The Equalizer 2 - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Equalizer 2

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Based off of the 1980s TV show of the same name, 2014’s The Equalizer was a breathe of fresh air in the action community. Antoine Fuqua is no stranger to action movies (Training Day, The Replacement Killers, Shooter, Tears of the Sun), and he put a nice old fashioned action twist to a modern day setting. With directors still addicted to use the Paul Greengrass shaky camera technique for action movies, Fuqua was dedicated to make the action more intense, the cuts less obvious, and a powerful character that just wipes the floors with his enemies. Basically, a nice throw back to the 80s and 90s action super starts of yesteryear (and starring one of them to be even more accurate). It wasn’t a perfect representation of the old TV show, but The Equalizer was a jaw dropping action movie that had some really nice character moments in it, making it and John Wick my favorite action movies of the year.

Fast forward and the inevitable sequel has come home to roost, but when compared directly to the sequel, feels a bit lackluster. Don’t get me wrong, The Equalizer 2 is a competent action movie, and Fuqua’s direction is still very stable, but it feels like it has lost some of the focus and meaning that the first one reveled in. Instead, the film plays out with a much more generic revenge method, and the results are a little less spectacular than the first. Not a bad movie by any means, but a pretty sharp quality change between the 1st and the 2nd film.

Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has moved on from his life of working hardware stores, and has taken up a job as a Lyft driver. In his new position he gets to see the best and worst of people on display. A soldier heading off to deployment, a proud college acceptant, a mother, a father. But he also sees the underbelly of society in his back seat as well, and on occasion, steps in to take retribution on those who abuse their power over others. It’s in his DNA, and his code to protect those who can’t protect themselves. Like the first movie, Robert has himself a “project” of sorts. This time not a hooker, but a young urban youth living in his apartment complex named Miles (Ashton Sanders) who is hovering on the verge of falling into the typical ghetto trap of drugs and gangs.

However, this simple life changes once more when the only person that Robert truly cares about from his past life, one Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo), is murdered when investigating a murder-suicide. Digging dipper only unveils a conspiracy and betrayal that will set Robert back on the path for violence once more, reverting him back to that primal state of being a CIA ghost with only one mission on his mind. Retribution.

The Equalizer 2 is not so much a remake of the first movie, but rather a continuation of his story. It picks up after he had to come out of “retirement” the first time, and thus he’s actually sure of himself and not feeling rusty. His life has become a mixture of the old and the new, with McCall stepping in and tearing apart bad guys who prey on the innocent, and then sliding back into the simple role of mentor and loner. But just like the first, he’s called back into full action when his own mentor and friend is killed, and the people he thought had his back were in on it the whole time.

The big reveal at the halfway point of the movie is seen a mile away, and the emotional resonance we felt in the previous film is missing from this one. Even the end battle feels very clinical and cold, unlike the vicious seething battle of the titans that was Denzel and Martin Csokas. I felt strangely distant in this one, like we were SUPPOSED to feel emotionally attached, but it really felt more like an episode of a TV show, without a whole lot of stakes, rather than tense and nail biting. The music was great, Antoine’s attention to action details is fantastic, but The Equalizer 2 is probably his most generic action film since Tears of the Sun.




Rating:

Rated R for brutal violence throughout, language, and some drug content




Video:

The Equalizer 2 is quite the stunner on Blu-ray and the digitally shot film really showcases all of the uber shiny nuances that high quality digital photography can produce. Details are simply stunning for the film, with sharp lines around faces, intimate facial details such as pores and creases being readily noticeable, and backdrops looking incredibly revealing. There’s a few soft focus shots, and some smudged corners here and there, but this appears to be source related for the most part, as I noticed it on the Blu-ray AND the DVD in the exact same spots. Colors are a bit dim and diffused like the first movie, with lots of cool blues and earth tones combined with a very black heavy mist over the entire thing. Primaries do pop off the screen though, with red blood spray looking clean and cherry colored, and little clothing details really shining through. Overall this is a picture perfect disc without any visual encoding errors that I can notice.






Audio:

Once again, Sony puts the Atmos track on the 4K UHD, but the 7.1 DTS-HD MA mix on the Blu-ray is not that different than the Atmos track outside of a few overhead shots (I rented the 4K disc just to curiosity compare). The opening train sequence in Turkey is awe inspiring, with surrounds relaying whistles, rumblings and the ambient effects of a rattling train, with the front sound stage impeccably designed. Dialog throughout the film is crystal clear, and evenly mixed with the ferocious action sequences and devastating low end accompanying it. The film utilizes a lot of reverb in McCall’s “bullet time” action sequence shots, and a cacophony of ambient noises throughout the film. The track employs a hefty amount of bass, but it’s not overly hot or cooked as loud as I would have expected. Action scenes are powerful and thunderous, but it’s restrained and well tuned, not leaning towards that thick heavy feeling that so many action movies ascribe to. Again, another perfect track.







Extras:

• "Retribution Mode" with Denzel Washington and Director Antoine Fuqua
• 11 Deleted & Extended Scenes
• "Denzel as McCall: Round Two" Featurette
• The Equalizer 2 Pop Up Trivia Track
• Four Featurettes:
- "Seconds Till Death: Action Breakdown"
- "Through Antoine's Lens: The Cast"
- Two NBA Promos

Final Score: ​

The Equalizer 2 is perfectly fine action film, but when comparing it against the high level of quality that was The Equalizer, it kind of pales in comparison. The action is fun, Denzel is always great as an action star, but the emotional resonance with the sub stories combined with the over use of “Denzel Bullet Time” left it feeling a bit more generic than it should have. The end battle between McCall and the assassins is a treat to behold, and the tech specs on this disc are off the charts. The extras are actually rather solid though, and combined with those tech specs, makes for a pretty decent watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Orson Bean, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Written by: Richard Wenk (Screenplay), Michael Sloan, Richard Lindheim (TV series)
Aspect Ratio: 2,39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 7.1, French DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish, Thai DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Indonesian, Korean, Malay, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Thai, Vietnamese
Studio: Sony
Rated: R
Runtime: 121 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 11th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Decent Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will check it out. I do like Denzel Washington.

 

[Asere]

Watched it this weekend and really liked it. Loved the LFE from start to finish. The train shook the house.

 

[Michael Scott]

yeah, that train sequence was awesome