Hurricane and Stolen Plutonium: Thoughts on Two Recent American Blockbusters

Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer 2 and Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission Impossible: Fall Out is what we’d consider as the enjoyable showcase of hyper-masculinity, effortlessly upheld by the movies’ respective stars Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise. One is a vigilante feature and the other chronicles the mind-boggling exploits of an unbelievably agile old-school spy. Both are typical American heroes, one rooting out the deep-seated moral/ethical corruption, whereas the other saves the world, warding off nuclear war. Personally I liked, The Equalizer 2 more than Tom Cruise’s high-octane outing (isn’t that baffling!). The Equalizer 2 offered a decent visceral experience, constantly elevated by Denzel’s benevolent presence, and also contains an interesting theme beneath its mundane story-line. Fall Out definitely contains some of the most splendid action sequences in recent Hollywood history (its 56-year-old star elicits boundless energy). But plot-wise Fall Out falls flat, boasting the same white imperialist fantasies of colonial and cold-war era.

Denzel’s Robert McCall in Equalizer 2 is a retired Special Forces and CIA operative, who is finding it hard to cope with his wife’s demise. He has gone off the grid, believed to be dead by many of his colleagues except his close friend and inside contact at CIA, Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo). In Fall Out, Cruise’s tireless Ethan Hunt and his IMF team find themselves in a race against time to stop nuclear attack and retrieve plutonium cores from the international terrorist syndicate calling themselves ‘Apostles’. Mr. Cruise takes the crazy quotient of the action set-pieces to a different level. On a personal note in the narrative, Ethan Hunt’s long estranged wife (Michelle Monaghan) gracefully bows out, while he gets reacquainted with impertinent and fearless MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). Keeping up with the changing times, both the mainstream action films depict female characters, whose existence doesn’t strictly revolve around our solemn heroes.

In Equalizer 2, Susan Plummer gets murdered on her Brussels trip (but not before putting up a good fight). The lack of progress in the investigation pushes McCall to do his own investigation and stumble upon few hard truths. In Fall Out, Ethan Hunt eventually realizes that his dedicated efforts to save his now ex-wife Julie are only putting her in a more vulnerable position. And this time around, even Julia briefly participates in Hunt’s world-saving mission. Of course, it is the strong individualist streak running through the narrative course and the cool set-pieces allowed these flicks to conquer the box-office. However, it is intriguing to see such emotional dimensions among relentless action.

Denzel’s Robert McCall reminds us of a mellowed version of Jigsaw killer (from Saw franchise), meting out punishment for wrongdoings, while allowing the guilty party at times to do the right thing. McCall is well-read for a vigilante (Marcel Proust’s book title is the last thing you’d expect to see in an action film). He does the craziest thing to stop the shutdown of a local bookshop, run by a single mother. McCall drives taxi part-time but his full-time job is being guardian angel. He rages over the sexual violation of a young woman and beats down upper class a-holes in their posh apartment. He does his best to save an artistic African-American student from life of criminality. When the main-plot kicks-in (after Susan’s death) McCall becomes a full-fledged vigilante, offering restorative justice to the irreparable bad guys.

Although both these films possesses a very thin story-line, Equalizer 2 attunes better to the American sociopolitical climate than MI: Fall Out’s outdated themes (may be except for the CNN ‘fake news’ set-up which pokes fun at Trump era’s chant of ‘Fake News’). Equalizer 2 observes an implosion of sorts, set off by the nonredeemable ethical and moral crimes committed by authorities appointed to protect the state’s alleged sanctitude. The enemy here was once a friend, a colleague who’s afflicted by the moral/social degeneration of present times. Fall Out’s villains (Sean Harris and Henry Cavill) don’t hail from Russia or Middle-East or China. Yet their motivations are stupid and actions, irritatingly banal. Equalizer 2 might contain overdose of political correctness, although the way it breaks down the decay of deep state is more entertaining. While Fall Out’s climax portions unfolds over picturesque locations, Equalizer 2 takes place in the eye of a hurricane, a rather enjoyable symbol of the country’s sociopolitical climate.

Collective critical appreciation of the two films took the familiar tone: Equalizer 2 is condemned as typical revenge story, whereas Fall Out was unanimously congratulated for its terrific action scenes. Nevertheless, as I mentioned earlier, I’d always prefer a modestly staged entertainer with relevant message than a technically accomplished feature with politically dubious core. Intricately linked terrorist syndicate, presenting a united-front, and threatening world peace looks much unreal than the menace of American deep state. Of course, if you are only in search of popcorn entertainment, and unmindful of Hollywood machinations’ coded messages, then you can enjoy both these films.