A Complete Review of Antoine Fuqua's work

Cast : Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning

What was it about?
Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends' protector by taking on the mafia.

My two cents:
I have to admit that it was an improvement on the previous sequel. Indeed, the intro was solid and it was actually pretty cool that the action was taking place in Sicily. It was also a nice touch that all the Italian characters kept speaking their own language. I still ended up with some mixed feelings though. First of all, I really don’t like the vigilante genre and I don’t think that Antoine Fuqua did add really anything new or interesting to the genre with his franchise. Another issue was that, even though Denzel Washington is one of the best actors that ever lived and even though he was still really charismatic here, I’m sorry but, at around 70 years old, the guy was just too old to play such a lethal killer. Some kind of Easter egg was also to see Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning working together almost 20 years after ‘Man on Fire’. Well, Fanning did what she could with this material but, to be honest, she wasn’t really convincing. The fact that her character was rather poorly introduced also didn’t help. I mean, it seemed that Robert McCall was calling some kind of CIA helpdesk to give them some intel and, yet, 5 mins later, this helpdesk employee was actually on the field in Sicily dealing with a high-profile case which didn’t make much sense. Then, there was the fact that Robert McCall was facing the Camorra this time which was, of course, rather ridiculous, especially since he prevailed at the end.

My rating: 06/10

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Unfortunately, I haven't seen this one yet...

Cast : Jake Gyllenhaal, Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard, Ethan Hawke, Paul Dano

What was it about?
A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.

My two cents:
To be honest, it’s only later on that I discovered that it was actually a remake of a Danish film which I haven’t seen. As a result, there is a fair chance that the damned thing was another useless Hollywood remake of a perfectly fine foreign feature. Still, I have been working in various helpdesks for most of my adult life and it is always pretty neat to see a movie dealing with a 911 dispatch call center which must be by far the most difficult and stressful helpdesk you can work for. Finally, i turned out to be another impressive one-man-show from Jake Gyllenhaal who really had to carry the whole thing on his shoulders. So, I was definitely a decent watch but, to be honest, not much more than that though. Indeed, even though I figured out fairly early on that there was something fishy about Emily, the whole plot around her 911 call was not bad at all. No, what bothered more was that, even though Gyllenhaal gave another strong and intense performance, his character didn’t really make much sense. I mean, for starters, I don’t think they would give such a stressful job to someone who was clearly psychologically seriously distressed. The argument provided was that he was a demoted police officer who got this detail as some kind of ‘punishment’ but it was not really convincing as this job requires someone really dedicated and completely focused. Then, I thought it was very unlikely that if this guy would completely loose his cool while on duty and that no supervisor would intervene and tell him at first to chill and then to go home if it would escalate like it did during this movie. Anyway, even if it wasn’t really flawless, it was still fairly entertaining though.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Cookson, Dylan O'Brien, Rupert Friend, Toby Jones

What was it about?
A man discovers that his hallucinations are actually visions from past lives.

My two cents:
I have noticed that it turned out to be a huge flop when it was released (it was even nominated for the Razzie of the worst movie of the year) and, well, I can't say I was surprised as the damned thing turned out to be pretty much an unwatchable mess. Seriously, right from the intro explaining how this concept was supposed to work, I thought it already sounded really half-baked. To make things worse, Sophie Cookson's character repeated exactly the same explanation maybe 30 mins later. Concerning the cast, there were a few decent actors involved but, in my opinion, Mark Wahlberg was completely miscast here though. Indeed, even though he can be certainly entertaining, he was never convincing whatsoever playing a man supposedly suffering from schizophrenia. The fact that he looked ridiculous carrying all the time his samurai sword probably didn’t help either and I wish he did stop delivering wise-*ss oneliners every 2 mins. In fact, I think the concept might have had some potential. Indeed, what if we could remember past lives? The metaphysical implications would be huge. And, indeed, how someone would cope with this? Becoming schizophrenic or mentally ill from all this didn't seem so far-fetched but, instead of digging deeper in what it could mean and the impact it might have on an individual, all these ideas were buried very deep under so much nonsense and so many boring and derivative action scenes.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo

What was it about?
Washington resumes his role as Robert McCall: a retired CIA Black Ops operative who now works as a Lyft driver and moonlights as a vigilante. When his long-time friend Susan Plummer is murdered, he embarks on a relentless, globe-trotting quest for vengeance.

My two cents:
Even though ‘The Equalizer’ had turned out to be fairly successful at the box-office, I didn’t care much for this flick but since I have a weak spot for Denzel Washington and since this movie was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check this sequel. Well, to be honest, it turned out to be even worse than I expected. Seriously, I was so bored through the damned thing. Above all, it took so long to finally take off, in fact, in my opinion, the whole thing never actually took off. Indeed, I was expecting McCall to go to Belgium to investigate the murder of his friend at any moment but it actually never happened. Basically, he managed to figure out the whole case without setting a foot there which might seem impressive but it was actually rather lame. At least, Denzel Washington was not bad and it is remarkable that it took him so long to finally show up in a sequel but it’s a shame the end-result was just so damned underwhelming.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Haley Bennett, Peter Sarsgaard, Matt Bomer, Cam Gigandet

What was it about?
Seven gunmen from a variety of backgrounds are brought together by a vengeful young widow to protect her town from the private army of a destructive industrialist.

My two cents:
To be honest, even before the damned thing was released, it did sound like a rather misguided project. Seriously, even after watching this movie, I still wonder what was the whole point. Indeed, from a commercial point of view, Westerns are a bad investment as they always flop at the box-office and, from an artistical point of view, it was a basically a remake of a remake so it seemed terribly derivative. At least, I have to admit that the whole thing looked really good and there was a solid cast involved (see above). Concerning the story, at least, it had been a while since I saw the original version (or, should I say, the previous remake) so I was fairly entertained but, to be honest, it is a rather basic story. What I missed the most was that, even if the running time was above the 2 hours, you didn’t get to really know any of those 7 guys after all. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was a still a decent watch.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker, 50 Cent, Naomie Harris

What was it about?
A champion boxer fights to get his daughter back from child protective services as well as revive his professional career, after a fatal incident sends him on a rampant path of destruction.

My two cents:
There was in at first a pretty good buzz about this movie before its release and Jake Gyllenhaal was especially praised for another really strong performance. Well, I have noticed that, eventually, it didn’t make so much waves when it came out but I was still quite eager to check it out. Indeed, once again, Gyllenhaal was really strong and, after checking the damned thing, I have to agree that all the praise was really deserved. Unfortunately, I can’t say that the movie itself really blew me away. I mean, sure, it was a decent boxing drama but the makers seriously used all the clichés in the genre. Indeed, you had the champion losing everything but making a mighty come-back, the evil manager and the evil opponent, the wise trainer who doesn’t want his boxer to go to the big fight, the training montage … I mean, if you are familiar with the genre, especially the ‘Rocky’ franchise, there won’t be anything really surprising for you if you watch this flick. Fortunately, Gyllenhaal was really awesome, not only physically, as he was really ripped but it was also pretty neat to see how deep he went into the psychology of his character.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Denzel Washington, Chloë Grace Moretz, Haley Bennett, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo

What was it about?
A man believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and has dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can't stand idly by - he has to help her.

My two cents:
Since this movie was fairly successful at the box-office, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I was amazed by how underwhelming the damned thing actually turned out to be. I mean, sure, it was well made and Denzel Washington was, as usual, quite charismatic but I just really struggled to get into this story and I thought it was just pretty slow and most of it actually bored me. Eventually, the only thing that intrigued me was Chloe Grace Moretz. In fact, her character was supposed to be older but Moretz was apparently so convincing, they changed the character especially for her. Indeed, to make this prostitute so young made this character even more heartbreaking and Moretz really nailed this performance. Unfortunately, even though she seemed to have a major part in this story, they still managed to get rid off her after 15 minutes which was too bad. Eventually, the rest of the movie was about some older slightly autistic version of Jason Bourne, some kind of omnipotent spy who can do whatever he wants and who cannot be defeated. Well, I have seen this kind of stories too many times to really care anymore.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Dylan McDermott, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Robert Forster, Ashley Judd

What was it about?
Disgraced Secret Service agent Mike Banning finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack and works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers.

My two cents:
Since this movie was fairly successful at the box-office, I thought I might as wel check it out. Eventually, even though it was rather well made with a really impressive cast, I can’t say I was really convinced by the whole thing. First of all, and that's not an actual critic, it was quite violent (apparently, more than 160 people were killed) so they didn’t put their gloves on and really earned their R rating which must have pleased the fans of the genre. My wife thought it was way too much but it didn't bother me. I mean, if you decide to make an action flick, you might as well really go all the way making something slightly more realistic. In fact, what really bothered me was the fact that the story was just way over-the-top and rather boring. Basically, it was pretty much 'Die Hard in the White House' which wasn't actually a bad idea but, even though Gerard Butler was physically convincing and delivered a believable special forces soldier, his character didn’t come near John McClane and I just didn’t care much about the guy. Furthermore, in this age when global terrorism is displayed on a daily basis on the news, I didn't buy the fact that a North-Korean guy would launch such an attack on the White House.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Lili Taylor, Ellen Barkin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Logan Marshall-Green

What was it about?
Three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths.

My two cents:
Eventually, I thought it was pretty good, probably one of Fuqua's best movies, even if this project was probably too ambitious for him. Indeed, it deals with 3 story-lines about 3 different cops working in New York and even if all the stories were interesting, they all could have been more developed, especially Richard Gere's story-line. Indeed, basically, he did nothing heroic or outstanding during his 22 years career as a cop but, suddenly, when he just retires, he becomes some kind of cow-boy. Rather far-fetched if you ask me . Still, I thought it was well made and there was a pretty cool cast (see above). It was also nice to see Wesley Snipes showing up in a decent movie instead of all the straight-to-DVD garbage he has made recently. I also loved the very first scene with Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio. Indeed, even if I suspected that one of them would die, I thought it would be the other way around and I always find it ballsy and just plain awesome to have a big name actor killed in the very first minutes. Anyway, eventually, even though this movie barely got noticed when it was released, I thought it was actually pretty good.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, Danny Glover, Kate Mara ,Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra

What was it about?
A marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the President. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to find the real killer and the reason he was set up.

My two cents:
Since this movie had a really solid reputation, I was expecting it to be a strong action feature. Eventually, to be honest, I thought it was rather disappointing. I mean, sure, it was not bad and the whole thing was actually rather well made but there was seriously nothing original about it. Indeed, basically all the elements involved in this movie (story, characters, shots, actions scenes,...) have been borrowed here and there. On top of that, I guess I’m still missing the interesting Mark Wahlberg from ‘Boogie Nights’, we just got a glimpse of this actor in this movie but I found him there 10 times more interesting and convincing than as a lethal sniper. Eventually, the only thing that left an impression was to see the lovely Kate Mara even though her scene in her underwear was rather gratuitous. Anyway, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you love such action movies but, in my opinion, it was also completely forgettable.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Ioan Gruffudd, Mads Mikkelsen, Joel Edgerton, Hugh Dancy, Ray Winstone, Ray Stevenson, Stellan Skarsgård, Til Schweiger

What was it about?
The film will focus on the history and politics of the period during which Arthur ruled -- when the Roman empire collapsed and skirmishes over power broke out in outlying countries -- as opposed to the mystical elements of the tale on which past Arthur films have focused.

My two cents:
The King Arthur tale is one of those stories that has been told so many times, just like The Three Musketeers, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan or Robin Hood and every decade, we get a new version, even if we didn’t really ask for it. The very last version of this tale was directed by Guy Ritchie and, as expected, it turned out to be a flop at the box-office. In the 2000's, Jerry Bruckheimer released his own version which was directed by Fuqua but even though there was some buzz before its release, it didn’t get much love after all. Well, the cast was definitely interesting (see above) and the whole thing looked decent but that wasn’t enough to make this movie really stand out from the other versions. Apparently, Bruckheimer and Fuqua actually wanted to release something much more violent but they were forced by Disney to remove all the blood from the battle scenes but I’ll highly doubt that it would have really make a difference. That’s the big issue with these traditional tales, they have been told so many times before so if you decide to come up with a new version, you have to make sure you bring up something new or interesting and that wasn’t really the case here, I’m afraid.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci

What was it about?
A Special-Ops commander leads his team into the Nigerian jungle in order to rescue a doctor who will only join them if they agree to save 70 refugees too.

My two cents:
I wasn't expecting much from this flick but, at least, I thought it would be a decent action movie and since I have a weak spot for Bruce Willis and Monica Bellucci, I thought I should give it a try. Honestly, I thought it was one of the most disappointing movies starring Bruce Willis that I have seen at that time (since then, he has starred in some much worse direct-to-DVD garbage though). My wife did like it and I have definitely seen worse flicks starring Bruce Willis but I thought the whole thing was rather pretentious and pretended to be something it wasn't. What I mean by that is that, on one hand, they wanted it to be a badass action flick like 'Rambo' but, on the other hand, they tried to be more throughtfull hinting at some real events. However, it was a failure in both directions. One other big mistake they made is to deprive Bruce Willis of any kind of sense of humor, so he just looked grim during the whole thing and gave here one of the most one-dimensional and boring performances of his career and I won't even start about Monica Bellucci who was completely underused and who was actually a distraction.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Cliff Curtis, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Macy Gray, Eva Mendes

What was it about?
On his first day on the job as a Los Angeles narcotics officer, a rookie cop goes beyond a full work day in training within the narcotics division of the L.A.P.D. with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.

My two cents:
With this movie, Denzel Washington managed to win the Academy award for the Best Actor in a Leading Role which was the crowning of a stellar career. With this in mind, I thought it would be a great movie and I had some rather huge expectations. Unfortunately, I thought the whole thing was slightly underwhelming. I mean, it is a solid flick, no doubt about it, and Denzel Washington, who was finally playing something else than his usual righteous guys, was just terrific. The mood was also very well done and they even managed to shot on location in some of the most infamous neighborhoods of Los Angeles. So, what was my problem with this flick? The main issue was with the timeline which was rather unbelievable in my opinion. Indeed, you are supposed to believe that everything that happens is supposed to take place in one single day. I mean, seriously?!? If it would have been spread other 3 days or a whole week, it would have been fine but to put all this in one day was just rather preposterous. To make things worse and even more gimmicky, all this happened in the very first day of the rookie cop played by Ethan Hawke. Again, seriously?!? I’m pretty sure that most cops won’t see so much action in her first 10 years in the police force so that was also rather unbelievable. Anyway, even though I think it is seriously overrated, I have to admit that it is still a decent watch.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Jamie Foxx, David Morse

What was it about?
Alvin Sanders ends up in a cell with John Jaster, one half of a high-tech criminal team that's just stolen $42,000,000 worth of gold from the Federal Reserve. Realizing that he could die at any moment from his worsening heart condition, Jaster tells Alvin to relay a cryptic message to his wife about the whereabouts of the hidden gold. Alvin doesn't know exactly what the message means, and Edgar Clenteen, the U.S. Treasury investigator working the case, hopes it will lead to the gold.

My two cents:
Even though Jamie Foxx originally started out with some comic parts and, eventually, became an Academy Award winner, in between, he actually tried to become an action movie star but it never really worked out very well. I mean, it seemed at first like a good idea, to combine his wisecrack humour with some badass action scenes which is reminiscent of Bruce Willis, probably my favourite action movie star ever. The problem was that, in this movie, his character should have been entertaining but, eventually, he turned out to be more obnoxious than anything else. Furthermore, Antoine Fuqua is a decent director but the whole thing was rather uninspired and bland in my opinion. Sure, you had some unexpected twists but they felt pretty random and obligatory. Above all, I was rather bored by the whole thing and even though it may not have been one of the worst action movies I have ever seen, it was still pretty much unremarkable.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Chow Yun-Fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Jürgen Prochnow, Til Schweiger, Danny Trejo, Clifton Collins Jr.

What was it about?
A troubled hitman seeks aid from a forger to help him get papers to China. However, the drug lord has hired replacements to finish the job, and kill the hitman.

My two cents:
Nowadays, Antoine Fuqua has built up a decent career and this movie was his directing debut. The other intriguing element is that this movie was also Chow Yun-Fat’s debut in America. Pretty much like his colleagues like Jackie Chan or Jet Li, Chow Yun-Fat tried his luck in the US and since then has built up a pretty decent career but, to be honest, pretty much like Li or Chan, I don’t really care much about his US productions and this movie was not an exception. I mean, it looked ok and Yun-Fat was pretty bad-ass as usual but I seriously had a hard time to care about the whole thing. I don’t know, apparently, the studio was not really happy with the version delivered by Fuqua so all the romantic elements between Yun-Fat and Mira Sorvino were removed, along with most of the characters' motivations (in this case, there was therefore not much left to tell…). Concerning Mira Sorvino, she looked as charming as usual but she didn’t have much to do in this flick and I really wonder how the whole thing would have turned out if they had kept the romantic angle.

My rating: 05/10

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