The Equalizer 2

The fourth collaboration between Denzel Washington and filmmaker Antoine Fuqua is the first sequel for either one. So perhaps it’s no coincidence that The Equalizer 2 is their least rewarding partnership thus far.

Predictable if mildly intriguing, this formulaic vigilante thriller about a working-class superhero of sorts is an uninspired follow-up to the 2014 big-screen adaptation of the 1980s television show.

Washington again plays Robert McCall, a highly trained ex-government intelligence official who now lives a solitary life in Boston, a connoisseur of good books and fine art masking his internal rage.

He befriends both an elderly neighbor (Orson Bean) in need of some guidance and a wayward teenager (Ashton Sanders) in need of a mentor. Yet bigger challenges lie ahead when McCall’s friend, an Interpol agent and former CIA supervisor (Melissa Leo), becomes entangled in a quest to track down murderers in Brussels.

It turns out the perpetrators have an axe to grind with our hero, whose stake in the case eventually becomes more personal, leading to a European visit and subsequent encounters with foreign thugs as he unravels the mystery.

Washington’s efforts aren’t entirely unrewarded. He still knows how to sell the quieter, character-driven moments between the often brutally violent action sequences. Plus, he finds sympathy in McCall, a character whose vengeful tendencies stem from residual grief and unresolved guilt from his past.

However, he can’t disguise that the script by returning screenwriter Richard Wenk generally feels content to rehash the first film instead of explore new territory. After all, having McCall take a part-time gig as a Lyft driver hardly qualifies as meaningful character development — it’s hardly even a useful plot device.

The Equalizer 2 has a handful of effective moments, as Fuqua (Training Day) stages an intense fight inside a moving car in traffic. And despite the logical absurdity, you can at least appreciate the logistical challenges of setting the climax in the middle of a hurricane.

Yet the film struggles to generate much emotional depth or explore significant moral complexity alongside its surface thrills. As a result, moviegoers outside of diehard Denzel fans might seek revenge for their squandered financial investment in roughly two hours of their time.

Rated R, 121 minutes.