The Equalizer 2: I don't remember there being an Equalizer 1

I am going to review The Equalizer 2 without recapping it at all, because for 30 minutes there isn’t even a hint of story. We see a lot of Robert McCall (Denzel) using his job as a Lyft driver to get to know people he wants to help and then going to dole out some street justice. It’s like that old HBO show Taxi Cab Confessions if each of those episodes ended with a middle aged black man going to break the passenger’s enemies’ fingers. So there’s a lot of that but no real cohesive narrative.

What we do see is Denzel beating up investment bros for drugging and raping a woman. We see him beating up some Turkish bros for kidnapping a little girl. Basically, if you are a bro and you mistreat a female human being, you’re in for a world of Denzel-dispensed pain.

The Equalizer 2 also takes place in a version of Boston that is a beacon of racial tolerance. Like Oz, it is a lovely idea, but not a reality.

Also, in perhaps my favorite example of cinematic laziness ever, there is graffiti on the side of Denzel’s building that just says “gang."

What I remember about the first Equalizer film is that the appeal wasn’t so much the story as it was the violence. Correct me if I am wrong in the comments below, but didn’t Denzel throw a pair of scissors through a guy’s skull in that movie?

Anyway, in addition to a story, The Equalizer 2 is missing the goofy, over-the-top violence that makes movies like The Equalizer and John Wick fun. It’s a perfectly fine way to kill a couple of hours if you need to get out of the heat and you have seen everything else at the movies, but it isn’t exactly time well-spent.