The Equalizer 2 (dir. Antoine Fuqua)

The term “geriaction” is the humorous word of choice that describes the genre in Hollywood where a-list action stars like Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Sean Penn etc bust up no-goodnicks, even on the wrong side of fifty. Some get away with it better than others, but if there’s anyone that should reasonably be believed to be a avenging angel in his carpet-slippers it’s Denzel Washington.

In his most recent sequel, "The Equalizer 2", the two-time Oscar winner Washington follows on from the 2015 interpretation of the 80’s tv show in this bizarrely plodding and dreary character drama which failed to keep me awake despite it’s pornographic attention to brutality.

Under the auspices of the same director in Antoine Fuqua and screenwriter Richard Shenk, we follow up on high-level government assassin Robert McCall. Fresh from his earlier exploits protecting the freedom of street-prostitute Chloe Grace Moretz from Russian baddies - he’s now a glorified Lyft driver. Of course, he intersperses this with occasional moments of vigilante justice- from rescuing a child from her abusive father in turkey (seen in a gloriously violent opening sequence) to beating up a bunch of investment bankers who assaulted an escort to the point of hospitalization. Suffice to say, he’s trying to keep a low-profile- but he still believes in revenge.

When he’s not changing the world with his fists or a big-ass gun, he’s helping out the community - namely his 95-year old retirement home living friend Sam (Orson Bean) who is hoping to be reunited with his lost wife, and by thwarting "Moonlight" star Miles (Ashton Sanders) from being succumbed to the auspices of gang-life. But soon trouble is afoot: old pal Melissa Leo has been targeted whilst on assignment in Brussels, and Mccall and his old friend Dave (Pedro Pascal) must team up to figure out who’s behind the dastardly hit.

Fuqua’s sequel meanders between these intercutting narratives for most of the hefty 125 minute running time, with occasional moments of exciting hand-to-hand combat and Washington teaching the odd milleanial to do’s and don’t of the world being the real standouts . But apart from these sporadic action set-pieces, "The Equalizer 2" isn’t sure what film it wants to be. You’ve got a film about a supposedly retired CIA agent trying to uncover a murder mystery, a older-gentlemen teaching a youth to choose a different life for himself and a sub-Travis Bickle vigilante searching for heads to knock around Boston in a Chevrolet Malibu. It’s anyone’s guess if these individual plot threads would have made a better film if explored as the main feature, but as it is as a ensemble it never coalesces into anything of value.

It’s clear that the healthy box office numbers and the weight of Washington's star power were enough to justify the existence of this muddled sequel, yet I could’nt help but feel that - despite the R-rated nastiness - what’s cinematic about this? It’s a shame that this misguided franchise hasn’t soared to the sky's like it should have, and the menacing acting chops of Washington haven’t been put to better use. Some films take months or weeks for me to forget, I couldn’t even remember I’d seen it 24 hours post-screening, and that’s a big problem.

Rating 2/5.