The Equalizer 2 (2018)
I just returned from seeing The Equalizer 2 (2018) in theaters, and it hit all the bases: I was laughing, I was crying, I was on the edge of my seat. Most importantly, though, was that I left the cinema with my mind racing. The movie didn’t just end when the credits rolled, it followed me out the doors, into my car, and onto the road home. What made it so great, you ask? Well, *cracks knuckles* let me list the ways.
Let’s start with Robert McCall’s unwavering moral compass. To him, there is no such thing as a gray area when it comes to what is right and wrong. His nemesis, on the other hand, begs to differ. Dave York, the family-oriented, hard-working vet that serves as the antagonist of the film, considers himself the hero after being thrown away by his country and going from an “asset” to an “afterthought.” As painful as it is to admit, York isn’t far off. Many veterans find themselves in similar positions: used for their skills in war and then discarded without remorse. In many ways, he and McCall represent two sides of the same coin; both fought the same battles, but went down vastly different paths when the war was over.
I even saw a parallel between these characters and those of the recent Black Panther (2018) film. Just as we watched King T’Challa advocate for his opinions, we watched Erik Killmonger fight for his own truth. Neither were wrong, but neither was really right either - not completely, that is. Ultimately, T’Challa recognized a change was necessary. McCall had the same epiphany in The Equalizer 2 - that his absence was doing more harm than good.
There seems to be a lot of change in the film industry when it comes to developing the antagonists of a story. Although movies formerly had an outright “bad guy,” nowadays it’s harder to tell who’s who. I’m all for this evolution. With box office hits like Black Panther and The Equalizer 2, we’re not far from the trend catching fire and spreading throughout Hollywood blockbusters.
On another note, I spotted a ton of symbolism in The Equalizer 2. In case you didn’t notice, McCall has OCD and tapped his teaspoon 7 times at the opening of the film during the train car scene. We see this number again when York mentions the 7 years McCall has supposedly been dead. The figure is laden with biblical meaning as well as practical application. It took 7 days for the creation of the world, there are 7 deadly sins (and 7 sacraments), etc. It’s also a number of completion, representing the conclusion of something that has come full circle. I would say that this very much relates to the plotline and the hero’s journey that McCall endures before ultimately finding his way home.
In addition, the figure of 2 is used periodically throughout the film. The elderly man, Sam, talks about how he feels like he’s lost his sister, Magda, twice after not being able to procure her portrait. And again, Miles speaks of his brother’s death and how his grandmother says that not talking about people that have passed means they essentially die twice. Much of the movie is dedicated to creating these parallels (good vs. evil, death vs. life, past vs. present). I think a lot of this was done to show the hazy path McCall walked down. He used to be a man with a mission, but now he’s just a man, wandering without a cause. By the conclusion of the film, it becomes clear that he has found renewed purpose and laid to rest the demons of his past (his wife’s death, his own supposed death, etc.). He is no longer toeing the line between two worlds.
In a way, he’s made peace with nature (another symbol used in the movie). Originally, he was a dead man walking. But, as the storm builds - literally and figuratively - McCall comes to the climax of his story and takes back his life.
Although the reviews are 50/50 for The Equalizer 2, I really did enjoy the plot and the challenges of digging up these little kernels of knowledge associated with the symbolism in the film. If you’re not that into hidden premises and backstories, then I’d recommend going for the absolutely badass fight sequences.