HCA Gradebook: ‘The Equalizer 3’

Film: The Equalizer 3 (2023)

Plot: Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.

Cast: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Studio: Sony Pictures

Number of Graders: 21

Average Grade: B-

MEMBER REVIEWS

Peggy Marie

Denzel tries so hard to make this film good – he almost succeeds a few times because he is such a brilliant actor. Sadly, it just doesn’t happen with a shoddy plotline that does not give him enough to work with.
GRADE: C-

Aaron Neuwirth
While I still wouldn’t necessarily say I enjoyed this final installment, I can at least say it’s the best of the three.
GRADE: C+

Caillou Pettis
The Equalizer 3 is a serviceable action thriller that fails to reach the heights of its potential. Fans of the franchise may find some enjoyment in seeing McCall back in action, but they may also leave the theater wanting more depth and substance from the story.
GRADE: B-

James White
It’s more of the same from Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington as Robert McCall returns to dish out more rough justice. The Italian small town coastal setting does add something, and the film truly comes alive when Washington shares the screen with old Man On Fire co-star Dakota Fanning (frustratingly little time is spent on their scenes), but this will please Equalizer fans and remind anyone else that DW really is great at the combo of charm and chaos.
GRADE: B+

Rick Bentley
The latest and last feature film spawned from the 1985 vigilante television series is marked by a solid performance by Denzel Washington and tight direction by Antoine Fuqua. That’s good but not enough to lift the film out of the general air of malaise filtered throughout the production.
GRADE: B-

Jami Philbrick
Denzel Washington triumphantly returns as Robert McCall in The Equalizer 3. Director Antoine Fuqua moves the action to Italy and reunites Man on Fire’s Dakota Fanning with Denzel for another action-packed installment of the franchise.
GRADE: B+

Connor Petrey
If you’ve glossed over the stellar first feature and therefore missed the sequel, but are now intrigued by the release of a third in an unprecedented Denzel Washington franchise – The Equalizer 3 is the reason to catch up.
GRADE: B

Gaius Bolling
Saw The Equalizer 3 for a second time after seeing it at a screening this week & it played even better with a crowd that was totally into it. There is an operatic finesse on which Antoine Fuquashowcases the violence & Denzel Washington oozes quiet intensity throughout.
GRADE: B

Ricky Valero
While the film doesn’t reinvent the wheel, Equalizer 3 sets out to watch Denzel Washington kick ass and take names for almost two hours. Antoine Fuqua is one of the best working action directors and this showed why.
GRADE: B-

Tom O’Brien
In The Equalizer 3, retired DIA agent Robert McCall is a man of few words, so the role requires a movie star with the presence necessary to suggest that he is not a man to be trifled with. Denzel Washington fits that bill to perfection. In this third go-round, McCall tries to retire once again, this time in a quiet Italian coastal town, but it’s just his luck that the Mafia soon comes a-callin’. The plot may be routine and the violence often grisly, but that Amalfi coast sure is beautiful.
GRADE: B-

Rama Tampubolon
THE EQUALIZER 3 was a lot better than the 2nd film but it was not as good as the first one. The story this time was ridiculously thin, hell it was almost non-existent, it was not substantive at all. But the film’s R-rated gratuitous violence was outrageously amusing. The kill scenes were over the top but satisfying. This is one of those movies in which the bad guys get what’s coming to them and you love to see it. Denzel Washington was ruthless, vicious, and unforgiving in his final round as Robert McCall. THE EQUALIZER 3 was laughably flawed yet bloody entertaining.
GRADE: B

Catalina Combs
Some movies spark an urge to travel, fall in love, or even eat your way through a new city. Ironically, The Equalizer 3 gave us all those urges while also allowing us to enjoy intense death scenes and bloody vengeance. With returning director Antoine Fuqua and returning writers Richard Wenk, Michael Sloan, and Richard Lindheim (based on the television series created by Sloan and Lindheim), we are given some great action and fun dialogue in this third installment.
GRADE: A

John Nguyen
Denzel Washington brings the charm and humor to a deadly vigilante and former soldier. Equalizer 3 makes you care about the people of a small town in Italy, and you’re rooting for Robert McCall to take out the trash in bloody fashion. The villain difficulty is definitely on easy mode, but it’s entertaining to see the bad guys get scared as if they’re in a horror movie.
GRADE: B-

Nate Adams
Turns out, three is the lucky number within The Equalizer franchise, which is the only sequel mega-star Denzel Washington has done in his storied career. Considering I wasn’t fond of the previous entries, The Equalizer 3, wasn’t a film that was sitting on my most anticipated list, but Antoine Fuqua’s threequel takes the series to some unexpected places, including dense conversations on mortality and delivering some killer action sequences. Of course, if you remove Washington from the equation, this would be a different movie and wouldn’t be as held together, but this nearly decade-long franchise still manages to go out with style, gravitas, and surprises.
GRADE: B

Jonathan Sim
GRADE: C-

Anthony Digioia
Denzel Washington returns to his one-man-army franchise with The Equalizer 3. Easily the most sentimental of the trilogy, while oddly also being the most hyper-violent. A pairing that didn’t quite work for me. When McCall’s in Equalizer-mode taking out the mafia, the movie’s moving nicely, but when he’s meeting new friends, having moments of reflection, and seeing the mob imposing their violence on the townsfolk, the pace slows dramatically because it’s all stuff we’ve seen before. A fine third entry but nothing memorable.
GRADE: C+

Demetri Panos
All things being equal. If you’ve felt cheated by some of this summer’s movies – THE EQUALIZER 3 is here to serve you movie-going justice. Summer ends on a high note with EQUALIZER 3! THE EQUALIZER 3 ends the summer movie season with a Bang!
GRADE: B+

Sean Chandler
The Equalizer 3 provides exactly what you expect from an Equalizer film. As always, Denzel Washington delivers a performance that can switch seamlessly between affable, introspective, and intense. Antoine Fuqua has been directing this type of “throwback action thriller” since they were called “action thrillers.” He knows how to deliver the goods.

Two things elevate this film a bit. First off, the Italian setting. The particular setting and village feels like a character in the film. Second, the union of Washington with his Man on Fire co-star Dakota Fanning.

On the negative side, these are easily the least interesting villains of the franchise. Likewise, the main story about Washington feels very local and personal, but by including Fanning, the film implies a much bigger conspiracy and threat. However, the movie never actually commits to the bigger story. So, at the end of the film, it feels a bit anti-climactic.

Overall, it doesn’t do anything new with the genre but delivers what you want from it.
GRADE: B

John Rocha
The Equalizer 3 brings the franchise back to its roots with some beautifully bloody, brutal, and satisfying hand-to-hand fight sequences and kills. But what sets this installment apart is the acting work of Denzel Washington. He is a man of destruction who is tired of living the life he has lived and is seeking peace for his troubled soul. I found this reflective, introspective, and contemplative approach engaging and enlightening. Antoine Fuqua brings this small Italian town, where the film is set, to life with instantly likable characters that help us to dial into why Robert McCall must go to his kill well one more time. It stumbles in the final third with some anti-climactic moments, but it’s not enough to ruin what the first two acts had established. I highly recommend it.
GRADE: B

Francisco Cangiano
The Equalizer 3 is the best entry in the trilogy. It is a satisfying close to Antoine Fuqua’s vigilante action series. Denzel Washington is once again great in the lead. I loved the Italy setting, its connection to previous films, and the on-screen reunion between Dakota Fanning and Denzel.
GRADE: B

Jana N Nagase
Overall, I like The Equalizer 3 after a slow start. It took too much time for the action to start happening. I love that it is set in Italy, and Denzel is great, as always. However, this is the weakest film of the trilogy (weak story & weak script, if you compare it to the first films). Some cliché scenes & some drama reminded me of “novelas.”
GRADE: B-