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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 2, 2023 18:30:20 GMT
Denzel Washington has never made a film above an 8 / 10........name one actor as "great" as him - and there are several as great and some greater in Hollywood history btw - that you can say that about? In fact I'm not sure he's made an actual 8/10 either .......his 2 best films imo Malcolm X and The Tragedy of Macbeth flirt with being great - but with huge flaws - Malcolm X's episodic narrative and the hacked middle section of Macbeth which resembles nothing of what we know of Macbeth actually - it becomes something else.........well: The Equalizer 3 doesn't come anywhere fucking close to flirting with an 8 and has a scene in it that is so absurd it may not even reach a 6 / 10: During a religious festival right out of Godfather 2 and 3 (think the De Niro sequence in 2, the Joey Zasa sequence in 3) - Washington - looking kind of fat tbh and glum and long in the tooth follows a man he has tiresomely been playing with - much like a cat would a mouse.......this scene with huge rip-offs of Scarface (earlier), the Godfather Trilogy (all 3), the fireworks in Godfather 2 specifically and also Avalon - because sure why not......is staged so solemnly by Antoine Fuqua it's an absurdist laugh riot......it doesn't even make literal sense much less action movie sense don't get hit by car in Italy because people will not give a fnck apparently, they'll just loom from far away - ominously I'm not saying this movie was perfect before this scene - which comes quite late - but I was slightly above the 6 /10 range before it......so I didn't hate it - after it, well I'll always associated this movie with THAT scene...........and Antoine Fuqua - a genuine hack - with it too......
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Post by pupdurcs on Sept 2, 2023 19:37:01 GMT
I love how dedicated a Denzel hater you are . Rushing out on opening weekend to watch a the third instalment of a franchise you've repeatedly claimed to loathe, just so you can be the first to give a mediocre review and get a few digs in at Denz's filmography and his place in the acting pantheon. Never stop
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Post by JangoB on Oct 4, 2023 20:19:35 GMT
Well, color me disappointed. In theory I appreciate the attempt to make the threequel less about the setpieces and more about the character settling down... but in practice I really missed the setpieces. I don't think this even qualifies as an action movie because there's so little of it. It's the shortest of the three but feels the most padded out, as if they don't know what to fill the already limited running time with. But they sure don't fill it with action. It's mostly Denzel walking around (which is good) and villains doing their villanous things (which takes up more time than it should). I liked the steely look of it with Robert Richardson actually doing something nice with digital photography, I liked Denzel, I liked the location... but it was just too unimpactful for a final chapter of a trilogy.
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Post by stephen on Oct 14, 2023 20:59:21 GMT
Yeah, this one was a real letdown. I liked the opening sequence for having a sort of "Angel Eyes at the start of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" vibe (even if the gunbarrel-to-the-forehead kill is a bit silly, I still had fun with it), but the rest of it just didn't work for me, largely because the villains felt like they were from a cut-rate Italian crime soap. I did think, while watching it, the elements were there for something like The American, where McCall has to come to terms with his mortality and the idea of him finding peace, but I just couldn't give enough of a shit about the story, especially after such a strong second entry.
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Post by pacinoyes on Oct 14, 2023 22:35:12 GMT
Denzel Washington has never made a film above an 8 / 10........name one actor as "great" as him - and there are several as great and some greater in Hollywood history btw - that you can say that about? In fact I'm not sure he's made an actual 8/10 either .......his 2 best films imo Malcolm X and The Tragedy of Macbeth flirt with being great - but with huge flaws - Malcolm X's episodic narrative and the hacked middle section of Macbeth which resembles nothing of what we know of Macbeth actually - it becomes something else.........well: The Equalizer 3 doesn't come anywhere fucking close to flirting with an 8 and has a scene in it that is so absurd it may not even reach a 6 / 10: During a religious festival right out of Godfather 2 and 3 (think the De Niro sequence in 2, the Joey Zasa sequence in 3) - Washington - looking kind of fat tbh and glum and long in the tooth follows a man he has tiresomely been playing with - much like a cat would a mouse.......this scene with huge rip-offs of Scarface (earlier), the Godfather Trilogy (all 3), the fireworks in Godfather 2 specifically and also Avalon - because sure why not......is staged so solemnly by Antoine Fuqua it's an absurdist laugh riot......it doesn't even make literal sense much less action movie sense don't get hit by car in Italy because people will not give a fnck apparently, they'll just loom from far away - ominously I'm not saying this movie was perfect before this scene - which comes quite late - but I was slightly above the 6 /10 range before it......so I didn't hate it - after it, well I'll always associated this movie with THAT scene...........and Antoine Fuqua - a genuine hack - with it too...... Me and my gf have a running gag at this movie's big "peril" scene where McCall (or as the lead baddie calls him "American", um) almost literally says nothing for his last words on Earth he lives, don't worry except "Ok, it's your choice"........... .......that literally is funny with his philosophical digressions all the time...........come on.......tell hm his soul will rot in Hell..........tell hm you will haunt him from the fncking grave .......... that guy says "It's always my choice" [/spoiler] which would be a sorta great line ...................but .........ah well.......you know........
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Post by Brother Fease on Jan 6, 2024 15:08:02 GMT
Yeah, this one was a real letdown. I liked the opening sequence for having a sort of "Angel Eyes at the start of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" vibe (even if the gunbarrel-to-the-forehead kill is a bit silly, I still had fun with it), but the rest of it just didn't work for me, largely because the villains felt like they were from a cut-rate Italian crime soap. I did think, while watching it, the elements were there for something like The American, where McCall has to come to terms with his mortality and the idea of him finding peace, but I just couldn't give enough of a shit about the story, especially after such a strong second entry. I saw this movie a couple of days ago on Netflix. As I think about the movie, the less value it holds. The movie felt very generic from the situations to the character arcs. Dakota Fanning sleeps walks through the film and doesn't really add much. I also thought the movie got way way too violent, and didn't really add much to the mobsters' cruelty. So I do agree with what you wrote. Washington is fine, but never felt like a book end type of deal.
I have been Italy multiple times. The sets were wonderful and reminded me of my great memories there. So the movie gets points for that.
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Post by Brother Fease on Jan 6, 2024 15:14:07 GMT
Denzel Washington has never made a film above an 8 / 10........name one actor as "great" as him - and there are several as great and some greater in Hollywood history btw - that you can say that about? In fact I'm not sure he's made an actual 8/10 either .......his 2 best films imo Malcolm X and The Tragedy of Macbeth flirt with being great - but with huge flaws - Malcolm X's episodic narrative and the hacked middle section of Macbeth which resembles nothing of what we know of Macbeth actually - it becomes something else.........well: The Equalizer 3 doesn't come anywhere fucking close to flirting with an 8 and has a scene in it that is so absurd it may not even reach a 6 / 10: During a religious festival right out of Godfather 2 and 3 (think the De Niro sequence in 2, the Joey Zasa sequence in 3) - Washington - looking kind of fat tbh and glum and long in the tooth follows a man he has tiresomely been playing with - much like a cat would a mouse.......this scene with huge rip-offs of Scarface (earlier), the Godfather Trilogy (all 3), the fireworks in Godfather 2 specifically and also Avalon - because sure why not......is staged so solemnly by Antoine Fuqua it's an absurdist laugh riot......it doesn't even make literal sense much less action movie sense don't get hit by car in Italy because people will not give a fnck apparently, they'll just loom from far away - ominously I'm not saying this movie was perfect before this scene - which comes quite late - but I was slightly above the 6 /10 range before it......so I didn't hate it - after it, well I'll always associated this movie with THAT scene...........and Antoine Fuqua - a genuine hack - with it too...... I will skip over your first paragraph. But I think the rest of the stuff you posted is pretty darn good. My main problem is how gruesome it gets as the story rolls along. I didn't find those scenes necessary at all. The whole film takes itself too seriously. It's cool to see Washington being the slickest man in the world. He doesn't need a gun. Guns are for losers. And yes, I did play movie cliche bingo as well.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jan 6, 2024 16:38:05 GMT
Denzel Washington has never made a film above an 8 / 10........name one actor as "great" as him - and there are several as great and some greater in Hollywood history btw - that you can say that about? In fact I'm not sure he's made an actual 8/10 either .......his 2 best films imo Malcolm X and The Tragedy of Macbeth flirt with being great - but with huge flaws - Malcolm X's episodic narrative and the hacked middle section of Macbeth which resembles nothing of what we know of Macbeth actually - it becomes something else.........well: The Equalizer 3 doesn't come anywhere fucking close to flirting with an 8 and has a scene in it that is so absurd it may not even reach a 6 / 10: During a religious festival right out of Godfather 2 and 3 (think the De Niro sequence in 2, the Joey Zasa sequence in 3) - Washington - looking kind of fat tbh and glum and long in the tooth follows a man he has tiresomely been playing with - much like a cat would a mouse.......this scene with huge rip-offs of Scarface (earlier), the Godfather Trilogy (all 3), the fireworks in Godfather 2 specifically and also Avalon - because sure why not..... .is staged so solemnly by Antoine Fuqua it's an absurdist laugh riot......it doesn't even make literal sense much less action movie sense don't get hit by car in Italy because people will not give a fnck apparently, they'll just loom from far away - ominously I'm not saying this movie was perfect before this scene - which comes quite late - but I was slightly above the 6 /10 range before it......so I didn't hate it - after it, well I'll always associated this movie with THAT scene...........and Antoine Fuqua - a genuine hack - with it too...... The whole film takes itself too seriously.. Indeed - see bold above my original post...........there's very little poetry in the violence the way it's staged.........this kind of thing isn't pacinoyes' thing anyway.................. .....but Fuqua doing it REALLY isn't my thing..........he's quite a ponderous filmmaker ........
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