Hey, you know what’s not that bad of a movie? Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer, that’s what. That 2014 adaptation of the classic ’80s TV series (and great Wolf of Wall Street punchline) about a badass who likes to even the odds between the oppressed and their oppressors is a more than serviceable action thriller, grounded by a fantastic performance by Denzel Washington, but it had the extreme misfortune of coming out in the same calendar year as Action Film Twitter’s favorite movie, John Wick.
While we’re not suggesting that those two are in the same quality ballpark, they were, for whatever reason instantly compared, and we’d argue that’s a bit reductive for both. So let’s get this out of the way quickly: The Equalizer II will probably not be as good as John Wick 2, but that’s fine!
From the look of the trailer that dropped on Thursday morning, it will probably kick a metric shit-tonne of ass, just like the first one. Plus, it was shot in Boston! That’s great!
Here’s another reason why this is notable: It’s the first sequel of Washington’s career, as well as Fuqua’s, so either Denzel really needed to pay off a beach house or he really believes in this project. We’re hoping it’s the latter, for sure, though you never know: This could just be the “Denzel” from Game Night with some better make-up.
Seriously though, Washington can pull this off — look no further than the Star Trek gag in the middle of this preview. Fuqua, even when his work ain’t great (see: The Magnificent Seven), always has a good eye for action (see: Olympus Has Fallen) and we’re pretty pumped about him and Washington return to a formula that we know works. The rest of the cast is pretty good: Melissa Leo returns from the first film so that she can be quickly fridged in this one, and Pedro Pascal takes over sidekick duties. We’re kind of excited!
The Equalizer II hits theaters on July 20.
Featured image via Columbia Pictures.