The Equalizer 3 review: "An uneven send-off"

After almost a decade, Denzel Washington says farewell to his DIA operative-turned-vigilante Robert McCall in this uneven send-off. This time, the nail gun-wielding antihero has traded Boston for a small coastal town in southern Italy, where he crosses paths with Dakota Fanning's CIA agent Collins in an attempt to save the local people from the grip of the Mob. 

Series director Antoine Fuqua ensures the action is more brutal than before, with a henchman taking a meat cleaver to the face before you've even taken your first bite of popcorn. However, the all-or-nothing pitch tends to lurch awkwardly between graphic violence and slow-paced scenes that verge on stagnant, and the juxtaposition can feel a little too jarring. 

McCall is a different man to the first movie, and it's a change that doesn't necessarily translate well on screen. He's quieter and more reserved, his past choices evidently taking a significant mental toll. He holds his new Mediterranean neighbors at arm's length, and so does writer Richard Wenk's script. 

When Washington does interact with the supporting cast, he's undeniably the strongest point of both the movie and the franchise. Fanning's character, however, feels like a wasted opportunity, risking sinking into cliché. Callbacks to the previous two movies are cheapened by sepia-tinged flashbacks, too, and a minor, somewhat eyeroll-worthy twist in the final act. The emotional beats still hit, though, with a ludicrous yet satisfyingly cyclical conclusion. The result is not quite a bang, not quite a whimper, but something in between.

The Equalizer 3 arrives in cinemas on August 30. For more, check out our guide to the rest of the most highly anticipated upcoming movies on the way in 2023 and beyond.