When it comes to movies like this or more specifically a rebirth of an Actor's career in taking on a different type of roll, I look at Taken. With Liam Neeson, he transitioned from a seasoned actor to that of an Action Movie Star. And this is the same with Denzel Washington when he took on the role of Robert McCall in the first Equalizer film. I absolutely loved the first one and it was and still is the best movie that came out that year. But I had concerns about what a Sequel would look like because as before, I automatically go back to Taken, another movie I love....but not the movies that followed. Well, I did enjoy Taken 2, but too much of the same story and plot for that sequel was pulled from the first movie and therein was my biggest concern for The Equalizer 2. Happy to say that this one really has nothing to do with the former and stands on it's own.

It's actually something quite unique in how they tell the story. I didn't check my watch while watching the movie, but I would say it's a good 45 minutes before we actually get to the crux of what the story is really about, the moment where you say to yourself "this is the moment that kicks McCall's ass into gear". Leading up to this plot reveal is just a series of things that the character is reacting to, sizing up or just random occurrences. I mean I didn't see obvious things that were happening at the moment. Just small seeds being planted along the way for payoffs later, which I absolutely loved about it.

Now I get that the movie has some problems and it received mixed reviews, but I for one thought this was a worthy successor to the first flick. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this. I welcome a 3rd flick for sure and if they get Antoine Fuqua to return as well to direct, I am there. I highly recommend checking out both The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2 for sure. BTW, the naming of The Equalizer 2 just does not work for me. Drop 'The' from the title and just call it Equalizer 2. Anyway, yeah. Check em out. FYI, really dug the epilogue as well. It made me feel good seeing where the characters are by the end.