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In online release, the final part of the 'Equalizer' trilogy, whose hero again fights injustice and finds long-awaited peace.

Matters of special importance bring Robert McCall () to Italy, where after another showdown he takes a bullet in the back from the young son of the local mafia boss. The wound is serious, and McCall needs a doctor's help, as well as a long period of rehabilitation in a small coastal town, where the Equalizer feels very comfortable and doesn't want to leave, nor to take up arms again. But even in this seemingly peaceful place, things happen that he cannot avoid.

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Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington have quietly completed the trilogy about a folk avenger seeking redemption for past sins by protecting the innocent and oppressed in different parts of the world. This time, Robert McCall moves to the Apennines, where another injustice is brewing, and he once again eliminates bad guys with particular ferocity and cruelty — the third installment of the franchise looks much darker in terms of physical injuries inflicted on opponents by the former CIA agent. The genre even sometimes balances between a solid B-movie category and an outright exploitation film.

But there are few such scenes here. Fuqua focused more on the dramatic component of the finale, showing the Equalizer's fatigue from the endless restoration of balance and equilibrium. After all, no matter how many heads you cut off the dragon, there are more and more of them, and the long-awaited peace of mind never comes.

Review of the film 'The Equalizer 3'
Still from the film 'The Equalizer 3'

And when, by fate, McCall gets stuck in a small Italian village and realizes that this is the place where he would like to finally find peace, Fuqua seems to slow down time, allowing the viewer, together with the hero, to enjoy beautiful moments without shootouts and fights.

As if confirming this, McCall even takes off his constant chronograph from his wrist and hides it in a drawer, to finally stop living by counting seconds, and instead look more closely at the surrounding life, people, and atmosphere. Get used to them, become a part of them, and never leave this cozy world, where everyone seems to be fine, and there is no need to dispense justice again.

And when, it would seem, in this paradise place, McCall's new friends have problems with the local Camorra, the Equalizer is in no hurry to intervene, delaying his involvement and hoping that this time everything will be resolved without him. But this, of course, does not happen, and then Robert wearily puts on his chronograph (firmly believing it's the last time) and mercilessly punishes the criminals. As usual — quite inventively.

The final part of the franchise slowly rolls along the same plot rails as the first two, almost verbatim copying entire script pieces. But such formulaicness, coupled with the performance of the talented Denzel Washington, who with a sad-furious face once again looks into the eyes of a defeated opponent, surprisingly continues to hold attention and allows the trilogy to stay afloat confidently, not getting lost among similar genre films of the last decade.

It's more about the steady hand of director Fuqua, who has long proven himself a reliable craftsman capable of creating even within such narrow confines as this unpretentious story of the confrontation between good and evil, a lone hero and a crowd of villains.

Review of the film 'The Equalizer 3'
Still from the film 'The Equalizer 3'

The fact that such films are repeatedly released in wide release (although they collect rather modest box office, or go straight to online) and draw more iconic actors of the past into their orbit, for example, Ron Perlman in 'The Baker' or Nicolas Cage in 'The Retirement Plan', and that they are favorably, and sometimes enthusiastically, received by the public, probably suggests that justice and retribution carried out by older, more experienced and stronger people still troubles our modern society. Many need a protector, and it's pleasant when villains effectively get what they deserve, whatever you say.

The first part of the 'Equalizer' trilogy will be rewatched for a long time, the second will most likely simply be lost (although it's not the worst), but the third part has become a truly pleasant bonus and a quite worthy finale, where the smile of Denzel Washington's character will finally be simply happy, rather than foreboding another spectacular showdown.