at this year's Academy Awards by no means a small, meaningless feat, and whilst most of the hype surrounding Fences has been towards its' two leading stars in the form of Davis and Denzel Washington, who also serves up the time to act as the film's director, the fact that these two have previous in regards to the late August Wilson's famous play gives the cinematic adaptation at least a suitable level of credence regarding its' existence on the big-screen, particularly after the success of the stage play both during its' first run in the 1980's and its' revival in 2010 of which Davis and Washington both starred and won subsequent Tony Awards for. The big question remains however is whether Fences is the type of movie which ultimately works on the big screen after its' success on stage, and whilst Washington's adaptation feels like a successful larger platform for its' leading stars to flourish, the overall execution is somewhat plodding in places, over-dramatic in parts and a movie which doesn't exactly break the chains of its' stage-constructed genetic code. 

Whilst Davis reaps the historical element in terms of her Oscar win, which in retrospect and in my own personal opinion deserved to go to Naomie Harris for Moonlight, Washington is without doubt the powerhouse element of the movie, portraying the character of Troy Maxson in a manner both entirely delicate and masterful that the audience's feelings towards such changes from hatred to sympathetic in the course of a few simple scene changes. A forgotten man whose regret and failures resonate on those around him, the character of Maxson is the archetypal father figure of the mid 20th century; bullish, hateful and hell bent on the outdated rule of adhering to generic gender and familial conventions, Washington is spellbinding from beginning to end. Where the film inevitably falls down is in the rather tedious elements in which it fails to disperse itself from its' stage-based heritage, with endless, trivial moments of ludicrously over-dramatised dialogue which honestly, do not sit entirely right on the big-screen, resulting in a feeling of willingness come the end to be sat in a smoky auditorium instead, revelling in the notion of witnessing a live performance of a tale which is albeit powerful, is inherently stage-worthy.

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: The Magnificent Seven

"I Seek Righteousness. But I'll Take Revenge..."

As with the release of Ben-Hur only recently, Antoine Fuqua's The Magnificent Seven can easily be regarded simply as a 21st century take on the 1960 classic, itself a re-imagining of Akira Kurosawa's epic Seven Samurai, with Fuqua's latest perhaps only having a sole purpose of making a quick buck rather than attempting to do something interesting and ultimately different than its' 1960 counterpart. Swapping the likes of Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson for the current crop of A-List stars such as Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke and Chris Pratt, The Magnificent Seven ultimately does not live up to its' titular superlative, arriving at an all-too familiar plot, one with a rafter of genre cliches and a lesser developed crop of characters than its' predecessor, albeit being a movie which indeed features some good all-round direction, particularly in its' final explosive act which saves the film from ultimately being just another dull Hollywood conveyor belt of a movie. 

Replacing the distinctive figure of Yul Brynner from the original, we now have Denzel Washington in the leading role, one again teaming up with Fuqua after Training Day and The Equalizer, with the former of course giving Washington his second Oscar win, and whilst the pairing have tasted success in the past, it is almost certain that their latest venture will indeed hit the box office for a time being and then simply fade into nonexistence like many previous cinematic attempts to reinvent classic Hollywood pictures. With the famous theme playing out during the end credits, The Magnificent Seven plays out no attempt at all to indifferent itself from the 1960 version aside from a few minor character changes in the titular band of killers, and whilst the touches of nostalgia are cute, it simply reminds you how much you actually might as well have been watching the original. For the newly converted however, Fuqua's latest may indeed be a successful action thriller, yet for those with previous knowledge of the story, The Magnificent Seven is yet another taste of remake mediocrity. The blowing up stuff scenes are pretty cool though. 

Overall Score: 5/10

The Equalizer - When you look at me, what do you see? - Review - SPOILERS

Unfortunately I wasn't able to see this until Wednesday due to being at EGX London (Video coming soon). After months of waiting I can say that it met all of my expectations. For years I've been waiting for a Denzel movie as fun, exciting and aggressive as Man on Fire was.

In the Equalizer, Denzel Washington plays the role of Robert McCall. Portrayed as a man of compassion and kindness working in a Homebase/B&Q department store with a very simple life. His past is something that only a few know and its a while before his past really comes into its own. The majority of the first act is character development between his work colleagues and people he meets in his very coordinated life. Perhaps something along the line of OCD is the reasons he is a well scheduled man with a common pattern. Due to insomnia, Robert end up in a diner in the early hours of the morning drinking tea and reading books. Often he arrives at the same time Chloe Grace Mortez's character "Teri" is in the building. Upon meeting her, it is obvious that she is a prostitute. Evidently under the control of a pimp/group when she arrives the following night with a black eye. Unfortunately this isn't the end of Teri's problems. After spending time with Robert to avoid her job, she refuses to answer her phone and promptly ends up disappearing. Robert's life continues on the normal schedule but he soon finds out that she was admitted to hospital due to being severely beaten by said pimps. This is where Robert becomes his past. Upon tracking down the pimp that beat her near to death, he gives them an offer. Payment for her freedom. Its turns out they didn't like this offer and swiftly tell him to do one but as we all know, this is Denzel and he won't be having any of that. After dispatching the 5 or 6 stains on humanity, McCall gets on with his life. Although we have a problem. These pimps weren't just pimps. As a wing of the Russian Mob, many believe it to be a

gang war execution and causes huge problems between the factions. From this point on it becomes a bit of cat and mouse until the Russian Teddy (Marton Csokas) tracks down the real culprit of the killing. During this time, Robert has taken it upon himself to deal with any crimes against his friends and once he catches wind of the mob on his tail, the real action begins. Chaos ensues on an epic scale as we watch the good and the bad face off.

Sure, its generic. However, the writers have created something on a far grander scale. A real story with real connections and just enough mystery to keep Robert's character secret. His brand of retribution is comical and the people he interacts with actually have quite the impact on the story and make you appreciate Robert much more. Unlike Neeson in Taken or recently A Walk Among The Tombstones, Robert is a solid guy and his interactions only make him better. The outcome is very easy to predict but how it got to that point is the best part. Although action doesn't happen for a large chunk of the movie, once it appears it is worth the wait. The creative ways used to evade, fight and kill are brutal. Mixed with a blend of slow motion effects and high contrast lighting, the fight scenes are great fun and greatly reminiscent of Tony Scott's Man on Fire.

Visually the movie is great. As I previously mentioned, the slow motion is a fantastic addition to the combat. Perhaps its a little over used at points but it aids the capturing of the small pieces that you wouldn't otherwise notice at a regular pace. As always the aim of the cinematographer is to present the villain as a psychotic asshole. Fortunately enough, it has been done well. When he is in the process of killing someone, life around him carries on as normal as the shot expands a little and draws on for a long period of time showing how casually he walks off his actions. As for the rest, the shots were nice. Nothing grabbed my attention and held me, really the visual effects for the combat etc were rather good but the rest is fairly neutral.

Denzel is one of my favourite actors. I don't always watch his movies but I tend to hear good things about his acting and its been that way for years now. The Equalizer is no different. Its a well known fact that Denzel is also a rather nice man and in reality, he is down to earth. His characters are much the same and I feel that really propels him to the top of the bill. Chloe Grace Mortez is someone I'm not always drawn too. She was good in Kickass and is good in this, but casting her for a role that feels more of an extra role doesn't feel quite right for someone in her position.

Overall, the movie is quality. Great fun, exciting and very tense. If Man on Fire sits at the top of your favourites list, like myself, you will certainly enjoy this outing. With a good balanced cast, great action and a well constructed script/story, The Equalizer is a movie that will stand with the greats of this year. 8/10 - Totally worth the watch!

2 Guns Quicky Review - SPOILERS

Sorry for the delay again! I've been real busy with a lot of other stuff. Coming up later this week we have the UK releases of both Elysium and Pain & Gain, so be looking out for them. Be sure to follow my twitter account to hear news of each completed review and a load of other crap! As much as I would like to dribble on, this will be a real quick sum up of a full review that I haven't got around to doing.

2 Guns is a buddy cop movie with a twist. These cops are undercover agents from the navy and DEA who have no idea that the person they are using to get into a Mexican cartel is also undercover but from a different agency. An unsanctioned robbery of a bank turns out to be the breaking point between the pair that ignites the second half of their relationship. A race to find the money that they stole, turns to out cause trouble with the CIA, The Mexican cartel and their own agencies who are hunting them down for the crime. With a plot twist that is handed on a plate, the story is a little simple and a bit predictable but otherwise something refreshing for the summer but could have done with a more meat on the bones.

As a tradtional action movie, you would expect it to be full of cheesy one liners and increasingly poor visual effects (Just look at Expendables, as much as I love it.) but this movie saw that and was genuinely funny and brilliant visual effects that only had a few minor issues. The comedy stands out the most and is probably one of the best examples for action movie jokes, some jokes made me well up in tears and fighting for breath while the action was truly first rate. Predominately firearm fights, you can understand that they can be a little dreary and demand a lot of explosions to capture the attention, yet 2 Guns had was more about the execution and style that many a man dreams about.

As a typical buddy cop action movie, 2 Guns turned out to be a step above the rest. With a collection of well known faces and big names, the general consensuses is that the acting was impeccable when compared to others of it's genre. Wahlberg was the comical of the pair, a brazen attitude to match his muscular physique was easy for Mark to achieve, especially as Pain & Gain was filmed prior and he is much the same in that (Review out Friday as the UK only gets it then!). It may seem like he is getting type cast for such things but each character is different and in this he is fairly lax and extremely excitable. Denzel plays something very different. I never expected him to be part of something like this as I always know him for Man on Fire, a serious actor with a flare for violence but this makes him seem exciting with a hint of danger that can be disguised by the nutty plots he develops. As a crew, the unit worked well and many of the cast acted well within their means without over dramatising.

For a movie well above the rest of its ancestors, this movie is a perfect summer hit, a good watch with a few friends and mashes up both comedy and action seemlessly. Perhaps a few more explosions and a bit more story wouldn't go a miss but I feel it deserves an 8/10 for breaking new ground in a genre thats faded over recent years.