The fact that three of these movies, spanning nearly a decade, have managed to have such consistent performance theatrically is nothing shy of remarkable. Credit to Fuqua for turning in a crowd-pleasing movie each time he stepped up to bat. But the bigger thing here is that Washington remains someone that moviegoers truly seem to trust. His name attached to a project implies a certain quality.
While he’s not the most bankable star by some measures, he can still turn nothing into something. This is the only franchise in his storied career, he doesn’t have big superhero movies to inflate his grosses, and he has the ability to turn something like “Flight” ($160 million box office/$31 million budget) into both a big financial winner and an awards season favorite. That’s the power of Denzel Washington.
In “The Equalizer 3,” Robert McCall (Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past after giving up his life as an assassin. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows to protect his friends, he must take on the mafia. The cast also includes David Denman (“The Office”) and Dakota Fanning, making this a “Man on Fire” reunion for her and Washington.
“The Equalizer 3” is in theaters now.