MovieChat Forums > The Equalizer 3 (2023) Discussion > Can't decide whether to like Italians or...

Can't decide whether to like Italians or to distrust Italians


All three Equalizer movies make the audience not only hate the villains but also the villains' culture and nation. In Equalizer 1, the Russian mafia and Russians in general are described as evil. It's difficult to distinguish the villains from their cultures. The Russian mafia regional boss who dies on the funky floor disdains the entire American people by saying "You Americans think you can buy whatever you want." In Equalizer 2, there is even less sympathy for the Turkish father who abducts his daughter from his ex-wife only to hurt her. The audience gets the feeling that not only this Turkish man but also his entire culture is complicit in this crime because the Turkish culture is mysogynistic and patriarchical. About Denzel's African-American sidekick painter, one can't decide whether to root for him or to give up on the African-American male culture which drives men to crime. As for Equalizer 3, I got the feeling that Italy is so powerless about the organized crime that the innocent peace-loving people and the police must all bow before the omnipotent Camorrah. Although the audience roots for the good Italians, it also learns to fear the loss of government control over crime in Italy. The only good guys are the CIA, which is a strange way of looking at the world.

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