The Equalizer 3
Directed by Antoine FuquaRobert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his 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.
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The Equalizer 3 Ratings & Reviews
- PI_3XFebruary 28, 2025pretty damn good. Awesome athmosphere and setting.
- ShaydeknightJanuary 1, 2026Of the three Equalizer films, The Equalizer 3 is, in my view, the weakest. Antoine Fuqua's direction has actually improved. The film is cleanly shot, well paced on a scene-to-scene level, and visually confident, so that's not the problem. Nor is Denzel Washington the issue. He remains an immensely credible screen presence, and it is frankly remarkable that he carried this film at roughly sixty-nine years old during production. His physical authority and emotional control are still there, and nothing about his performance feels lazy. The film falters elsewhere. The plot is astonishingly simple, to the point that it feels deliberately dumbed down. What once felt like a morally driven thriller with layers of restraint, obligation, and reluctant violence has been reduced to something almost schematic. There is very little narrative complexity, very little mystery, and almost no sense that events could unfold in an unexpected way. The story proceeds exactly as you assume it will, and that predictability drains tension rather than building it. Visually, the film is gorgeous. The Italian setting (primarily the coastal town of Atrani which is called "Altamonte" in the film) is undeniably beautiful. Fuqua makes good use of the location with strong establishing shots, patient camera work, and a real appreciation for the geography of the place. The film knows how to let the town breathe, and for stretches it almost convinces you that this quieter, more contemplative setting might lead to a more reflective story. Unfortunately, this is where another major problem emerges: the film is not interested in how Europe actually is, only in how Hollywood imagines Europe to be for American audiences. It leans heavily into a postcard version of southern Italy that feels curated, simplified, and vaguely patronizing. The rhythms of daily life, social dynamics, and cultural boundaries are smoothed over in favour of an almost touristic fantasy of instant belonging and uncomplicated warmth. There are two moments (handled here obliquely, to avoid spoilers) that exemplify this. In one, the film suggests that a newcomer can be absorbed into a small European village with surprising speed, accepted as "one of us" after what feels like a matter of days. Anyone who has lived in, or even closely observed, small communities anywhere in the world knows how implausible that is, whether in Italy or the USA. Insularity is not cruelty; it is simply how human groups work, and acceptance is earned over years, not bestowed by narrative convenience. In another scene, meant to convey cultural generosity, one character decides to show McCall the local cuisine. Now, Italians are famously uncompromising about their food, and the idea that a local would proudly introduce a visitor to "authentic" regional food only to serve him a kebab (a Turkish dish) strains credibility past the breaking point. No Italian that I know would ever do that. These moments may seem minor, but together they reveal a fundamental lack of cultural specificity. The setting becomes merely decorative rather than realistic which can be alienating. The treatment of Robert McCall himself is another significant downgrade. In the first two films, he was portrayed as a disciplined professional: a man with violent skills who enters conflict reluctantly, driven by a moral code and a sense of responsibility toward the vulnerable. Here, that view of the character is largely gone. Without sufficient justification or introspection, he comes across less as a reluctant guardian and more as a man who simply enjoys the work, with a nigh-psychopathic air to him. The difference is subtle but crucial, and it shifts the character from morally complex to uncomfortably unhinged. The central criminal storyline suffers from the same oversimplification. The antagonists are thinly sketched, almost cartoonish, and lack any meaningful interiority. Their goals are generic, their menace abstract, and their connection to the town feels imposed rather than organic. The film attempts to personalize this threat through individual victims and relationships, but those efforts never quite compensate for how hollow the overarching conflict feels. There is nothing especially personal at stake, and without that, the violence loses its emotional charge. Compounding this is a parallel subplot involving Dakota Fanning whose narrative thread is clearly intended to add thematic depth and institutional context. In practice, it does very little. The connection between this storyline and McCall's experience in Italy is tenuous, and when the two threads intersect, there is no meaningful payoff. Fanning does a fair job, her character is competently performed, but the role itself feels like padding, an attempt to suggest a larger world without actually enriching the story we are watching. In the end, The Equalizer 3 is a film that looks better than it is. It benefits from a beautiful location, solid direction, and a lead actor who remains compelling well into his late sixties. But it is undone by a simplistic plot, a shallow understanding of its setting, a weakened conception of its protagonist, and narrative threads that promise depth without delivering it. What was once a tense, morally driven franchise has drifted into something flatter, easier, and far less engaging.
- ben stevensonMarch 24, 2025Good end to a great trilogy
- egospursNovember 10, 2025Great movie with a great storyline that is believable. Solid acting & Denzil as always is superb
- maub17December 28, 2025Great movie!
- Karen NakamuraJuly 19, 2025Perfectly good popcorn movie. Don't think too hard and just sit back and watch the mayhem. Everything by the numbers. No real suspense. That's ok. Papa Denzel is setting this movie up for retirement in a quiet Italian fishing village.
- TonyFecteauJuly 28, 2025Very enjoyable. Good action and great characters.
- mickerdooNovember 7, 2025Denzel is still a bad dude. Just thought the situation was a little underwhelming in respect to the first. Needed more challenge.
- VandytOctober 25, 2025The worst of the saga, where Denzel’s age shows in the lack of fight scenes. Despite everything, the story still packs the same punch
- tyecam5July 7, 2025W4 22 minutes
- Kevin WardJuly 2, 2025Best of the franchise. Killer opening sequence, gorgeous Italian locations, compact runtime and a satisfying conclusion delivered almost everything I could have wanted for this installment. I think it could have used 1-3 more brief action sequences (maybe 9 seconds each). There’s a definitely a lull in action after the opening sequence. Still, I really liked McCall’s arc. He’s hoping to settle down and wrestling with whether he’s a good man or a bad man. It’s cool to see Denzel and Dakota work together again, 20 years after Man on Fire. My goodness, Dakota was practically a baby in that film. They don’t get a ton of screentime together here, but it works well for the story. Had a really really good time with the family at this. Pretty full theater too, for a Sunday afternoon.
- lutfi6969June 20, 2025pretty good, love the feeling when he stopped being shy and beat all the baddies up.. tho some scenes were boring asf and i was like huh
- pjljrApril 21, 2025This latest in the Equalizer movies didn’t disappoint. There was a lot of action and bodily mayhem to satisfy those looking for that quality in action movies. Denzel Washington comes through with holding true to a moral compass that stands as a lesson to the bad guys that their evil behavior will not be tolerated or rewarded. Any movie I’ve watched with Denzel in it as a main character always has some moral lesson in it.
- MamboNumber5January 15, 2025Thought this was the best of the 3
- blackha4February 16, 2025Grate well worth a watch
The Equalizer 3 Trivia
The Equalizer 3 was released on August 30, 2023.
The Equalizer 3 was directed by Antoine Fuqua.
The Equalizer 3 has a runtime of 1h 49m.
The Equalizer 3 was produced by Todd Black, Denzel Washington, Steve Tisch, Jason Blumenthal, Antoine Fuqua, Michael Sloan, Clayton Townsend, Tony Eldridge, Alex Siskin.
The key characters in The Equalizer 3 are Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning), Gio Bonucci (Eugenio Mastrandrea).
The Equalizer 3 is rated R.
The Equalizer 3 is an Action, Crime, Thriller film.
The Equalizer 3 has an audience rating of 9.4 out of 10.