IT’S HIS FIRST SEQUEL

BUT HE DOES IT JUSTICE, GIVING HIS CHARACTER MCCALL NEW DIRECTION

Antoine Fuqua has a creative history with Denzel Washington stretching back nearly two decades.

But the acclaimed director still didn’t realise how popular his ‘dark angel’ in 2014’s

The Equalizer, Washington’s everyman Robert McCall, would be.

“The success of the first film was a surprise, but not a surprise, if you know what I mean,” he says. “People love Denzel and I knew they would show up to see him but what did surprise me was how passionate people were about the idea of justice.”

The first film introduced the mysterious McCall, a former black ops operative who was forced to come out of retirement to help a young girl who was in mortal danger from the Russian mob.

“People would ask me ‘Where are we going to see an Equalizer 2? When are we going to find out more about him?’ Audiences really connected with McCall – they loved the mystery, the action and they loved Denzel playing him,” Fuqua says.

“I think people enjoy the idea, the myth, that a guy like McCall exists. For myself and (screenwriter) Richard (Lindheim), McCall is the dark angel who we all wish would come down and serve justice on those who deserve it.”

The Equalizer 2 is the only sequel Washington, a two-time Oscar winner, has done in his 40 years on screen. It’s his fourth film with Fuqua, who has never directed a sequel before.

“The excitement for me, when I do something, is in doing something new,” says Washington.

“I’d never done anything a second time until this and for me the new territory was the relationship with Susan – Melissa Leo’s character – and ultimately the plot twists that come along with that. I don’t want to spoil things by saying too much, but it’s personal for McCall.

“And there’s a father and son storyline in the film which I really liked. And that felt new to me. McCall becomes involved with Miles (Ashton Sanders) and he can see that Miles has potential, but he is being disrespectful to his mother and he lacks a father figure so there’s an opportunity for McCall to become a kind of father figure, a mentor.

“But for McCall, because of the people he has lost, he’s a bit hesitant about letting this kid in too soon. But that too, becomes personal.”

There will be plenty of action and, just like in the first film, Washington does as much himself as he possibly can. “You just get physical,” he says.

“And we have a great team of stuntmen and co-ordinators and trainers and we’re utilising my boxing skills I think more in this one than we did in the first one.

“I have more of a sense of what kind of fighting McCall does – I don’t want to give too much away, but he will use things from the environment, the room, that he’s in – glasses, chairs, shoes, whatever.

“The preparation for those scenes starts months in advance and they’re based on the circumstances he finds himself in. We wanted to make them honest and real and vicious.”

McCall is a softly spoken, unassuming hero. He has been trained to kill, but it weighs heavily on him and he doesn’t resort to force unless he has to.

“He’s not looking for trouble, he’s looking to help,” Washington says.

“And if there are people in his way he tries to give them the opportunity to do the right thing. But it doesn’t always work out that way.”

WORDS: SEANNA CRONIN