As you’ve probably seen from the first trailer, Denzel Washington’s Robert McCall is back for the third and seemingly final installment of the series. Equalizer movie.

This latest outing for the government assassin turned do-gooder (though he often resorts to violence to get the job done) finds McCall on the picturesque Amalfi Coast, though plans for a relatively more relaxing time are frustrated. with a powerful criminal element.

Of course we take the opportunity to talk to those who return Equalizer director Antoine Fuqua explains why he chose to shoot the new film outside the United States, the mental space of the protagonist, a new danger and an old friend…

Italian mambo

It is most commonly found in Massachusetts, the third Equalizer sees Robert McCall hanging out in Italian cafes on the Amalfi Coast. The same goes for Fuqua, Denzel Washington and company. shoot an Adam Sandler, put his new film abroad so they can enjoy a joy?

“It wasn’t like that,” he laughs. “Although the Amalfi coast is a great place to vacation! I’ve always had conversations with Sony and the producers and Denzel about why Robert McCall wouldn’t be more international. He has worked for the government abroad as bourne or James Bond or any of those franchises, so why shouldn’t I travel?

Even if, according to the director, there’s also a personal reason… “We talked a bit about Italy, because it’s a place that I love and that Denzel has been going to since his children were babies, almost every year. He is the indicated”. Who introduced it to me!

dark mood

Though McCall appears to be relatively at peace at the beginning of the trailer, Fuqua is quick to point out that’s not necessarily the case.

“He’s less sure of his place in the world: the deaths of Susan (Melissa Leo) and her friends betrayed him to the government group in the last film. He is to find it alone and not necessarily in a dark place, but a bit darker. than you are used to. And he’s trying to find his way back to the light.

New friends

Though McCall tends to be a dangerous person to call friends (see above), his usual charisma has led him to befriend a few locals, including Aminah, played by Gaia Scodellaro. And choosing them sent Fuqua on his way, looking for people to complete the story of the writer Richard Wenk.

“Gaia Scodellaro was a real discovery,” enthused Fuqua. “She is Italian, from Naples, but she speaks perfect English. She and she are mixed: her mother was black and her father was Italian. I wanted to bring out the new world of Italy a little bit, just to mix it up more because that’s the way the world is. . Now. It was quite a search and we found it and I was blown away. It was a needle in a haystack.”

new enemies

Of course, life is never easy for poor Bob. And we’re not sure if anyone actually wants to see one. Equalizer movie in which McCall drinks only one espresso. Therefore, the quiet town where he lives is obviously threatened by a dangerous criminal organization. And while the name “Mafia” appears in the trailer, that’s not the whole story.

“The idea of ​​the mafia goes hand in hand with certain parts of Italy, based on history!” Fuqa said. “It’s always been like this, but there’s something more to this business. It’s not just the mafia. The world has changed now and there are other evil elements involved as well. It really is a Camorra. Even the mafia calls them ». the Barbarians. They’re a little different.”

Enforcer meets EQ

Among the main troublemakers of the Camorra is Marco, played by Andrea Dodero, who is seen several times in the trailer. It’s something different than what McCall has faced before.

“Fantastic young actor,” enthused Fuqua. “Really cool. They were all wonderful, but he stood out a bit for me. He’s the hoodlum of the Camorra. He’s one of the youngsters who is just wild. They live by different rules. They’re so much more dangerous because they’re not from the old world, where there was a feeling that someone was in control of things.They are unpredictable.

silent violence

They may be different and dangerous, but they mattered without Robert McCall. In addition to refreshing the scene, this time Fuqua intended to change the way stages work.

“I was trying to ground it in some way and make it a more sedate violence,” she says. “It is not strong, the violence of the big bang. Sometimes it’s scarier because it’s quiet and it’s right in front of you. There aren’t many gimmicks and now it feels a little more real. Sometimes there’s a trend where the ballet of violence becomes just that and I think we live in a world where people see a lot of stuff on their phones, just the world we live in. equalizer 3 It’s an interesting development because if the film is more personal, the violence should be more personal.”

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Part of this “silent violence” is a moment in which McCall stops the antagonist with little more than a wrist lock and knowing the pressure points. He also gives McCall what could be one of the lines of the year: “This is level three,” he tells the distraught victim. “If it gets to level four, you’ll get angry.”

“Sometimes it’s smaller, but just as effective! The audience can feel it, because if someone does this to your hand and at the right pressure point. It is extremely painful!” Fouqua laughs. “They did this to me and your arm locks up, your body locks up because it’s severe nerve pain. It was the action that interested me the most.

Right Fire (Fit Man)

One of the great attractions of the new film is the reunion between Washington and his men man on fire co-star Dakota Fanning. And according to Fuqua, that meant as much to the actors as it did to us. In the film, Fanning plays a young CIA agent brought to the area by reports of violence.

“She’s like a daughter to him, he loves her,” Fuqua says of the offscreen dynamic between Washington and Fanning. “It was so cool to see them on set together, just talking, laughing. And they’re both so talented, they get involved, they don’t miss a beat. What was weird for me to look through the lens and see Dakota as an adult! She’s amazing, and seeing them together was a pleasure because she’s a samurai. She knows it, she’s there, she’s nice, she does her thing. And her relationship with Denzel has been a plus. She is friends with their children. It was very easy with those two.”

the draw It will be released in theaters on September 1st.