I seem to be in the minority when it comes to Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington‘s "Equalizer 2" which has earned a CinemaScore grade of A and topped the week-end Box-Office with a cumulative take of $35.8 million (the 2014 original had a $34.1 million opening). Oh, and my lovely significant other seems to be a fan of the film as well. So, in my "other world," people really do like this film.
I have to say, though, that I do have the critical community behind me on this film. Its 50% rotten score on RottenTomatoes and 49 score on Metacritic look about right to me.
My take of the film wasn't very kind:
"Maybe "The Equalizer 2" is a film that, after all, just shouldn't take itself so seriously. At least the original showed a flawed, aging human being that retired from the game, character background that is nevertheless still thin but represents much better screenwriting than in this movie. In fact, it feels like Fuqua threw out the developments of the first installment and decided to tackle a different character, but still played by Denzel Washington and, While we're at it, let's stamp the movie with an "Equalizer 2" in its title and sell it as a sequel."
"Yes, the film represents a step back in the cinematic food chain. Even for a summer movie. Instead of insisting that what we're watching on-screen is nothing more than empty brain candy, Fuqua tries to turn McCall into a modern, self-serious superhero with a "specific set of deadly skills."
1. The Equalizer 2 — $35.8M (Debut)
2. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! — $34.4M (Debut)
3. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation — $23M ($91M Total)
4. Ant-Man and the Wasp — $16M ($164.6M)
5. Incredibles 2 — $11.5M ($557M)
6. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — $11M ($384M)
7. Skyscraper — $10.96M ($46.7M)
8. The First Purge — $5M ($60M)
9. Unfriended: Dark Web — $3.5M (Debut)
10. Sorry to Bother You — $2.8M ($10.3M)