Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) once again finds himself seeking justice for somene who has been wronged. This time he’s in Southern Italy, single-handedly taking down a winery full of bad guys. However, he’s badly wounded in the process, and found on the side of the road by police officer Gio Bonucci (Eugenio Mastrandrea), who takes him to Enzo Arisio (Remo Girone), the doctor in his small village of Altamonte to be patched up and recover. After a few days, McCall is up and about and ready to leave, but as he explores the village, and gets to know locals like café server Aminah (Gaia Scodellaro), he starts to have a change of heart. The village and its people grow on him and McCall starts to wonder if it’s time for him to hang up his hat and retire here. However, McCall soon discovers that the local merchants are being shaken down by mafia boss Vincent Quaranta (Andrea Scarduzio), who is eager to obtain the land and turn the village into a casino and resort area for the wealthy. When McCall confronts Vincent’s younger brother Marco (Andrea Dodero), who’s been sent to threaten and forcefully collect from the residents, he soon finds himself in a battle with The Camorra. Meanwhile, McCall had tipped off the CIA about a synthetic drug operation he uncovered at winery, which draws the attention of agent Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning) and her partner Frank Conroy (David Denman), who start looking into his identity.
I have enjoyed all of the Equalizer movies, but this third installment may be my favorite of the franchise. It has all of the action and excitement of the first two films—particularly in the opening and final acts—but also a more intimate storyline for McCall as he starts to look internally into the direction of his life. He is never necessarily looking for trouble, but trouble seems to find him, and the people he has grown to care for. I also just loved this beautiful small Italian village setting. In a way, the film reminded me of those 1980s action TV shows like The A-Team, where the fugitive heroes would end up in some small, remote foreign location and help the locals stop some evil developer from threatening them and trying to take their land. However, the violence in this film is far too graphic for a network TV show.
Speaking of the action sequences, they are quite amazing to watch—fast moving, visceral, and brutal, but well-choregraphed. McCall is a good judge of a situation, and can see what’s going to happen several moves ahead. McCall can turn anything into a weapon, planning out his actions to the second, and then he clicks his watch and he’s on autopilot. When McCall is in the winery, he even warns those that have captured him that there’s nothing they can do—they’re already dead in under 10 seconds. However, he always has a purpose for his actions—he doesn’t just kill people for the sake of killing them, it’s all about making sure that justice is served for someone who has been wronged.
Denzel is great in this role, delivering both on the drama as well as some exciting fight and action sequences. This film feels like closure for the trilogy and his time as McCall and the Equalizer, but also sets up a potential new direction for the franchise.
Sony’s 4K Ultra HD release provides a stellar video and audio presentation, with a pristine and crisp picture that maintains a solid level of detail throughout. The beautiful Italian setting often looks quite stunning. Even in the darker sequences as McCall single-handedly makes mincemeat (sometimes literally) out of the bad guys, the picture looks great, with no signs of black crush. I can’t imagine this film looking any better. The Atmos audio track, is also quite impressive, providing clear dialogue throughout, and making excellent use of the stereo and surround channels to make the movie feel more immersive. There is a nice general ambiance to the village, the sound of rain pouring overhead, the roar of the motorcycles as Marco and his gang make their way through the city., and the brutal sounds of McCall taking down his enemies
This release contains a solid set of bonus material, which is all found on the accompanying Blu-ray disc—about 30 minutes of featurettes, 9 deleted/extended scenes, and a music video. The 4K and Blu-ray discs come packed in a standard UHD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover. The release also includes an Movies Anywhere compatible 4K digital copy of the film.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:48:57)
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4K Ultra HD:
- 2160p / Widescreen 2:39:1
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible), English Audio Descriptive Service, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French Audio Descriptive Service, Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
- 1080p / Widescreen 2:39:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Descriptive Audio Service, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French Descriptive Audio Service, Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
- 4K digital copy, redeemable via Movies Anywhere or Vudu
Blu-ray:
Digital (Limited time offer):
Extras:
The 4K disc only contains the Previews, the rest of the bonus material can be found on the Blu-ray disc.
- Blood Brothers: The Collaboration of Denzel Washington & Antoine Fuqua (6:30)
The cast and filmmakers talk about working with director Antoine Fuqua, and star Denzel Washington. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Antoine Fuqua, producers Clayton Townsend, Jason Blumenthal & Todd Black, and stars Denzel Washington (“Robert McCall”), Dakota Fanning (“Emma Collins”), Gaia Scodellaro (“Aminah”) & Andrea Scarduzio (“Vincent”). - Call To Action (6:03)
The cast and filmmakers talk about the increasing the violence in this third film, making it more personal for McCall, and filming the action sequences. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Antoine Fuqua, stunt coordinator Liang Yang, producers Jason Blumenthal, Clayton Townsend & Todd Black, cinematographer Robert Richardson, and star Denzel Washington. - Robert McCall: A Man of The People (6:33)
The cast and filmmakers talk about why McCall helps people, and his inner battle. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Antoine Fuqua, screenwriter/co-producer Richard Wenk, producers Todd Black & Jason Blumenthal, and stars Dakota Fanning, Denzel Washington, Gaia Scodellaro & Euegenio Mastrandrea (“Giorgio”). - Denzel and Dakota: A Reunion (5:06)
Stars Dakota Fanning & Denzel Washington talk about working together again since Man on Fire 20 years earlier. Also includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producer Todd Black & director Antoine Fuqua. - Postcards from the Amalfi Coast (5:30)
The cast and filmmakers talk about filming in Italy, and the many stairs in the village of Atrani. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, factoids about the region, and interviews with director Antoine Fuqua, producer Clayton Townsend, and stars Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Gaia Scodellaro, Remo Girone (“Enzo”) & Euegenio Mastrandrea. - Deleted Scenes (18:22)
Collection of 9 deleted/extended scenes. Play All, or select from:- An Evening Walk With Aminah (7:45)
Robert goes on an evening stroll trough the village with Aminah, ending up at a canceled wedding party, where they discuss their lives, and watch the former bride-to-be dance with her father. - Enzo Explains The Camorra (2:01)
Enzo explains how the the villagers came together to rebuild the town, but that the mafia is like a cancer that never goes away. - House of the Devil (2:00)
Chief Barella warns his lieutenant that they’re headed to the house of the devil as they drive up to the Quaranta compound. - Vincent Learns of a Loss (:32)
Vincent watches the news and discovers his men have been murdered. - McCall Contemplates His Future (3:06)
Aminah shows McCall how to make a proper cup of coffee, and asks him if he’s going to stay or go. - Courage Doesn’t Roar (1:19)
Gio talks to McCall about how he and his family are scared. - Gio Under Siege (:29)
Gio hears gunshots outside the station, as the security cameras go out one-by-one. - Vincent Comes To Believe (:26)
Vincent admits to his goon that McCall is to be feared. - One Last Challenger (1:07)
As McCall heads down an alley, he is approached by a boy with a gun.
- An Evening Walk With Aminah (7:45)
- “Monster” by Jacob Banks Lyric Video (3:21)
Stylized lyrics appear over clips from the film. - Previews (10:31)
Trailers for Gran Turismo (2:33), Bullet Train (2:37), Big George Foreman (2:40), Spider-Man: Across The Spider-verse (2:38) play back-to-back.
Final Thoughts:
The Equalizer 3 may be my favorite film of the franchise, giving viewers both intense, visceral action sequences as well as a more personal story for Robert McCall. Plus, the film is set in a new, beautiful Southern Italian location. Sony’s 4K release features top notch picture and sound, as well as some interesting bonus material. This is a must own for fans of the franchise, but also a great action movie for anyone, even if they haven’t seen the first two films.
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