On the occasion of the release of “Equalizer 3”, here are five things to know about this new action film led by Denzel Washington.
What is it about ? Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall struggles to come to terms with his demons from the past and finds strange solace in standing up for the downtrodden. While he has found his haven of peace in southern Italy, he discovers that his friends are under the control of the local mafia. When events take a deadly turn, McCall knows what he must do: protect his friends by taking on the mob.
Russell Crowe as an avenger?
In 2010, when a project to adapt The Equalizer series emerged for the first time, New Zealand actor Russell Crowe was expected to play the role of the avenger Robert McCall. The following year, it was finally Denzel Washington who was chosen (funny fact: Crowe and Washington starred in 2007’s American Gangster). In 2013, Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) was considered to be in charge of the film, but left the ship. He gives way to Antoine Fuqua.
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Fetish actor
Equalizer 3 marks the fifth collaboration between Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua, after Training Day (2001), which won the actor the Oscar for Best Actor for his masterful performance as a corrupt and violent policeman, Equalizer (2014), Les 7 Mercenaries (2016) and Equalizer 2 (2018).
‘Equalizer fights for justice’: Denzel Washington is back to take on the Italian mafia!
Original series
Equalizer 3 is the third installment in the Equalizer action franchise, itself adapted from the television series of the same name created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. The program, in which the American secret service agent was played by Edward Woodward, was broadcast from 1985 on CBS in the United States and on M6 in 1991. Note that a reboot series, led by Queen Latifah, appeared in 2021.
Box office France: Does Equalizer 3 do better than previous films?
A lucrative franchise
Released in 2014, Equalizer grossed close to $193 million worldwide. Its Equalizer 2 sequel achieved a similar score: $190 million. A good deal when you know that the first opus cost 55 million and the second 62 million. In France, the success was more moderate, attracting 1.5 million action fans in two films.
A sequel to “Man on Fire”?
With Equalizer 3, Denzel Washington finds Dakota Fanning after Man on Fire (2004), which is remembered for its darkness and violence. In this action thriller from Tony Scott, the charismatic actor plays a former CIA agent trying to find a little girl (Fanning) kidnapped in Mexico. Given this reunion, Antoine Fuqua confided to the microphone of ComicBook.com:
“We never talked about it between us, but it’s something I thought about. When Dakota Fanning told me she was interested, I thought to myself: ‘Oh yes ! It’s Man on Fire, but years later.’ But I never told them that because they’re focused on their Equalizer 3 characters at the time. But when you see them together, when I saw them on set, I smiled.”