The Equalizer 3 trailer: Denzel Washington confronts the Italian mafia in a brutal display of power

Update:

After premiering at CinemaCon on Monday evening, the brutal and bloody trailer for The Equalizer 3 is here! Washington’s Robert McCall does not mess around in the new footage depicting his confrontation with a mafia operating in Southern Italy. Aspects of The Equalizer 3 trailer are jaw-droppingly nasty, with violence rarely seen in movie previews. If this is a taste of what’s to come, sign us up!

Original Article:

Denzel Washington’s Robert McCall is going to Italy, and he’s not going as a tourist, that’s for sure. As part of their CinemaCon presentation, Sony unveiled the first trailer for Antoine Fuqua’s much-anticipated third installment in The Equalizer series, The Equalizer 3. Notably, the film marks Denzel Washington’s reunion with former co-star Dakota Fanning, who memorably co-starred with him in the 2004 classic Man on Fire (which is now getting a Netflix TV adaptation).

In The Equalizer 3, McCall is retired in Italy and has made a surrogate family in a small village. When they’re attacked by the Mafia, McCall goes wild and starts taking out mobsters left and right. As he tells one mobster, “I like this place, you can’t take it from me.” We don’t see much of Dakota, with her only showing up at the end. She seems to be playing an American investigating McCall. Like the other movies, this is HARD-R and looks wicked.

Tom Rothman, the Chairman of Sony, has been working with Denzel Washington since his early films and said he’s never seen him hit a false note. Denzel was actually on-hand to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from Antoine Fuqua, who, of course, has directed him over and over, including to an Oscar-nomination in Training Day. Before getting the award they showed a highlight reel of all his best roles and it’s hard not to be godsmacked by the quality of his movies over the course of his career. As Rothman said, he’s never really hit a false note.

Denzel was on hand and seemed truly honoured to receive the award, noting to the exhibitors that he would be nothing without them. He then introduced Dakota Fanning to help him set up the new movie. “Getting to work with Denzel Washington once is a dream come true, and twice… I don’t even know”, said a humble Fanning.

All in all, The Equalizer is turning into a great franchise for Sony. To note, the film series is an adaptation of the classic eighties show starring Edward Woodward as an ex-spy turned urban vigilante. While the movies reinvented some things, it’s actually been a pretty faithful adaptation of the show, particularly the second film, which spent a lot of time showing how McCall tried to help those he perceived to be in need, even, occasionally, without violence (although – ya know – we still want to see him kick plenty of ass, right?). The film series also spawned an unrelated TV version starring Queen Latifa as the title character.The Equalizer 3 hits theaters on September 1st.

Do you think The Equalizer 3 sounds like a good third instalment in this bad-ass series? Let us know in the comments!