No Mistakes, Only Choices: Vicious (2025) Review

Director: Bryan Bertino

Notable Cast: Dakota Fanning, Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack, Rachel Blanchard, Devyn Nekoda, Klea Scott, Emily Mitchell

 

"There are no mistakes. Only choices. Right and wrong. You saw what you wanted. You gave what you wanted to give. But did you truly need it, Auntie P? Or did you truly need to give something easy? You must suffer not to suffer. Are you ready to play more? What do you love? What do you love? Think hard. Real hard." 

 

There's a lot of hate for Vicious out in the world right now. Far more than expected, possibly due to the film finding itself in the dredges of Paramount Plus, but Vicious is probably writer/director Byran Bertino being the most Bryan Bertino as possible. If you've seen any of his films before (The Strangers, The Dark and the Wicked, Monster), then you already know this man is nihilistic as fuck. And boy, howdy, Vicious lives up its title in terms of “feel good movie of the year.”  

 

Find Your Peace-eria: The Equalizer 3 (2023)

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Notable Cast: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Gaia Scodellaro, David Denman, Eugenio Mastrandrea, Remo Girone, Daniele Perrone, Andrea Scarduzio, Andrea Dodero, Giovanni Scotti, Melissa Leo, Sonia Ammar

 

Over the last 30 years, the relative variety of films that Antoine Fuqua has made that exist within the realm of action/thriller/crime has been fairly impressive. Does anyone remember that he made a historical flick with Will Smith called Emancipation last year? Probably not, since it went to Apple and subsequently died a forgotten death, but he did. Yes, he made one of those too. Yet, the only real “franchise” he has repeatedly returned to is The Equalizer, the modern update of the 1980s television show featuring his frequent collaborator Denzel Washington. 

 

Finding relative success with the first two entries, it’s no shock that The Equalizer 3 was on the docket for some time in the future even if Denzel is starting to show his age at 68. Trilogies are not easy to pull off, but the first two entries have only grown on me since their releases as they are kind of Charles Bronson meets John Woo melodramatic slices of action cinema. Thus, my expectations - even mediated - were elevated for this threequel. 

 

The Equalizer 3 is a perplexing puzzle, though. Despite being the shortest film in the series (by at least 15 minutes) and featuring the least complicated story and plot, it’s trying to do a lot and rarely managing to find its identity in doing so. It’s making many bold choices compared to its predecessors, changing up the film's tone a smidge, fully taking Denzel’s Robert McCall character out of Boston, and it doesn’t necessarily land where it needs to thematically or what it's setting up for the character. Despite some highly entertaining moments elevated by the Oscar-winning actor, The Equalizer 3 rarely feels equalized in its balance, and it leaves the trilogy feeling a tad underwhelming. 

 

Brimstone (2017)

Director: Martin Koolhoven

Notable Cast: Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Kit Harington, Carice van Houten, Emilia Jones, Jack Roth, Jack Hollington, Paul Anderson, Carla Juri, Vera Vitali, William Houston, Bill Tangradi

It’s almost unfair to call Brimstone a horror or western simply because this is a film that refuses to succumb to the tropes of any one genre. On the surface, yes, it’s about a vicious reverend that seemingly tortures a young woman throughout her life, appearing in increasingly violent and malevolent ways to continue her torment… which certainly sounds like a horror movie set up with a western setting. However, Brimstone uses western motifs, dramatic pacing, horror themed elements of tension and dread, and an approach to its narrative that lifts it above being ‘just another horror movie’ or ‘just another western.’ This is a film that’s meant to be an intense and still often subtle roller coaster of commentary, character study, and cinematic craftsmanship. It succeeds at doing it all and is going to be one of the underdog best films of the year.