Gladiator 2 (4 Stars)

Comparing "Gladiator 2" with "Gladiator", it has more action and less heart.

That's really all I need to say about the film. There are many small things that annoy me, but I can't write about them without giving away spoilers. "Gladiator 2" isn't a bad film, but it's a pale shadow of "Gladiator". I'm sure it'll be a big box office success, which could tempt the studios to make a third film. Please don't. Two is enough.

The Equalizer 3 (4½ Stars)

Some films are worth seeing in the cinema more than once. I went to see "The Equalizer 3" a week ago, and it fascinated me. Robert McCall is so different to John Wick. He doesn't rush into a battle with his guns blazing. It's not a bullet ballet. Robert McCall times his action fastidiously. He's always looking at his watch, whether it's nine seconds or six minutes. He's a man of habit, habits that could be called an obsessive compulsive disorder. When he sits in a cafe he spreads two napkins on the table before he begins to drink.

The film ends with him settling in Altamonte, a small town on the Italian coast. He's just passing through, but he likes the place so much that he doesn't want to leave. Is it that easy? Doesn't he need a visa or a residency permit? I don't know what the laws in Italy are, so I shan't argue about it.

"The Equalizer 3" is a film that will find its way into my Blu-ray collection.

The Equalizer 3 (4½ Stars)

This is the third and final film in the Equalizer trilogy. Final? The press releases have called it the final film, but nothing happens in the film itself that can be interpreted as closure. The only reason to stop is that the actor Denzel Washington is 68, which is rather old for an action hero. The films have been made at four-year intervals, so the question is, can he still make action films when he's 72?

Robert McCall is in Sicily doing a favour for a friend. This favour involves killing a crime boss and all of his men. He escapes unscathed, but he's shot in the back by the crime boss's underage son. He drives away, but falls unconscious at the roadside in Naples. A policeman carries him to Enzo, a local doctor who cures him in his own house without asking questions, except for one. He asks Robert if he's just saved a good man or a bad man. Robert replies that he doesn't know, which reassures Enzo. He says that only a good man would give such an answer.

Robert needs time to recover, so he settles into the (fictional) town of Altamonte. He doesn't get involved, but he watches everything going on. He sees the Camorra collecting protection money from local shopkeepers. But the Camorra has bigger plans. They want to build large hotels and casinos. They're killing anyone who refuses to sell their property. The police are helpless to stop them.

The only one who can fight back is Robert McCall, when he finally recovers from his injuries.

I never saw the original television series, on which the films are based, but in the films Robert McCall is the coolest killer imaginable. He's always relaxed and laid back, talking calmly to his enemies. He's like a rattlesnake, holding back until he strikes without mercy.

The Mafia and the Camorra are regularly in the real world news. Organised crime is a difficult enemy for politicians and the police. We need a Robert McCall.

The Equalizer 2 (4 Stars)

The first Equalizer film starring Denzel Washington was a masterpiece, so the second film had a lot to live up to. Would it live up to the original? That's the question I was asking myself when I sat down in the cinema tonight.

The answer is a qualified Yes. Denzel Washington was born for the role of Robert McCall, the retired secret intelligence agent. He's so adept at playing a hard-hitting action hero that he should have been playing roles like this for the last 20 years.

The film's final showdown in the abandoned town is breath-taking. It's one of the best shoot-outs I've ever seen.

The only criticisms I have are of the plot, which I found confusing. It must have been even more difficult to understand for viewers who hadn't seen the first film (or at least the television series). There's no recap of the fact that Robert McCall has retired from active duty and now does favours for those he meets, giving them justice when the legal system lets them down.

In the first film Robert McCall worked in a hardware store. Now he's a taxi driver. That's a good choice of career, because he's confronted with a lot of personal tragedies that he can put right. However, the film's main story is about the murder of a couple in Brussels that has been set up to look like a murder-suicide. The man was a secret agent, a former colleague of McCall's. The reason for the murder was unnecessarily complicated, even though it was explained at the end.

I still think this was a good film, but I think it could have been better. The next film should have a simpler, more linear plot.

The Equalizer (4¼ Stars)

This film is based on a 1980's television series that I can only vaguely recall. All I can remember is seeing an episode and thinking, "This isn't as good as Callan". I assume that Edward Woodward fans can make the connection.

Denzel Washington is an actor who has never made an impression on me -- I couldn't say that I either liked or disliked him -- but as soon as I saw the trailer I knew I had to watch the film. In the trailer he seemed so cool, almost like he was on a spiritual plane looking down on the things happening around him. I wasn't disppointed when I went to the cinema today. The film lived up to its promise.

Denzel Washington is Robert McCall,  a man who works in Boston in a hardware store. In his spare time he sits in a cafe reading. We're given vague information about him being an ex-soldier. He befriends Alina, an under-age Russian prostitute played by Chloe Grace Moretz. One night she's beaten up by her pimp and ends up in hospital. He visits the pimp in his office and kills him, together with his bodyguards. Unfortunately, he wasn't just a pimp, he was the head of the Russian mafia in Boston. Nikolai Itchenko, a Russian assassin, is sent from Moscow to investigate the deaths.

It's a very good film with strong action and exciting fight scenes. Maybe the pacing is a bit off. We would expect small missions to take place at the beginning to introduce the character. Instead of this the big story starts immediately, and unrelated smaller missions are scattered throughout the film.

Roll on the sequel?