Denzel Washington has certainly played some badasses in his career. And even though he shines in demanding character dramas as well, he's still always up for some decent popcorn entertainment. In 2014's "The Equalizer" and the 2018 sequel "The Equalizer 2" he played the battle-hardened ex-agent who would rather just lead a quiet life but still has to take up arms again. "The Equalizer 3" is set to follow suit in 2023, and in this short preview we now take a look at what we can expect.

Plot

Let's take a look at the story of the "Equalizer" franchise: The plot is about the retired government agent Robert McCall, who has a modest job in a Boston hardware store. He leads a secluded and humble life and likes to spend his sleepless nights in a diner. There, he meets the young forced prostitute Alina, who is made to work for the notorious Russian gangster Slavi. After some incidents, McCall, who worked for the Defensive Intelligence Agency, decides to ransom the young girl with his savings. When this fails, he kills Slavi and his accomplices in the most precise and impressive way, without getting a single scratch himself. Afterwards, the Russian mafia tries to investigate the incident with the help of their specialist Teddy Ransen. The evidence quickly leads to Robert, who is forced to get rid of Ransen and his comrades-in-arms once and for all.

The second part connects to the original and here again fans of the series were treated to many elaborate action scenes. The focus is once again on Robert McCall, who now lives in an apartment complex and works as a cab driver. Behind his middle-class guise, however, Robert continues to uphold justice in the second part as well. So right at the beginning of the film you can see him taking out countless bad guys on a train to Istanbul. Alina is replaced by the young Miles Whittaker, for whom Robert becomes something like a mentor. He provides Miles with meaningful activities and even rescues him from the clutches of a gang. At the same time, Robert's longtime girlfriend Susan is mysteriously killed during an investigation. McCall eventually tracks down the killer and is then confronted with the abduction of his protégé Miles. The big showdown between Robert and villain Dave York finally takes place in the protagonist's hometown, where he once again manages to take out the bad guys. In the end, McCall moves back into his old house, which he lived in with his wife at the time, and Miles succeeds in getting into college thanks to his mentor.

As for the upcoming third part, there is no in-depth information about the plot yet. In line with what the film series is about, the film will once again present a new case from Robert McCall's life, in which both the protagonists and the setting will change. Already in 2018, the year of the release of "The Equalizer 2", director Antoine Fuqua hinted that the main character in the next part would spend time outside the US, more precisely in Europe. Since last summer, it has also been known where the crew and actors are heading, namely to sunny Italy. As soon as the southern European country was announced as the filming location, there was speculation that Robert McCall would be messing with the notorious Italian mafia this time around. Despite the fact that filming was completed last month, there is still little footage of the film and thus few clues for Part 3. Based on statements made by the director, it can be assumed that the film will be much more personal and will shed even more light on the life of the lead character. We are looking forward to more information.

Cast & Production

"The Equalizer 3" was shot in Rome, Naples, Sardinia, Sicily as well as in smaller villages in Italy, among other locations. The associated images, released last October, show some of the crew involved in the project, including director Antoine Fuqua and Washington's co-stars Dakota Fanning and Gaia Scodellaro. Both are among the new cast members in "The Equalizer 3", but it is not known precisely what roles they will play. It seems possible that Fanning will be Robert McCall's protégé, similar to Chloë Grace Moretz in the first part. What sort of tricks the battle-ready ex-government agent will be up to this time can finally be discovered in movie theaters starting September 1, 2023.

How did you like the two "Equalizer" movies so far? Both Keanu Reeves as "John Wick" and Liam Neeson in the "Taken" film series have already shown that aging ex-killers are not to be joked about in the world of film. We are eager to find out how Denzel Washington performs in "The Equalizer 3" and whether we can expect further installments of the franchise.