While at first it seems like this third installment in Antoine Fuqua's series of Denzel Washington star vehicles is setting itself up to be a more serious and thoughtful story of personal absolution, it gradually becomes clear that The Equalizer 3 has no story to tell. Very, very little happens in this movie, and all the time we spend with Washington (still somehow compelling, even when he's on autopilot) drinking tea and chatting with locals doesn't lead to any character relationships worth caring for. Fuqua and screenwriter Richard Wenk seem to want to create a sense of familiarity with this Italian town, through which we should ideally see the things Robert McCall grows to value in his violent life. But even the prettiest landscapes (shot by Robert Richardson) can't make up for how empty and misjudged the writing is.

There are approximately two short action scenes in The Equalizer 3, neither of which has the clockwork precision of the fights in the first film, or the environmental inventiveness of the climax of the second film. And while an action movie can aspire to something beyond its action, the fact that this installment has abandoned it completely is a genuinely perplexing choice.

Only the most devoted fans of Denzel Washington's filmography should care, but The Equalizer 3 marks the reunion of Washington with Dakota Fanning—who worked together on the 2004 Tony Scott film Man on Fire, back when Fanning was just 10 years old. It's nice that the two stars get to share some gentle screen time with each other, but Fanning's CIA subplot is so unnecessary and also leads nowhere, that you find yourself wishing this movie could just commit to the gimmick in a more ridiculous way.