Equalizer 2, The (Blu-ray) (2018) |
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Equalizer 2, The (Blu-ray) (2018) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Action |
Alternative Version-Play Movie in Retribution Mode Deleted Scenes-& Extended Scenes (23:18) Featurette-Denzel as McCall: Round Two (7:00) Featurette-Through Antoine’s Lens: The Cast (6:43) Featurette-Seconds Till Death: Action Breakdown (5:15) Trivia-Trivia Track Trailer-TV Promos Trailer-x 5 for other films |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2018 | ||
| Running Time | 120:57 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Antoine Fuqua |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Denzel Washington Pedro Pascal Ashton Sanders Bill Pullman Melissa Leo Orson Bean |
| Case | Standard Blu-ray | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1 Portuguese DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.40:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 1080p | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.40:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English English for the Hearing Impaired Portuguese |
Smoking | Yes, and drug use |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is ostensibly an ordinary man living alone in a spartan apartment, obsessive about neatness and order. In The Equalizer McCall worked as a storemen in a home improvement warehouse, but now he is now a Lyft driver (think Uber) in Boston. He has some regular customers, such as an elderly Jewish man Sam (Orson Bean) with whom he has conversations, but McCall is still a man with demons from his past who uses his military skills to help others; as the film commences McCall is in Turkey to rescue a young girl who had been taken from her mother in the USA by her violent father. Back in Boston, he intercedes when a woman is brutally beaten as well as befriending young black artist Miles (Ashton Sanders) showing him an alternate way to gang culture.
The main plot starts however when McCall’s close friend and CIA agent Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo), wife of author Brian (Bill Pullman) (the only two cast members, along with Washington who returned from the first film) is sent to Brussels with her partner Dave York (Pedro Pascal) to investigate the apparent murder / suicide of a deep cover CIA operative and his wife. While in Brussels, however, Susan is herself killed in what looks like a robbery, but to McCall something does not look right. He turns to Dave York, who had been his old black ops army partner but who thought McCall was dead, for help. McCall’s suspicions prove only all too well-founded, and he himself, Brian Plummer and Miles all become targets for killers who are intent on cleaning up any lose ends. But in McCall they have picked on the wrong man!
The Equalizer 2 is based upon the TV series of the same name that starred Edward Woodward and ran between 1985 and 1989. The film is again directed by Antoine Fuqua, who first worked with Denzel Washington in Training Day (2001). The Equalizer 2 is the first sequel that either Washington or Fuqua have been involved in and it is a good action film with Washington giving the film gravitas as a man who is trying to come to terms with his past. But in many aspects the plot of the film is not dissimilar to the first film; there is a young person whom McCall befriends and later protects but whereas the relationship with the young prostitute Teri in the first film was the focus of the plot and the heart of the film, here the relationship with the Miles character feels much more peripheral to the main story.
Indeed The Equalizer 2 takes a long time to get going; it is not until around the half way mark of the film that the main plot kicks in. Before this happens there are a lot of scenes that don’t go anywhere much although there are some excellent action sequences where McCall does his hand to hand stuff with a wide variety of implements being used as weapons, including a tea pot and a credit card. The main plot when it does start, however, builds to a thunderous climax that takes place in an evacuated town on the coast in the middle of a hurricane with the wind, waves, groaning buildings and flying debris delivering a superb visual and aural experience so, at least at the climax, the film delivers.
The Equalizer 2 is presented in the aspect ratio of 2.40:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.
This is a stunning looking print. Whether in the dark of the city as McCall drives his car, in close-ups or during the swift action scenes, detail is exceptional. In the hurricane climax with fog, sea mist and crashing waves creating a soft environment, detail is still pristine. Blacks are inky and shadow detail very good. The colours have that bright digital glossiness but have a wow factor. Contrast and brightness are consistent.
I did not notice any marks or artefacts.
English, English for the hearing impaired and Portuguese subtitles are provided.
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The audio is English DTS-HD MA 7.1 and there is an English descriptive audio for the vision impaired, Dolby Digital 5.1, and a Portuguese dub DTS-HD MA 5.1.
My audio system is not 7.1 capable but even so this audio is wonderful right from the opening sequence of the train rumbling into tunnels and across the landscape. The audio in the action sequences is brutal with the impacts of fists, hands and various implements breaking bones, the destruction of furniture and fittings and gunshots but even in the non-action scenes there is constant sound in the surrounds including wind and rain, thunder, crowd voices, engines, wind chimes and the music. And then there is the climax in the hurricane, a stunning experience with roaring wind, crashing waves, rain, banging doors, groaning timbers, all manner of flying debris, gunshots, explosions and various impacts. In all cases, however, dialogue was clear and easy to understand. The sub-woofer added depth and boom to explosions, engines, impacts, rain, wind and thunder and the music without unbalancing the sound stage.
Lip synchronisation was fine.
The score is by Harry Gregson-Williams, who has over 100 credits in the IMDb. His score for The Equalizer 2 is very good indeed and more subtle than scores for many action films; it is delicate and caring when it needs to be, aggressive during the action.
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Trailers for Superfly (2:28), Venom (2:34), The Girl in the Spider’s Web (2:40), White Boy Rick (2:36), Searching (2:30) and The Equalizer 2 Blu-ray (0:47) play on start-up. The same trailers, except the The Equalizer 2 one are also available from the “Previews” tab in the menu where they again play in sequence without being able to be selected individually.
These scenes can be selected individually or there is a “Play All” option. There is no text or commentary but sections of the finished film are attached so it is plain where the scene fitted. There are some additional McCall with passengers montages, some quite long character pieces that certainly would have slowed the pace of the film further and about 5 minutes of extended scenes during the hurricane climax. The scenes are:
Covers why they decided to make the sequel, Denzel Washington and the character of McCall. Contains film and on-set footage plus comments by cast Denzel Washington, Ashton Sanders, Pedro Pascal, Melissa Leo, director Antoine Fuqua, screenwriter Richard Wenk and three producers.
Looks at the relationships between McCall and Susan, McCall and Miles and McCall and York. Includes film and on-set footage plus comments by the same people as above plus Bill Pullman.
Covers some of the action stunts and how McCall uses his environment. Contains film, on-set and stunt rehearsal footage plus comments by Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, the producers and two stunt coordinators.
Trivia in a white text on a red background pops up as the film plays.
These are quite funny. When Washington tells Fuqua that he does not do sequels NBA stars are auditioned for the role of McCall. There are two promos:
Playing the film in “Retribution Mode” interrupts the film to show some behind the scenes footage and stills and allow Fuqua and Washington, sitting together, to add comments. This is not PIP, so it is somewhat disruptive. These extra sections total about 19 minutes and cover working together, the script, stunts, the development of the character McCall and plot points.
There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region A US release of The Equalizer 2 has a few more language and subtitle options but the extras are the same.
The Equalizer was an intelligent and well scripted film, an action film with heart! The Equalizer 2 is a decent action film, with an excellent Denzel Washington, although it lacks the heart of the earlier film and thus fulfils the adage that sequels are not as good as the originals.
The video and audio are exceptional; the extras are reasonable although lightweight.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S580, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | NAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | NAD T737 |
| Speakers | Studio Acoustics 5.1 |