Reviews

Unfortunately.....this is not a continuation of the Equalizer series.....it's an excuse for the ending of it! The movie bogs down into a simple story of a small town.....terrorized by the mafia......and Denzel comes to the rescue. Some scenes make no sense.....the movie is 15-20 minutes too short....because the action scenes are too short. Seems instead of killing off a lead character.....they decided to retire the character into a small village situation with idyllic surroundings. That's fine......good for the retired......but not good for those looking for action and adventure.....little of which you get here!

Watch the beginning of the first movie...where the experienced player says he's played many times and if you don't win...."a guy walks in and let's you out". Really......when the entire purpose of these games is for disturbed rich people to watch people die? But that's just the beginning of the inconsistencies and implausibilities for these movies.....that are far too rehearsed, orchestrated, and regulated to make one feel like it's happening real time. The characters magically pull clues and answers out of thin air......just in the nick of time to solve the puzzle.....emotionally confused actors becoming rocket scientists! Then we get the ridiculous sacrifices......let's see now.....we could go under the car.....or just let acid spill on our bodies......well what did the writer call for......maybe let's dive into the quicksand? Or how about the mother who trusts her sick and twisted husband, a designer of the death traps, not to lock her in the burning sauna? So implausible is this movie that somehow this escape room company manages to take over and use a public subway system for one of their designs! So many dumb things to mention here....it's only worth a look for the sets and visuals.....like a video game.

The lead male character acts like a clueless and/or crazed zombie most of the film.....the lead female character is not engaging....both in looks and acting ability. Half the time we don't know where we are or who is who. The martial arts action scenes are basic....usually ending with someone stabbed or shot. Then you get these bizarre and disconnected scenes....like the mindless violence at the antique store.....the lead female beating up the lead male who saved her life (there goes that love story!)......or old men dragging the lead male character through mud for no apparent reason....or how about a cemetery at night with football stadium lighting? Finally a guy who gets run through with a sword.....but has to save his honor by finishing the job with hari kari by the same sword....really? Summed up.....this is a juvenile and mindless attempt at a martial arts fantasy flick....without the necessary special effects and martial arts choreography.....without a deeper understanding of Samurai culture and Japanese gangs.....without a reason to empathize with the lead characters......without continuity....and finally....without knowing who actually killed the family we're supposed to care about....which is the revenge motive for the movie! A bizarre letdown....and virtually everyone is either dead or seriously wounded by the end. Nobody wins....especially the audience!

This is a movie that wants to big a big budget, slick, and sophisticated assassin flick....but falls short. Maggie Q gives the film credibility with her refinement and elegance......but then we introduce the poor casting......Sam Jackson and Michael Keaton.....both around 70 years of age.....playing assassins as well.....really? Jackson normally plays a big mouth thug.....and Keaton is better suited as a neurotic personality with insecurities. The movie is further cheapened by the introduction of other thuggish characters and an American biker gang led by another has been actor.....which makes no sense in communist Vietnam. The brief affair between Keaton's character and Maggie's also lessens her character's credibility and integrity. As for Jackson's character.....he supposedly ages 30 years in this movie but doesn't look any different! This movie has slick writing, bits of dark humor, good camera work, and the director manages to reign in Keaton and Jackson......but slick also means you need to catch every second or you'll lose who's who and what's what!

This is a fairly low budget drama/mystery pretending to be a horror/thriller. The director is also the writer and usually they're not good at both.....in this case the writing fails miserably.....while trying to be slick. The problems are poor story and character development. The motivation for the killings are not made clear and don't make sense.....further that a 65 year old elderly woman is terrorizing a town as a serial killer is not believable....while the town and its people are not represented at all. Also.....the MO of the killer is confused.....one scene it's a knife...the next a gun....the next a shard of glass.....and this killer amazingly knows where all her victims are at any one time.....even getting to a gas station bathroom well before an elderly lady stranger, who looks similar, gets there so that the killer can kill/deface by mutilation, and switch identities! The Sheriff is both smart and clueless....asking the main character how she slept....after watching her the night before sleepwalk and claw in the dirt! Scenes like that and suggesting the main character kills the adoption worker with an axe are how the writer manipulates, and disrespects, the audience into believing she's the killer. The scene at the end where the main character walks away with someone else's baby makes no sense either as it's clear to the police whose baby it is. Well acted....good camera work and special effects.....but again.....poor story and character development.....nonsensical actions and behaviors....along with rushed murder scenes. I'm not sure if the writer is even aware of this.....but the main character, the killer's daughter, is actually guilty of aiding and abetting kidnapping and murder. Does the writer/director think that this ending is a happy one when she gets away with that and taking someone else's baby? Kinda sick.....you feel cheated, disrespected, and manipulated after watching this.....that's not slick.....that's deranged and poor writing.