Warning: Major spoilers for The Equalizer 3 below!The Equalizer 3's opening scene sees Denzel Washington's McCall break an unofficial franchise rule, but there's a story logic behind this. Whereas most movies about vigilantes – ranging from Charles Bronson's Death Wish movies to the various adaptations of The Punisher – often focus on the body count involved, but The Equalizer movies take a different approach. Washington's McCall might be a force of nature but he often uses violence as a last resort and is even polite enough to give the various gangsters, corrupt cops or mercenaries he encounters a chance to back down before he destroys them.
