Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Robert 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.
The Equalizer 3 swaps its urban American setting for sun-drenched Southern Italy, and cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau makes every frame gorgeous — the Amalfi-adjacent landscapes and quiet village atmosphere are genuinely beautiful and elevate the material considerably. Denzel Washington remains effortlessly compelling and brings gravitas to a thin role. However, the plot is formulaic vigilante-protector fare with minimal dramatic tension or character depth beyond McCall himself; the villains are thinly sketched Camorra clichés. The film offers little that's new in the franchise or the genre — the Italian backdrop is fresh but the structural beats are recycled. The ending delivers satisfying if predictable cathartic violence without real surprise, wrapping up neatly but without lasting impact.