The Equalizer 3 has finally arrived in theaters and amongst the violence and action, fans may have taken a moment to appreciate the beautiful scenery featured within the film. The threequel has swapped out the chaotic city setting of Boston for a more scenic and peaceful setting in the Mediterranean. At least, it was peaceful before Robert McCall arrived.
Where exactly is the film set?
The third installment in The Equalizer franchise sees Robert McCall, played by Denzel Washington, in Italy, particularly on the Amalfi Coast. The film makes full use of its beautiful locations, even setting some action scenes in a thousand-year-old church that’s sat atop a hill. Aside from that, the lush Mediterranean sea and beaches make for a cool backdrop that contrasts with the more gritty action film.
Was it actually filmed on location?
Whilst some film studios would opt to use similar looking locations within the states in order to save on time and budget, this wasn’t the case with The Equalizer 3. Sony was apparently completely on board with the idea to go abroad and shoot on location along the Amalfi Coast as well as other parts of Italy including Rome and Naples.
Talking about the decision to shoot abroad, the film’s director Antoine Fuqua spoke with The Associated Press regarding how it all happened. “We thought it would be nice to see a man of color in a story that’s more international. Why not take this character around the world? Luckily, Sony loved the idea.”
So, why Italy?
As it turns out, it’s one of Washington’s favorite vacation spots. According to Fuqua, he goes every year and apparently even speaks some Italian. Parts of the film were shot in the legendary Cinecittà studios where famous movie makers like Federico Fellini. Sergio Leone and Martin Scorsese have worked, something which Fuqua was very excited to experience as a director himself.
Of course the setting did pose a bit of a challenge for the crew to film as Fuqua recalls in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. That old church on top of the hill mentioned earlier was a particularly difficult scene to shoot because just getting the equipment to the location proved a massive burden.
When I got there, I said, ‘So, how are we going to get this equipment up the steps? Oh, we use donkeys.’ I didn’t see one donkey in Italy the whole time I was there. […] I saw my crew, with cigarettes dangling out of their mouths carrying equipment up these steps. There was a lot of puking going on.
In the end it seems like it was worth it as the cast and crew seemed to have a great time shooting in Italy, and the locations look gorgeous on screen too, even if they are just backdrops for some over the top violent action scenes.