john wick movie review essay

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John Wick Movie Review — The action movie and hero that saves a genre

Told with utter efficiency and blessed with incredible fight sequences, this darkly funny action flick will have you saying the name john wick for years to come..

John McClane, Jason Bourne, and now, John Wick. Once and a while an action movie comes along and breathes new life into the genre. John Wick couldn't come at a better time to save us from the assault of movies that attempted to be the next Taken. Instead, we're treated to a movie that combines the suave filmmaking of Skyfall , the sly visual humor of Die Hard , with truly singular action sequences. John Wick may be one of the best action movies of the decade that will be attempted to be replicated over and over again to middling success. However, we'll always remember the rip-roaring original as a pinnacle of the action genre.

The movie begins with the death of John Wick's ( Keanu Reeves ) wife to a terminal illness. Though devastated by her loss, he finds solace in her parting gift to him: a puppy named Daisy. After a run-in with a group of young Russian — wannabe — mobsters, led by Iosef Tarasov ( Game of Thrones ‘ Alfie Allen ). Iosef approaches Wick at a gas station and offers to buy his beloved '69 Boss Mustang. After refusing, Iosef — best described as a spoiled brat — breaks into Wick's house, beats him, steals his car, and *trigger warning* sends that adorable little puppy to the farm. Needless to say, Wick doesn't take this well. You see, John Wick is not just a retired assassin. He is THE retired assassin. “Well, John wasn't exactly the Boogeyman. He was the one you sent to kill the fucking Boogeyman,” as Iosef's Dad Viggo ( Michael Nyquist ), the head of the Russian mob, says.

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Instead of falling into turmoil, John sets off on a warpath to do one thing — kill Iosef. Of course, he has to get through countless henchman, Viggo, and a kickass assassin named Ms. Perkins ( Adrienne Palicki ). This gives us a sleek, turbo-boosted 90-minutes of pure action that can be summed up with one word: awesome.

Director Chad Stahelski — a former stuntman — directs and captures action in a way that few directors are able to. Unlike the shaky cams and quick cuts that made the Taken movies nearly unbearable, Stahelski makes the action linear and films it with a steady eye that lets you appreciate every move and shot. However, it's the fight choreography that will make John Wick join the pantheon of action movies. Not only is the martial arts riveting, it has a rhythm to it that makes them so beautiful to watch no matter how brutal they get. Wick doesn't waste a single bullet, do a move that's unnecessary, or exert any more effort than he needs. His movements feel like he is an assissin as much as Reeves' performance does. It also applies the Bond formula of visual comedy by adding touches that are effectively punchlines within the fight scenes.

The fluidity continues into the screenplay, which builds the world and characters with streamlined efficiency. Without a single exposition all line, the entire world of this criminal underbelly of New York — complete with assassins, Russian mobsters, and a contract killer hotel — is constructed. When we first meet Viggo, he is informed that his son stole from John Wick. His response is a simple: “Oh.” It's that expositional efficiency that makes this movie such an effective action movie. With that simple “oh,” we know everything we need to know about John Wick.

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The Deeper Meaning Within Chad Stahelski’s Neo-Noir Action-Thriller, John Wick (2014). A Motif Analysis by G.M. Smith

It is easy to assume that action films are artistically insignificant. Many people truly believe that action films are all the same and serve little to no purpose in terms of filmic artistry. However, this belief is harsh and inaccurate. There can be infinite meanings behind any film, and action movies are no exception. In this essay, I will solidify this argument with a well-known action film entitled John Wick (2014). We will analyze recurring motifs throughout the film, including the use of color, dark clothing aesthetic, guns, and violence. While these motifs are present in all three John Wick films, we will be focusing particularly on the first film in this piece.

John Wick follows a man of that moniker and his path to revenge. Starring Keanu Reeves as John Wick, this film creates an authentic and deeply emotional character study of a man consumed by his need for vengeance and justice. Following the death of his wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan), and the raid committed by young mobster Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) and his team of brutes, John Wick returns to his life as the infamous, seemingly immortal hitman. Tarasov makes the grave fault of mistaking John for a “fuckin’ nobody” ( John Wick 23:24-23:35) then kills his dog, which was a final gift from his wife, and steals his car. The remainder of the film focuses both on John Wick’s ruthless and violent plight to enact his revenge on Iosef and his growing quarrel with crime lord and father to Iosef, Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist).

The Meaning Behind Color in John Wick

Diving first into the use of color in this film, it is necessary to start at the beginning after the death of John Wick’s wife, Helen. There is a noticeable use of dull, desaturated color throughout these opening sequences of the film. The funeral, of course, is the dullest point in the film in terms of color grading as well as costuming. As Wick continues with his life, carrying the weight of his wife’s death, there is a strict absence of bright color. While Wick’s home is being raided and attacked by Iosef and his thugs, audiences are still subjected to dull coloring. The effect of this sort of color grading is strong; it is reflective of John’s turmoil and depression. The dullness of the color palette also works to mirror the newfound emptiness John now feels after his wife’s death. It could also be bringing out a subconscious feeling of emptiness that John has after retiring from his previous life of crime.

About thirty minutes into the film, we see our first real pop of color. The color red in the police lights stands out as the police arrive at John Wick’s house following another attack, this time at the hands of Viggo Tarasov. The use of red here is very important because as you take a closer look into the use of color in the film, you will realize that this is foreshadowing Wick’s violence later in the film, as well as his descent back into the criminal underworld.

The most noticeable and arguably most important use of color in John Wick is displayed throughout the fight scenes that take place in the Red Circle. It is here in the Red Circle that Iosef hides from Wick, essentially awaiting the inevitable attack. As Wick invades this underground club of criminals, we see strong, vibrant reds and blues within the set dressing, lighting, and color grading. These saturated colors and bright blue and red lights reflect the sort of ethereal feeling that is so prevalent in the so-called “underworld.” Like most action films, the world of John Wick is a fantastical, “fictional universe” (Eyrenci) that essentially calls attention to its dystopian, unrealistic nature. The story glorifies the criminal underworld, but in the real world we experience the exact opposite. The filmmakers do well to highlight this glorification through the editing and use of color throughout the Red Circle fight sequence. They intercut between moments of intense bright colors during the fighting down below and the dull colors of the city above. Thus, the audience is able to better understand the reverence of the underworld within John Wick . On the other hand, when we are aboveground, in the city, the drab world works to reflect John Wick’s desire to return to the inherent excitement of crime. With the bright colors of the Red Circle, we are able to connect the violence and fighting to something beautiful, and the dullness of the world above to something boring and ordinary.

What’s Up with John Wick’s Clothes?

Moving into costuming, there is quite a bit of analysis to unpack here. If you watch all of the John Wick movies, you will notice that John is almost always wearing dark colors. It is only in the first film, when we see him wearing his pajamas, that he is not dressed in black. There could be several reasons for this and below we will dive into some of those possible meanings.

A discrepancy has to be made between John Wick’s all-black suits and his black and white suits. When we see John at a heightened emotional state or during instances of extreme violence, he is always wearing entirely black clothes. Audiences will see this at the beginning of the film at his wife’s funeral, when Viggo’s men attack John in his home, John’s arrival to the Continental, during the killing of Iosef, and the final fight with Viggo. In all of these instances, John is experiencing either an extremely emotional moment, or engaging in harsh violence. The dark clothes reflect John’s state of turmoil and despair as he mourns the death of his wife, the murder of his dog gifted to him by Helen, and his insistent violence.

It is important to note that the only instance (apart from the scenes where we see John in his pajamas) where John is not wearing full black is throughout his fight scenes in the Red Circle. Instead, he is wearing a black suit with a white shirt underneath, so we still keep with the black suit motif but with some added white. Now there could be several reasons for this costuming choice. The first being that perhaps the use of white in John’s outfit was utilized to help his character stand out among all of the other hitmen dressed in dark clothing, and also to create a contrast against the bright red and blue colors. Another thought is that the white could be used to better display John’s injuries that he obtains during the sequence. This fight scene marks the first true interaction between John and Iosef following the latter’s attack on Wick’s house. The blood on his white shirt could be an important distinction made by the costumers to display the fact that John has now officially got his hands dirty again. The blood on his shirt also could be a purposeful choice in that we get to see John actually showing damage, proving to us that he is not impervious to injury.

Guns and Violence in John Wick

Action movies are always packed full of violence and usually include a superfluous number of guns in them, and John Wick is no different. However, there is a notable aspect of John Wick that makes it stand out among the rest: HE RELOADS HIS GUNS. Taran Butler is Keanu Reeves’s “gun-fu” trainer and he has talked extensively about the importance of creating realistic shooting sequences with realistic reloading. It is for this reason that I feel it is important to touch on this recurring motif across all three films. As previously stated, the guns and violence are prevalent throughout the action genre, but what makes the use of violence in John Wick unique is the drive behind John’s choices. Everything he loves has been taken from him and it is for that reason that he feels the urge to enact revenge. In order for an action film to really connect with an audience like John Wick does, the main character needs to “have a moral side” and the “fights must happen for a reason, and the reason must be justified” (Eyrenci). In John’s case, his reason is justified given his circumstances: his late wife, for whom he gave up his life as a hitman, gifted him a dog from beyond the grave and a thief remorselessly took that from him.

While there are countless motifs and symbols used throughout John Wick , these three stand out from the rest for their ambiguity. We are able to do an extensive analysis of these motifs, beyond what you have just read and there are a number of meanings behind the filmmakers’ choices that we can imagine. What we do know is that the use of color, specific costuming, and meaningful violence make John Wick stand out among its action genre counterparts.

Author Biography

G.M. Smith is an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington seeking a degree in Film Studies and Film Production. Her primary interests lie in producing, screenwriting, and casting. Her favorite film is Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).

Eyrenci, Duygu. “Action Movies: The Cinema of Striking Back.” Film Matters , vol. 4, no. 2, Summer 2013, p. 63. EBSCOhost, http://search.ebscohost.com.liblink.uncw.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f3h&AN=97946003&site=ehost-live

Friedell, Bill. “John Wick: Lighting the Underworld.” Cinemablography , 20 May 2019, www.cinemablography.org/blog/john-wick-lighting-the-underworld .

Stahelski, Chad. John Wick . Lionsgate, 2014.

Wells, Jonathon. “The Story Behind Keanu Reeves’ Impeccable John Wick Suit.” The Gentleman’s Journal , 23 May 2019, www.thegentlemansjournal.com/article/story-behind-keanu-reeves-impeccable-john-wick-suit/ .

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'John Wick' Review: An Explosive Action Movie With an Underwhelming Ending

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The Big Picture

"John Wick" is a parody and an earnest action movie, striking a balance between humor and seriousness.
The film showcases incredible fight sequences and choreography, with standout scenes like the house fight and the Red Circle nightclub sequence.
The movie creates a captivating world with intriguing details and has spawned a successful franchise, but its second half loses some momentum and lacks impactful character deaths.

Directed by Chad Stahelski , 2014's John Wick is a parody of an action movie . No. This doesn't sound right. Maybe we should lead with this, instead: directed by Chad Stahelski, 2014's John Wick is an earnest action movie like few others. Yeah, doesn't sound right either… Stahelski's John Wick is both a parody of an action movie and an earnest action movie, all at the same time. It's a movie about loss and what unprocessed grief can lead to, but it's also not that deep. It's full of gravitas and amazingly choreographed fight sequences — but it is also absurd and funny.

An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters who killed his dog and stole his car.

'John Wick' Is an Exciting, Beautifully Shot Action Film

Starring Keanu Reeves as a retired hitman forced back into the game by the inconsequential actions of a mafia boss' spoiled son, John Wick pokes fun at numerous conventions of the action genre. It replaces the murdered and/or kidnaped family members of the likes of Taken and Death Wish with a dead dog. It hypes up its leading man to a point in which he even gets his own twisted, horror movie-like lullaby. It features not just one, but two revenge plots. It creates an impossible world in which guns for hire have their own little society with its own currency and services industry. It has a secondary character that strangles people with her own hair, for crying out loud! The movie is full of gags, some discreet, others more in-your-face, and it’s impossible not to let out at least a chuckle during scenes such as John casually greeting a fellow hitman at a killers-only hotel while in the middle of a fight.

But as is usually the case of any good action movie parody, John Wick isn’t all about the jokes. I t is also a properly entertaining action flick, with breathtaking pacing and amazing fight scenes, conducted by fight coordinators Jonathan Eusebio and Jon Valera. The first proper fight sequence inside John’s house and the one inside the Red Circle nightclub, in which the rhythm of the gunshots is matched to the beat of the music, are particularly noteworthy. That aforementioned scene in which John is nearly strangled to death by a woman’s hair? It is just as riveting as it is preposterous. From car chases to hands-on combat, John Wick has action sequences for all kinds of fans of the genre, and they’re all expertly choreographed and shot. Jonathan Sela ’s camera work leaves no room for confusion about what is happening on screen, and the film’s full of contrasts color-scheme lends a dreamy atmosphere to its action sequences, making them all the more enthralling. Again, the Red Circle scene comes to mind as the movie’s high point with its remarkable shades of red, blue, and black, as well as the ballet-like camera movements. As John dances with Iosef Tarasov ( Alfie Allen ) and his henchmen, so does the movie dance with us.

Another aspect of John Wick that is worthy of note is its world-building. Written by Derek Kolstad , the story is full of little details that leave us wondering about this uncanny universe inhabited by John and his colleagues. From the Continental Hotel to the gold coins that make up the sole currency accepted in this criminal underworld, the film is full of nuggets that point to the existence of a larger world that we just aren’t seeing in its entirety . It’s not hard to understand how it spawned a now four-film-long franchise with numerous fans devoted to cataloging and understanding the particulars of its universe.

Why 'John Wick' Loses Itself in a Series of Unearned Deaths

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) standing in a crowd in 'John Wick' (2014)

But at the same time, it becomes evident why John Wick earned as many sequels as it did, it can also be difficult to keep yourself interested in the film up until its very end. You see, John Wick peaks relatively early, somewhere around the one-hour mark. Its last 40 minutes are somewhat of a drag, even if they are still packed full of gunshots, explosions, and physical brawls. The problem is that John Wick has a protagonist that is too awesome for its own good. After a while, seeing him dispose of enemies with little to no effort becomes repetitive. Not even getting him briefly captured by mafia boss Viggo Tarasov ( Michael Nyqvist ) is enough to break the cycle. Tarasov and his minions might look threatening, but you just know that John Wick is going to take them all down in the blink of an eye - and not in that “he’s the hero, so of course he’s going to win” kind of way. You know he will succeed because, as the movie itself tells you, there is no real competition for John. The actual stakes are very low.

The fact that the movie doesn’t really work on Viggo as its final villain doesn’t do much to help its second half. Sure, it makes some thematic sense for him to be John’s real nemesis: his son took someone that John loved, and John took someone from him; they used to be associates, perhaps even good friends; they are both men marked by grief and guilt, and so on. Still, the film doesn’t actually do anything to make us loathe Viggo as much as we loathed Iosef. Sure, he takes out John’s friend, Marcus ( Willem Dafoe ), but Marcus is also not that compelling of a character to begin with. It is always sad when a film underutilizes Willem Dafoe, and, in that sense, John Wick is a proper tragedy.

The death of Ms. Perkins ( Adrianne Palicki ), the aforementioned hair strangler, feels equally unearned. Perhaps in a later installment of the franchise, with the world of John Wick more properly developed, we could’ve cared that she broke the Continental’s rules. But, as it is, this tidbit of information just feels extremely unimportant. Granted, as a scene, her death is by far the most impressive of the entire film, but as the end of a subplot, it has no real impact. As a matter of fact, it is hard to understand why Perkins is even present for the second half of the movie.

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Review: The Wickiverse at Its Most Ambitious, Goofy, and Thrilling

Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski have outdone themselves with this fourth installment.

But John Wick ’s greatest crime when it comes to character deaths is the demise of Iosef Tarasov. Let me level with you real quick: before watching John Wick nearly a decade after its release, I was not aware that they killed his dog. Even with all the time I spend online, I managed to get that spoiler all wrong. For some reason, I was under the impression that they kidnapped the dog, and that Wick’s entire journey was all about getting her back. When Iosef killed Daisy with his own two hands, I was horrified and I was angry . I wanted to see that bastard pay, as I imagine most, if not all of you did. And yet Iosef’s death was so quick and unimpressive that I had to rewind just to make sure that it was actually him, and not one of his henchmen, that got shot. It is the one death that actually feels earned in the whole film, but the pleasure of finally seeing Iosef get his comeuppance is completely taken from us.

None of this takes away John Wick ’s merits. Overall, the movie is still an entertaining watch, exciting and often quite beautiful to look at. And, as a parody, there is no doubt that John Wick succeeds in making us laugh at the absurdities of the action genre. But as an earnest action movie, John Wick commits what is perhaps the gravest of sins: instead of going out with a bang, it fades slowly, leaving viewers drained instead of pumped. It is perhaps a good first episode for a longer saga, seeing how well it does in presenting its universe and its main character. But as a standalone film, it just feels like there is something missing.

Rating : 7/10

John Wick is now available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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John Wick Reviews

Ultimately, “John Wick” is a testament to the fact that plots don’t matter; it’s how stories are told that actually does. The film knows precisely what kind of movie it is: one that kicks serious ass and provides moviegoers a fantastic time out.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 9, 2024

John Wick is pure TNT and without a doubt, Keanu Reeves' best movie since The Matrix (1999). [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Jul 1, 2024

Unrefined, stilted, and rough in places, the film’s leanness and coherent action can’t make up for the fact that Keanu Reeves is close to wooden and doesn’t offer much as an actor.

Full Review | May 11, 2024

Another aspect of John Wick that is worthy of note is its world-building. Written by Derek Kolstad, the story is full of little details that leave us wondering about this uncanny universe.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 29, 2024

The action is undeniably exciting and unconventional, but what really drives the picture is the emotional weight of the story and Reeves' morose performance.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 20, 2023

As you would expect from former stunt coordinators, the action scenes are dynamic and that might be enough, but the emotional thread that motivates Chapter One is exceptionally constructed, justifying much of the rage and murder.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 2, 2023

Even with the CGI taken out, the trade of po-faced filler for action righteousness is still in effect.

Full Review | Jan 24, 2023

It’s definitely a movie made for a particular audience, and if wall-to-wall action and stylized violence isn’t your cup of tea, neither is “John Wick”.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 22, 2022

For all of its familiar plot elements, the movie knows when to step back, let Keanu do his thing, and watch the impressive fight and gunplay choreography throughout.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 18, 2022

The directors find new ways to stage and frame these deadly encounters in a way that constantly feels fresh and exciting.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Aug 10, 2021

The original John Wick showed beloved icon Keanu Reeves still had plenty of action in him post-Matrix.

Full Review | Jul 28, 2021

Wick is so tough he doesn't bother to take off his blood-soaked shirt when he starts his quest for vengeance and the movie is just as uncompromising.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 2, 2021

Rock music, cold stares, and plenty of bullets emphasize Wick's proficiency, as the plot needs all the help it can get to impart the coolness it desperately wants to exhibit.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Dec 4, 2020

For a dour narrative about death, loss, and violence, it's surprisingly good natured.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Jul 7, 2020

Just when i thought that Keanu Reeves had retired from the action genre, he appears back and in revenge mode with the amazing John Wick. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 26, 2020

John Wick is the slick, empty, cruel hero the age of Trump deserves - but hey, at least he likes dogs!

Full Review | Nov 22, 2019

Occasionally ridiculous, it is action-packed, stylish and a return to form for Mr Reeves.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 19, 2019

The script defines an amazing microcosm that surrounds the profession of the protagonist. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Aug 29, 2019

Simply put, John Wick is probably one of the best action movies in a decade. From an efficient story to incredible fight sequences and an action start that just doesn't seem to quite, John Wick is as close to perfect as I've ever seen.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Aug 7, 2019

Directed by long-time stuntmen David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, it is exactly the sort of movie you would expect from long-time stuntmen: brutal, close-up fighting, nearly nonstop gunplay and the slightest story legally allowed.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 30, 2019

Review by Brian Eggert October 24, 2014

Action movies are rarely so confident in their action as John Wick . First-time filmmaking team David Leitch and Chad Stahelski (the former receives a producer credit, the latter a director credit, but they did both together) have served as stuntmen and action coordinators since the early 1990s, working on everything from Point Break to Fight Club to The Matrix . If you can think of a big, impressive actioner in the last twenty years, chances are Leitch and Stahelski have overseen the stunts or even carried out second unit director duties. They’ve been around some talented directors and stood-in for John Wick ‘s star, Keanu Reeves, and they’ve put that experience to expert use here. For all of its familiar plot elements, the movie knows when to step back, let Keanu do his thing, and watch the impressive fight and gunplay choreography throughout.

R-rated action movies, once popular in the 1980s and the following decade, have become a rarity today, at least in terms of finding a satisfying, well-made one. John Wick is exceptional because the script by Derek Kolstad knows what it is and doesn’t want to be anything more than a kick-ass action movie, plain and simple. Leitch and Stahelski have the same objectives—they keep the momentum going and reign in their editor Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir from chopping the action to bits. Their cinematographer Jonathan Sela adds plenty of heavy saturations to give gloomy scenes a muted look and action scenes plenty of bright club colors, but he also captured the action from a distance to give the movie’s many one-on-one fight sequences glorious clarity. Most of today’s action directors prefer tight framing, choppy cutting, and shaky-cam action, all of which are refreshingly absent here. (But if there’s one underwhelming quality to the production, it must be the corny rock music score by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard.)

The simplicity of the plot might seem like a weak spot, but it’s a strength that allows us to savor the expertly choreographed action. Reeves plays the titular character, a former mob assassin who retired after meeting his wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan, seen only in flashbacks). When the story begins, John’s wife has died of a long-suffering illness and he’s left alone to grieve. After her funeral, his doorbell rings and he receives a posthumous delivery from Helen—just about the cutest Beagle puppy you’ll ever see, which she wants John to raise to help him move on in her absence. But when a group of Russian thugs, led by Iosef (Alfie Allen), break into John’s house to steal his cherished 1969 Mustang and issue a beating, they kill the puppy. If ever there was a reason to exact unrelenting bloody vengeance on a bunch of gangsters, this is it.

Coming out of retirement to unleash hell on Iosef and his associates, John gathers an arsenal and reenters his former underworld of hired guns and sophisticated criminals, all of whom follow a strict protocol in their business. Exclusive gold coins pass between John and the concierge (Lance Reddick) at a hitman hotel (where guests are prohibited from discussing “business” or they face dire consequences), or to a cleanup crew that arrives to dispose of bodies when a “dinner reservation” is made. It’s a fascinating little underworld, and one of the most powerful players is Iosef’s father, John’s former employer Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist). Viggo knows stopping John’s revenge mission won’t be easy, and so he puts a contract out on our anti-hero, hiring Willem Dafoe’s friend-or-foe sniper and Adrianne Palicki’s ruthless killer. (Compare John Wick ‘s collection of Russian gangsters and hitmen to the bland characters in the recent Denzel Washington vehicle The Equalizer , and you’ll realize why this movie’s skilled treatment is so refreshing.) Viggo also sends a small army of thugs, but John makes short work of them.

The plot proceeds as you might expect, with John hunting down Iosef and killing everyone in his path. But John Wick is excellent for the degree of style and graceful precision injected into the action scenes. Reeves hasn’t put his presence to such good use since The Matrix . His sharp, fast movements as he shoots his way through a half-dozen or more goons is engrossing, his almost robotic-yet-poised movements calculated, while his cool temperament serves the character well. There’s even a scene where he’s tied up and pouring his enraged heart out, and we stop to think, Wow, Keanu can act! Some of the dialogue proves dim, but Reeves’ character doesn’t say much anyway, leaving us to watch the impressive display of keen visual stylization and brutal violence unfold before our eyes. Though John Wick may adhere closely to the long-established formulas of the revenge actioner, it’s a satisfyingly familiar concoction, reminding us how the same old stories aren’t timeworn if they’re made with care.

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

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John Wick (2014)

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‘John Wick: Chapter 3’ Review: Keanu Reeves Is Back for Another Brutal Round

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‘John Wick: Chapter 3’ | Anatomy of a Scene

The director chad stahelski narrates a sequence from “john wick: chapter 3 — parabellum,” featuring keanu reeves, yayan ruhian and cecep arif rahman..

“My name is Chad Stahelski. I’m the director of “John Wick 3 — Parabellum.” So the scene we’re seeing here is after John Wick comes back from seeing someone called the Elder in Morocco. In Casablanca, actually. And he’s come back, and he’s entered into this battle in the Continental with High Table emissaries and a character named Zero’s students, or in this case, we call them Ninja or Shinobi. The two best of Zero’s guys are what we see on screen right now, which is — they’re just Shinobi 1 and 2 in the character list, but it’s actually Yayan and Cecep. Yayan and Cecep, you might recognize from Gareth Evans” “The Raid” and “The Raid 2.” Both incredible practitioners, both of martial art choreography and of Pencak Silat, which is an Indonesian martial art made famous again in “The Raid.” And then when we went to the choreography, John Wick’s style is more of a grappling art, judo, jujitsu kind of thing, and theirs” is more of a duel, punching, kicking, flipping, flying, very kinetic kind of martial art choreography. And they knock him through this big pile of glass. And then you see Keanu on the background as the two — Cecep and Yayan having a dialogue. You’ll see John Wick in the background trying to get up and falling back down. The story behind the actual take I used is, Keanu was just supposed to get up and ignore the handshake, but that’s actually Keanu falling back down and getting back up. We go long days on “John Wick.” It’s like 12, 13 hours of just fighting. So I think by the time we get that sequence, we had to knock Keanu down, he got back up, he fell on some of the glass. Choreography is much more like dance than martial arts. Any good choreographer or stunt coordinator will tell you that when you fight competitively, you’re trying to disrupt the other person, trying to hurt the other person. Stunt choreography or stunt fighting, is the exact opposite. You’re trying to make space. It’s like dance. You’re trying not to step on the partner’s toes, help them to look good, and try not to get punched in the face in the process. Also, in Pencak Silat, they used the curved blade knife that you see on the screen called a karambit. And Keanu at least attempted to start to fight with a small katana, a Japanese sword. And then Cecep and Yayan obviously are much, much faster and much more full of alacrity than our John Wick, because he’s already been beaten up for almost two hours of the film. So we had this idea that John Wick just continually gets beat up but reverts back to just ear-slapping and groin-kicking and biting, and trying to — what it’s like to actually grapple with two little feral animals. And that’s kind of where we got. The glass house you see is part of the Continental. It’s Winston’s, which is the manager and owner of the Continental. And we just always thought it’d be cool to have ninjas in the movie. And where can ninjas have the hardest amount of time hiding? In a glass house. So we used that to highlight. When we do action, a lot of what we do is try to put in a great set piece. We thought a really great idea was something I’d seen in “Architectural Digest,” which was a guy built a house out of glass, and I thought that was — as far as the architectural art goes, very, very inspirational. But how do you hide cameras? How do you hide reflections? Where do I hide the crew? How I can shoot through the floors, look through the ceilings. How do you have a gun fight, sword fight, fist fight in a glass house? And that’s kind of where we got our inspiration. So after much debating and arguing with certain money people, we finally got it O.K.’d to build a $4 million glass structure. Which, for “John Wick,” is a very big expense.” - [groaning] [glass shatters]

By Jeannette Catsoulis

May 16, 2019

In “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum,” guns have more dialogue than its hero and more capacity than seems technically possible, the spraying of bullets interrupted mainly to showcase another lethal weapon. Even more than its predecessors, this third installment in the reluctant-assassin franchise is, like most modern action movies, perfectly attuned to the needs of the foreign markets where most of its money will be made. Bangs and grunts and body slams do not require subtitles.

John himself (still embodied, to mechanistic perfection, by Keanu Reeves) is a man of so few words that he seems less the movie’s star than its wrecking ball — a human Cuisinart pulverizing an unending supply of foes. Their numbers are now legion, thanks to the multimillion-dollar bounty placed on John’s head by the global society of villains known as the High Table. Having broken its rules in the previous movie by offing someone in the criminal sanctuary known as the Continental Hotel, John has been excommunicated. Now, he’s off and running through a teeming, gleaming Manhattan night, every hot-dog seller and hobo his possible executioner.

Dumb as dirt and twice as filling, “Chapter 3” is a symphony of dazzlingly sterile, cartoonish abuse. Directed once again by Chad Stahelski, the story travels to Casablanca and the Sahara as John calls in old markers and the movie racks up guest stars: Anjelica Huston as a scary trainer of ballerina-assassins; Halle Berry as a former acquaintance with very particularly skilled dogs. Yet many of its interactions, continuing the franchise’s emphasis on arcane ciphers and symbols, will mean little to those not already inducted into a war that kicked off two movies ago because of John’s murdered pooch.

That first “John Wick” came along like a fluke — a shallow, sharp, shiny object with its own internal logic and idiosyncratic style. This time, the fight choreography is even more staggeringly accomplished: ridiculously sleek fandangos of destruction. A lengthy battle with a blade-happy sushi chef (the amazing Mark Dacascos) is mind-blowing; yet I’d have preferred more time among the tattooed, tight-skirted secretaries at High Table H.Q., messing with their vintage switchboard and John’s status updates. Clearly, that’s where the real work gets done.

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Movie Reviews

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There are any number of thrilling passages in “John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum,” but a moment of true inspiration—when you know that you're in the hands of filmmakers who are intent on creating a work of wit, style, and vision—comes relatively early. Our hero, soulful assassin John Wick ( Keanu Reeves ), is at the New York Public Library to find a very specific book when he's interrupted by one of the approximately 11 million people who will attempt to kill him over the course of the next two hours of screen time. Eventually John kills him by utilizing the book he's holding as a weapon. That part is great, but the moment of true inspiration comes next when he goes back and replaces the book on the shelf where he found it. This detail works not because it is funny, but because it fits the character so perfectly that it would almost be weird if he didn’t do it. In a genre where impersonality is the name of the game more than ever, it's a delight.

In the original “ John Wick ,” we were introduced to Wick, the recently widowed former member of a shadow cabal of assassins governed by the rules-obsessed High Table, who was spurred back into action when connected punks killed the dog left to him by his late wife. In "John Wick: Chapter 2," he was still enmeshed in the world that he had successfully left behind and at the end, he killed a member of the High Table while on the grounds of the Continental Hotel, an establishment designated as a safe ground for those in the assassin trade. This move leads to his being designated “excommunicado” by the High Table—all of his rights and privileges are stripped away and an open contract is issued for one and all on him with a payoff beginning at $14 million—though colleague Winston ( Ian McShane ) gives him a one-hour head start, partly out of friendship and partly, it appears, for his own amusement.

Granted, this is not quite as generous as it sounds since it appears that everyone in the Wickiverse, at least those with speaking or bleeding roles, is an assassin themselves. Wick’s plan is to make his way to Morocco in the hopes of tracking down the secretive leader of the High Table in order to make a personal offer to atone for his grave transgression. Although no one in the organization is supposed to offer any assistance to Wick, he does receive some aid from a couple of people from his past—his onetime mentor ( Anjelica Huston ) and Sofia ( Halle Berry ), a onetime killer who now runs the Morocco branch of the Continental and owes Wick for a past favor. While he is off trying to find the head of the High Table and fighting off all comers, another member of the organization, known only as The Adjudicator ( Asia Kate Dillon ) arrives in New York to set things in order and punish both Winston and The Bowery King ( Laurence Fishburne ) for daring to aid Wick. To help carry this out, they enlist the services of Zero ( Mark Dacascos ), a sushi chef with an endless array of deadly ninjas at his service, all of whom seem giddy at the possibility of fighting the legendary John Wick.

When the original “John Wick” came out, audiences expecting just another dopey action film were shocked to find that it was a borderline brilliant work that contained an unexpectedly smart and funny screenplay, a performance from Keanu Reeves that bordered on the sublime in the way that it properly utilized his unique persona, and action sequences so stylishly executed that they reminded viewers of the best works of such genre masters as Walter Hill , John Woo , and Luc Besson . Amazingly, the follow-up managed to more than clear the high bar set by its predecessor by doubling down on the action beats and by expanding the film’s universe in fascinating ways. If the original “John Wick” was “Mad Max”—a work that transcended expectations to become an instant classic—"John Wick: Chapter 2" was “The Road Warrior,” a work that took off from an impossible-to-top source and proceeded to top it.

As it turns out, “John Wick 3” is not quite the “Fury Road” of the series but is easily its “Beyond Thunderdome,” a work of pop cinema so blissfully, albeit brutally, entertaining that you come out of it feeling even more resentful of its multiplex neighbors for not making a similar effort. The problem is not with the staging of the action scenes—director Chad Stahelski (the former stuntman who also directed the previous installments), along with cinematographer Dan Laustsen , and production designer Kevin Kavanaugh , present us with an endless array of stunning visuals and stuntmen, wreaking gloriously gory havoc with everything from guns and knives to the aforementioned book and even a horse. Where the film does stumble a bit, however, is that the attempts at further world-building are not quite as inspired as in the previous films. The Adjudicator, for example, seems like an interesting idea for a character but nothing much comes of their presence—Dillon is fine but pales in comparison to previous memorable franchise characters played by the likes of Adrianne Palicki and Ruby Rose .

Still, there are a number of wonderful elements on display in "Parabellum." There's Reeves, whose ability to make the most out of the least amount of dialogue would leave the likes of Bronson and Eastwood agog. There are moments of unexpected humor that blindside you—the location where Wick meets his mentor yields a bigger laugh than most actual comedies. And the consistently exciting fight scenes also yield a lot of big laughs, especially during the kills where Wick is forced to use something other than a gun. Oh yes, I almost forgot the dogs. Halle Berry's character is accompanied by a couple of dogs who go on to steal practically every frame of film featuring them, more than holding their own during one of the movie's big fight scenes. No, I haven’t seen “A Dog’s Journey” yet, but if you see only one movie sequel featuring dogs this weekend, I guarantee that “Parabellum” is the one to beat.

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

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Film credits.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum movie poster

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)

Rated R for pervasive strong violence, and some language.

130 minutes

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

Halle Berry as Sofia

Ian McShane as Winston

Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King

Anjelica Huston as The Director

Saïd Taghmaoui as The Elder

Mark Dacascos as Zero

Lance Reddick as Charon

Asia Kate Dillon as The Adjudicator

Jason Mantzoukas as Tick Tock Man

Tiger Hu Chen as Triad

Chad Stahelski

Writer (based on characters created by)

Derek Kolstad

Writer (story by)

Shay Hatten
Chris Collins
Marc Abrams

Cinematographer

Dan Laustsen
Evan Schiff
Tyler Bates
Joel J. Richard

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Common Sense Says
Parents Say 48 Reviews
Kids Say 158 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Action film is stylish, entertaining but extremely violent.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 17+?

Brutal: It feels like two-thirds of the film is made up of killings, and much of

Frequent language includes "f--k," "s--t," "goddamn," and more.

Several products/brands seen, including Apple, Chevrolet, Mustang, Acura, and Pe

Characters drink, usually hard liquor. Partiers at a bar swill champagne. One pe

Couples kiss. A singer in a nightclub performs in a leotard. Men and women wear

Any Positive Content?

Keanu Reeves, who is multiracial, plays a character that passes as White. Suppor

Your past may catch up with you, but that doesn't mean you have to let yourself

Despite being an assassin, John Wick is principled: He only hurts those who hurt

Violence & Scariness

Brutal: It feels like two-thirds of the film is made up of killings, and much of the violence is presented in a stylized, semi-glamorized way. Characters are shot, maimed, stabbed, beaten, threatened, killed with firearms at close range, blown to bits in an explosion, strangled with bare hands, and more. There's blood everywhere. In one of the most disturbing scenes, a man clubs a puppy to death; a trail of blood is shown leading to its carcass. In another extended scene filled with mayhem, the body count exceeds three dozen.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Several products/brands seen, including Apple, Chevrolet, Mustang, Acura, and Peligroso liquor. The film is the first of a franchise.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters drink, usually hard liquor. Partiers at a bar swill champagne. One person smokes marijuana. Cocaine is shown but not used on-screen.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Couples kiss. A singer in a nightclub performs in a leotard. Men and women wear bathing suits.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Diverse Representations

Keanu Reeves , who is multiracial, plays a character that passes as White. Supporting characters include Aurelio (played by Colombian American John Leguizamo ), Charon ( Lance Reddick ), who's Black, and the Doctor (Randall Duk Kim, who's American of Chinese-Korean descent). Though they play villains, White characters are just as amoral, which helps the film avoid stereotypes. John's dead wife strongly falls into the Hollywood cliche of killing women in order to spur a male hero into action.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Positive Messages

Your past may catch up with you, but that doesn't mean you have to let yourself get caught up in it.

Positive Role Models

Despite being an assassin, John Wick is principled: He only hurts those who hurt others. Still, his "field" isn't exactly one that inspires admiration, at least from outsiders.

Parents need to know that John Wick is a brutally violent, frequently bloody thriller starring Keanu Reeves as an assassin. There's a very high body count: Characters are shot, maimed, stabbed, beaten, threatened, killed with firearms at close range, blown to bits in an explosion, strangled with bare hands, and more. And especially because so much of the violence is depicted in a stylized, semi-glamorized way, it's best reserved for the oldest teens and adults. Interestingly, a streak of humor also runs through it, and fight scenes choreographed so thrillingly that it's almost like watching ballet -- albeit a gunshot-riddled, rough-and-tumble one. You can also expect lots of swearing ("f--k," "s--t," and more) and a fair amount of drinking, as well as pot smoking. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (48)
Kids say (158)

Based on 48 parent reviews

Good some bad scenes

John wick gets violent and has language, but avoids gore-good for mature young teens, what's the story.

JOHN WICK ( Keanu Reeves ) is a retired assassin who was once the best in the business. But after a long illness that leads to the death of his beloved wife ( Bridget Moynihan ), he's pulled back into a world that he left long ago for love. A chance encounter with the entitled, violent son of an old associate ends up with John bloodied in his own home and the dog his wife left him as a parting gift slaughtered. For John, there's now no other recourse but revenge.

Is It Any Good?

Few films in this genre are known for their intricate, layered dialogue or depth of feeling, and this doesn't exactly break these conventions. But there's no denying the artistry that went into making John Wick . The frames are well-crafted, the pace quick and effortless, the fight scenes choreographed like a ballet. It looks fantastic. And although it's an action thriller, it has a streak of humor that confidently runs through it, making it even more entertaining. Reeves' impermeable face and economic acting work well in this context because he plays a mystery man who remains mysterious throughout. And the rest of the cast -- especially Willem Dafoe and Michael Nyqvist -- is great, too.

But there's no doubt that John Wick is deeply violent. It starts out quiet, and the first attack comes as a shock, which works well for the story. But after a while, all the fights begin to numb; though they're beautifully filmed, they lose their potency, since they come fast and furious without much room to breathe or process what's happening. And parents will want to know that the fighting is so ferocious that it borders on barbarous, making the movie best left for mature teens and adults.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about why John Wick gets back in the "business." Are his reasons, in this messed-up world, at all reasonable? Is he a sympathetic character, despite his line of work? Why or why not?

John Wick is a violent movie. Does it glamorize the violence? If so, how? Does all the violence serve the story, or does it go too far?

John is strongly motivated by revenge. Is that understandable? Is revenge ever an acceptable excuse for violence?

John Wick relies on the Hollywood cliche of using a dead woman as a plot device for a man's backstory. Have you noticed this in other action films? Is this fair to women characters? What are more creative ways to include female characters in genre films?

Movie Details

In theaters : October 24, 2014
On DVD or streaming : February 3, 2015
Cast : Keanu Reeves , Adrianne Palicki , Bridget Moynahan , Michael Nyqvist
Director : David Leitch
Inclusion Information : Asian actors, Polynesian/Pacific Islander actors, Female actors
Studio : Summit Entertainment
Genre : Action/Adventure
Run time : 101 minutes
MPAA rating : R
MPAA explanation : strong and bloody violence throughout, language and brief drug use
Last updated : August 20, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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“John Wick: Chapter 4,” Reviewed: A Slog with a Sensational Ending

“John Wick: Chapter 4” is by far the best of the four films starring Keanu Reeves as the eponymous hit man, the first of the cycle that I’d recommend—albeit with an asterisk. The new film (which opens Friday) has many of the same problems as its predecessors; although these problems are interesting, they’re far more fun to contemplate in the rearview mirror of thought than in the real-time forward motion of viewing. But something happens, fairly late in the game, that converts the film’s merely technical displays of bloody murder into something suspenseful and romantic, if no less silly. The details are too good to give away, but there’s no harm and much pleasure in considering how the movie climbs, slowly but surely, to that light-headed summit.

One of the curiosities of the John Wick series is that, as an entirely original creation dependent on no prior properties, it has nonetheless given rise to an alluring and self-perpetuating mythology of its own. The premise of Wickworld is cleverly paranoiac, built around the tentacular connections between the crude underworld of contract killers and the shadowy overlords who keep them in action. That wicked authority is called the High Table; it dispenses orders to kill on pain of being killed, ratifies contracts for murder, and brokers the deals for bounty hunters. It commands John to kill, and it sets him up to be killed, but it also sets the tone of the movie. The High Table exemplifies a super-élite of secret societies with elaborate rites, deeply rooted aristocracies, a flaunting of mind-bending wealth, and the executive ruthlessness of a transnational shadow government that has the power to wreak havoc in public with impunity.

It also has the power of information—an enormous database on its registered killers (it apparently goes back centuries) and a terrifyingly comprehensive surveillance network that tracks the hunters and the hunted during their mortal maneuvers and discloses their whereabouts to devastating effect. Its agents hide in plain sight at, for instance, a hotel called the New York Continental, in Manhattan’s financial district. ( Delmonico’s plays the role of the hotel.) Its stern manager, Winston (Ian McShane), is John’s handler, and is aided by his discerning and tight-lipped concierge (played by Lance Reddick, who died on March 17th). Another High Table agent on John’s team, the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), disguises his crew of spies as unhoused people in a shelter that he runs.

The High Table itself reveals its enduring traditions in the anachronistic equipment and furnishings of its central intelligence office (complete with card files, blackboards, rubber stamps, and switchboards). The venerable sect of hired killers can trace its lineage to a few authorized families, an aristocracy of blood (pun intended) that pulls the death dealers out of the grubby streets and endows their gruesome trade with a faux dignity. Their rigorous code of conduct dominates the movie’s, and the franchise’s, over-all tone and import: the intricate set of seemingly nonsensical rules plays the role of military discipline and order, but it also signifies, with a politicized wink at the rites and manners of high society, the implacable law of violence, which pretensions to refinement both embody and conceal.

“Chapter 4” takes off from the third installment , which concluded with John killing a High Table assassin at the New York Continental, with Winston’s help, and then teaming up with the Bowery King to fight against the High Table. At the start of “Chapter 4,” the King gets John suited up for battle, and the High Table takes devastating revenge against Winston for helping John—for starters, Winston is excommunicated, and the hotel is demolished. John heads to Morocco (the actual location is in Jordan) to dispatch a High Table overlord called the Elder (George Georgiou) and his minions, then goes to Osaka—to the Osaka Continental hotel, another High Table base—where he learns from its manager (Hiroyuki Sanada), who is his friend, what happened to Winston and the New York hotel. John vows to “kill them all.”

But the manager’s daughter, Akira (Rina Sawayama), who is also John’s friend, wishes he hadn’t come. There’s a contract on John for having killed High Table notables, and Akira is well aware that any place he sets foot is a target, including her father’s hotel. The assassins pursuing him there include a bounty hunter called Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson), who shows up with his beloved dog (a cheeky reference back to the premise of the first John Wick movie), and a nasty nebbish called Chidi (Marko Zaror). There’s also a remarkable blind assassin named Caine (Donnie Yen), who has been dispatched by a High Table potentate called the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), an effete and sadistic nobleman who has laid waste to the New York hotel and threatened to kill Caine’s daughter unless Caine kills John.

Yet John, for all his seething lust for revenge, is burdened—he is (to quote Charlie Chaplin’s parody of Hollywood violence in “ A King in New York ”) a killer with a soul. The very premise of “Chapter 4” evinces sequel fatigue. John Wick wants out. Reeves may well enjoy the role, but he convincingly portrays John’s weariness bordering on exasperation at the absurdity of living under the orders—and in the crosshairs—of the implacable High Table. Even though he shoots and stabs and even nunchucks his way out of the Osaka Continental, leaving a trail of bodies and blood behind, he can’t kill his way out of his indenture to the High Table or its pursuit of him.

What happens in Osaka doesn’t stay in Osaka, and neither does John. He flits to New York, where Winston advises him to duel the Marquis for his freedom, and then to Berlin, where, in a series of set pieces ranging from the sententious to the ridiculous, he has to do some more killing in order to be deemed duel-worthy. What results is a grisly form of multidimensional chess, in which John’s enemies also target one another in order to keep for themselves the privilege of killing John, and in which John allies himself, according to the demands of the moment, with one or another of his prospective killers.

Much of the movie’s delight is in its details, many of them gory (a little trick with a knife that the Marquis pulls on Mr. Nobody), others merely menacing (John’s surprise encounter on an eerily empty subway car), some location-dependent (a brutalist night club with a waterlogged dance floor), and some design-based (including a deck of cards made of glass, and a picturesque molten-gold method for branding flesh). Some of these flourishes nod toward the breezy suaveness in the face of danger that marks the best of the early 007 films. Here, though, the stakes are lowered beneath the absurdity line by the relentless mayhem, which is at once cartoonish and mostly humorless. That’s why, as Caine, Donnie Yen nearly steals the film. His humor is as sly as it is insolent (as when he eats a snack between killings), and his comedic gestures are as tiny and deft as his action maneuvers, which are so fast as to border on sleight of hand.

The comic relief is welcome, but it’s never so extreme or so self-aware as to threaten the grim earnestness and grotesque exaggerations of the violence. (With a little more self-awareness, the movie would have a place in the body-horror genre.) A recent report places John’s estimated body count throughout the series at four hundred and fifty. I’m not sure how many of them pile up in “Chapter 4,” but, assuming a rough average of a hundred and twelve, the killings are (as in the first three chapters) classist and trivializing. Only a few of John’s opponents have names, identities, and personalities; most are woefully anonymous, dispatched into oblivion by John with neither a name nor a story, with nothing but the misfortune to square off against him. They are mere fodder for John’s deathcraft, their heads vaporizing in pink mist inside their battle helmets, their bodies catching fire from his incendiary weaponry, their blood spurting fountain-like from slash wounds.

The director, Chad Stahelski, works these elaborate fights and their flimsy killings with flashy but insignificant embellishments (such as filming an indoor battle royal from overhead, as if by drone). He displays little imagination regarding the characters’ activity, or even existence, outside the realm of combat. The many unnamed victims’ mechanical dispatch is a logical function of the franchise’s basic premise: that John (like his co-starring killers) is a member of a breed apart, dealing and eluding death with aplomb but never enduring the petty cares that go with the job. Does John Wick have a passport? He may be superheroic with firearms, fists, and whatever other weapons are within arm’s reach, but he doesn’t fly like Superman. Does he go first class or economy? What does he say when he reaches passport control and is asked, “Business or pleasure?” Does he have an array of forged documents, under a variety of pseudonyms and nationalities, that he switches around to fit his sense of the circumstances? With all the killing that he’s done, has he never come under suspicion? Does he ever worry about it? His exploits may be extraordinary, but they’re nonetheless dependent upon ordinary, unseen necessities. (If, as he leaves Osaka for New York, he’s as filled with regrets as he’d have one believe, spending sixteen hours sandwiched in a middle seat between two snorers would be an apt setting to ponder where he went wrong.) Does he listen to music, does he read a book, does he have a favorite food?

Most of “Chapter 4” is an amusingly punctuated slog. It’s distinguished from its predecessors by the starkly drawn yet complex lines of conflict. The promised duel, ingeniously plotted and cleverly staged, depends on a droll race against the clock—one that gives new meaning to the notion of fighting one’s way through traffic—and a long staircase that becomes a virtual agent of destiny. In short, the last half hour or so of the movie’s nearly three-hour span is giddily intense, swoony, swashbuckling, and sensational yet superficial fun. Right after I saw the movie, I couldn’t stop talking about that ending. It makes the rest of the movie worth sitting through. ♦

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You should say: – What is it? – What is the story of it? – When you watched it? And explain why this is your favorite movie.

I. Introduction

Briefly introduce the movie John Wick
Explain that it is the favorite movie of the speaker

II. Plot Summary

Describe the basic storyline of the movie
Introduce the main character, John Wick
Outline the inciting incident that sets the story in motion
Explain how the story develops and what the main conflict is

III. Personal Experience

Explain when the speaker watched the movie
Describe their initial reaction to the movie
Discuss how many times the speaker has watched it since then

IV. Unique Qualities

Highlight what sets John Wick apart from other action movies
Discuss the film’s exploration of deeper themes
Explain why the character of John Wick is complex and interesting

V. Supporting Cast

Introduce some of the other actors in the movie
Explain how they contribute to the overall quality of the film

VI. Conclusion

Summarize why John Wick is the speaker’s favorite movie
Reiterate the unique qualities that make it such a great film
Emphasize why the movie is a cinematic masterpiece.

Sample Answer

John Wick is my favorite movie of all time. Released in 2014, the film stars Keanu Reeves as the titular character, a retired hitman who sets out to seek vengeance on the Russian mobsters who killed his beloved dog.

The story begins with John Wick mourning the death of his wife and receiving a final gift from her, a beagle puppy named Daisy. When the son of a Russian mafia boss breaks into John’s house, steals his car and kills Daisy, John is filled with rage and vows to seek revenge. John’s search for vengeance takes him on a violent journey through New York City’s criminal underworld, where he takes on hordes of ruthless assassins with his unmatched combat skills and sheer determination.

I watched John Wick for the first time shortly after its release, and I have watched it numerous times since then. I am continually drawn to the film’s intense action scenes, which are choreographed to perfection, and Keanu Reeves’ excellent portrayal of John Wick, a man who is both deadly and empathetic. The film’s stunning cinematography and exceptional sound design also add to its appeal, making it an unforgettable cinematic experience.

What sets John Wick apart from other action movies is its unique blend of style and substance. Beneath the fast-paced action and violence, the film explores themes of loyalty, revenge, and redemption. The character of John Wick is complex and layered, and the audience is given a glimpse into his past and the reasons behind his actions.

Moreover, the film’s supporting cast, including Ian McShane and Willem Dafoe, deliver fantastic performances, elevating the movie beyond just a simple action flick. John Wick is a movie that has everything, a great story, breathtaking action, and exceptional acting, making it an instant classic.

In short, John Wick is my favorite movie because it has all the elements of a great action movie while also exploring deeper themes. Its unique blend of style and substance, combined with Keanu Reeves’ outstanding performance, makes it a cinematic masterpiece that I never tire of watching.

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Movie Review: John Wick

Sang Min Kim , Writer | June 13, 2018

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Do you miss old style Hong Kong action movies? Do you like Keanu Reeves? And lastly, are you a fan of Matrix? If yes, then John Wick is for you. John Wick is an action movie directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch that was released in 2014. Yeah, it might be old, but that doesn’t mean that it is not worth your time. If you are a fan of action movies, you will absolutely enjoy this one.

The plot of John Wick is so basic that it can be summarized using only a few sentences. John Wick is a retired hitman and his wife died recently. She left him a dog so that John would still have something to love. Losef, the son of a Russian Mafia boss, tries to steals John Wick’s car. While stealing the car, Losef beats John Wick, and kills his beloved dog in front of him. He then runs away with John’s car. When Losef’s father Vigo learns of these events, he tries to negotiate with John Wick, but John has already sworn to get revenge on Losef. This brief summary of the first five minutes of the movie also serves as a summary for the entire movie. The first seven minutes of the film are dedicated to developing the plot, and then the rest of the movie is just pure action.

The good thing about not spending more than 10 minutes on plot is that the film is able to focus primarily on action scenes. Unlike other Hollywood action movies, John Wick is not filled with quick cuts and shaky cam. Instead, the audience can actually see what is happening in the action scene. This may remind the audience of an old style Hong Kong action film where an actor actually takes time to study martial arts and fight moves. What separates John Wick from Jackie Chan is that instead of punches and kicks, John Wick uses guns. The combination of martial arts and guns has created a new type of action style called, gun fu. The use of gun-fu in the movie creates action scenes that are unique and awesome because you can clearly see what is happening. Even though John Wick has great action scenes, the movie is not perfect. Because the film spends less than 10 minutes on plot development, the plot of the movie seems too basic, and there are some aspects of the plot that are hard to understand.

John Wick is a fascinating action film, and if you are a fan of action films, it should be included in your must-watch list. It has its own unique and cool style of action. The plot might be a little bit basic, but, come on, who watches action film for the plot? Besides, it was great to see Keanu Reeve back on the screen. If you can ignore the lack of a plot, I can guarantee that John Wick will definitely be worth your time.

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‘John Wick: Chapter 4’: Keanu Reeves Saves Action Movies Again

By David Fear

Fess up: You had no idea John Wick would be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Not an inkling. Not a hint. Not even a teeny, tiny clue.

No one could have predicted that a movie burdened with a title taken from the name of its lead character — who is John Wick? Why should we even care? — and that starred an actor who’d been off the public’s radar for a bit, would synthesize a decade’s worth of genre cinema and revolutionize American action movies . Keanu Reeves still looked fit, still wore those slim black suits like a boss, still utilized his signature monotone to suggest stoner-like awe and/or menace. But here was the ‘90s posterboy edging into his 50s, playing a hit man who gets dragged back into the life one last time, forced to use his particular set of skills in the name of revenge. The inciting factor: Bad guys killed his puppy.

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The gent responsible for that pistols-at-dawn tête-à-tête is known as the Marquis ( Bill Skarsgård ), a part-time French aristocrat and full-time sadist who has designs on taking control of the High Table, i.e. the secret council that rules over a vast, international underworld. His first move is to send a message by punishing Winston ( Ian McShane ), the New York Continental’s manager, for helping the excommunicado Wick. Never mind that the hotel’s boss shot his friend off the five-star accommodation’s roof at the end of Chapter 3 ; the Marquis is still going to demolish the building, much to Winston and his concierge’s horror. (That latter role is once again played by Lance Reddick , which only adds an extra layer of eulogistic pathos to the proceedings. R.I.P. to a legend .) His next plan is to call in a marker on Caine (martial arts godhead Donnie Yen), a retired blind assassin and old pal of Wick’s, in order to terminate the fugitive with extreme prejudice.

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Merely listing an inventory of John Wick: Chapter 4 ’s greatest hits — that phrase can be taken literally in this case — doesn’t do justice to the way that everyone involved with this final chapter maintains the high standard that’s made the franchise so deliriously pleasurable. Or at the very least, pure manna for those of us who like our screen action to feel like they’re putting the “motion” into motion pictures, as if the folks behind the scenes took pride in constructing these thrilling sequences with a sense of professionalism and imagination. Even its conservative streak (has any other action franchise been so obsessed with rules, traditions, bylaws, bloodlines, codes of conduct?) and tough-guy corniness still feels freshly retro-styled and amped up after four outings.

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Kansas City Chiefs Star Travis Kelce in Talks to Star in Action-Comedy Loose Cannons, Produced by John Wick Director

He's heading to the big screen..

Travis Kelce is reportedly in talks to star in Loose Cannons, a new action-comedy in development at Lionsgate.

As reported by Variety , the Kansas City Chiefs star is circling his first movie role – one that would see him as a leading man, starring as one half of the "unhinged" cop duo on which the movie title gets its name. According to the outlet, the two loose cannons become partners in an effort "to straighten them both out."

John Wick director Chad Stahelski - who has a first-look deal with Lionsgate - will produce the movie through his 87Eleven Entertainment production banner alongside Jason Spitz and Alex Young, while Tim Dowling (whose credits include Role Models, Office Christmas Party, and Pixels) is on script-writing duties.

Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce with girlfriend and singer Taylor Swift. Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images.

There is no word on when production will begin, but Kelce has the coming NFL season to focus on first. He is, however, used to juggling projects alongside his sporting commitments as he co-hosts the podcast New Heights with his brother and has signed on to front the game show "Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?"

He also previously popped up in an episode of the Showtime comedy Moonbase 8 in 2020 before landing a supporting role in Ryan Murphy's FX series Grotesquerie, starring opposite Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance, and Lesley Manville, which entered production in May ahead of the series premiere in September.

Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here .

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A fifth installment in the John Wick franchise will not be moving forward in 2025. However, the film could still get the green light sometime in the future.

Per Collider , sources familiar with the Keanu Reeves-led franchise recently debunked online rumors stating that the filming on John Wick 5 would begin next year . If a fifth movie does eventually get the go-ahead, Chad Stahelski is the only person who will direct it. Since the filmmaker's primary focus is the Highlander reboot, which begins production in Scotland in early 2025, John Wick has been sidelined .

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Reports of John Wick 5 heading into development in 2025 surfaced after scooper Daniel Richtman announced the news on his website. He also claimed that Reeves would be reprising his role as the titular hero despite the character seemingly meeting his demise at the end of the fourth film. " John Wick 5 [is] officially in development. Keanu Reeves coming back… Would start production sometime next year ," Richtman wrote.

A fifth John Wick film was announced in Aug. 2020. While it was supposed to be filmed back-to-back with John Wick: Chapter 4, those plans eventually fell through. In 2023, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Joe Drake confirmed that work on the project had resumed . "On the [ John ] Wick side, we have got multiple spin-offs and Wick 5 . We started to work on [it] right when the writers' strike started, and we've gotten back to work as soon as it ended ," he told investors during an earnings call.

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A John Wick Series Is In The Works

Although the fifth movie is on hold, the franchise is expanding with the John Wick: Under the High Table series, which is set after the events of the fourth film. " John Wick has left the world of the High Table in a tenuous position and a collection of new characters will look to make a name for themselves while some of the franchise stalwart characters remain committed to the old-world order ," the official synopsis reads. "The series will combine new and old and thrust the Wick universe into a new age."

The series is written by Robert Levine, with Reeves and Stahelski attached as executive producers. Stahelski has also been tapped to direct the first episode. While Reeves is not expected to appear in the series, he will reportedly "be very hands-on with the project." The newly minted series is still without a television network or streaming service.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is streaming on Starz. The rest of the John Wick films and The Continental are streaming on Peacock.

Source: Collider

Keanu Reeves as John Wick is walking foward intimidatingly in the poster for the John Wick franchise.

Dive into the world of a retired hitman pulled back into the brutal underworld he left behind, igniting a relentless crusade for revenge.

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The 14 Hardest Hitting 'John Wick' Ripoffs, Ranked

Vote up the best movies that borrow a lot from the John Wick formula.

From the first movie that came out of nowhere to the blockbuster movies that followed, the John Wick franchise proves that even a murderous, vengeful Keanu Reeves remains lovable. The sheer scale of the success of the John Wick series means that fans always want more of his particular brand of pulse-pounding fight scenes . But while they wait for the next movie, the gaps can be filled with a good ripoff.

From Hollywood to Bollywood, there have not been one but several adept, action-oriented John Wick ripoffs. While the plot and origin story of the protagonist in these movies may remind you of Wick (and his nine lives), the characters and storylines are different enough to make these inspired movies a good watch. So if you have watched and rewatched John Wick enough, scroll down to see the best Wickian-inspired movies for some variety.

Bullet Train

Sony Pictures Releasing

There's a certain draw to Brad Pitt playing an action role and looking like a million bucks while he does it, and Bullet Train does not disappoint on that front. Pitt is a down-on-his-luck operative (codenamed Ladybug) on a mission who encounters plenty of rivals ready to kill him to foil his mission ( including Bad Bunny ). With some hefty action and luck, Ladybug manages to get the best of them all, as he reaches his handler, Maria Beetle, played by a sassy Sandra Bullock. (On a different note, Pitt returns the cameo favor by starring in Bullock's action-adventure flick, The Lost City .)

Slick action sequences with plenty of dark comedy make Bullet Train a great watch with Ladybug showing of John Wick-like indestructability. Given that producer David Leitch (of the John Wick and Atomic Blonde fame) was once Pitt's stuntman, the chemistry is rock solid from the core up. The audience gave it a 76% rating , thumbing its nose at the 53% Tomatometer score, given it is thoroughly entertaining and very, very watchable.

Actors : Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji
Released : 2022
Directed by : David Leitch

Much like John Wick, Chris Hemsworth's Tyler Rake in Extraction was liked enough to get a sequel. The action is fast-paced and while it may begin with guns, once the bullets run out, Hemsworth is at his best using his fist and feet, in gritty edge-of-the-seat fight scenes. In fact, Hemsworth called the second movie, Extraction 2 , one of the most exhausting films he's ever shot, and that's quite a statement coming from Thor!

Directed by Sam Hargrave (with Extraction being his directorial debut) and written by Joe Russo, the movie franchise is based on the graphic novel Ciudad by Ande Parks, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Fernando León González, and Eric Skillman.

Actors : Chris Hemsworth, Patrick Newall, Rayna Campbell, Shivam Vichare, Rudhraksh Jaiswal
Released : 2020
Directed by : Sam Hargrave

For John Wick, the murder of a puppy (gifted by his late wife) and the theft of his ‘Stang (the glove box holds a picture of said wife) is enough to send him on a rampage. For Riley North (Jennifer Garner), it’s the brutal murder of her husband and daughter that turns her from a banker into a vigilante in the 2018 flick, Peppermint . Unlike John Wick , where the action is slick and the dialogue slicker, Peppermint runs to a more somber tone and is more emotional, showing North grappling with her loss during and especially after her revenge.

That said, Garner is a stunner in the action scenes, something she trained for very hard. While it scores a low 13% on the Tomatometer, the audience gives it 70% and Garner makes a great - though tormented - action star.

Actors : Jennifer Garner, John Gallagher, John Ortiz, Juan Pablo Raba, Annie Ilonzeh
Released : 2018
Directed by : Pierre Morel

Nobody is an unashamedly John Wick -inspired flick, starring Bob Odenkirk (of Better Call Saul fame) as the protagonist, Hutch Mansell or Nobody. Unlike Wick's close circle, Mansell has an equally supportive and action-packed family, but much like Wick, watching Odenkirk beat up the baddies is endlessly entertaining.

Mansell is shown to be a retired and reformed “auditor,” an assassin employed by the United States Intelligence Community, who now prefers a peaceful life. When thugs break into his house, it sets off a series of events where Mansell has to return to his violent if efficient ways, as he takes on the Russian mob to protect his family. Mansell does not die in the end and is back to his placid, if boring life, but a phone call seems to hint that trouble is heading his way again, keeping the doors open for a sequel. Nobody was written by Derek Kolstad, the writer who till this flick, only wrote John Wick movies, so clearly, there is a pattern to his work.

Actors : Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Alexey Serebryakov, Christopher Lloyd, RZA
Released : 2021
Directed by : Ilya Naishuller

Silent Night

Think of the 2023-release action flick Silent Night as director John Woo's version of an emotionally damaged John Wick. A tormented father with damaged vocal cords swears revenge on his son's killers and goes about achieving his goal, even if he has to die (much like John Wick) in the end. The movie has minimal dialogue and plenty of edge-of-the-seat action including car chases, car kills, guns and gunfire, and some flying fists and feet.

It gets a 59% Tomatometer score and while it's not an original story, it has its moments, enough to let you know that this is a John Woo film. Who needs talking when there is gritty and stylish action?

The Mother is a John Wick -like action flick starring Jennifer Lopez as a US military operative who busts an arms smuggling racket between two baddies. The plot thickens as she is pregnant, given she is romantically involved with both the men, who are also perpetrators of child trafficking. From then on, it's a race against time to keep her child protected, as she even gets stabbed in the womb, giving birth prematurely.

After the birth of her daughter, she waives away parental rights to keep her baby safe, watching her from a distance, till finally the baddies catch up and she has to get her daughter to protect her. The plot and action sequences are a little more cliche, but Lopez is very believable as a hardened mother who resorts to violence to protect her daughter. Wickian indestructibility and fast-paced action make it a decent watch with a 43% Tomatometer score as Lopez gets her Keanu Reeves groove on.

Actors : Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Gael García Bernal, Omari Hardwick, Paul Raci
Released : 2023
Directed by : Niki Caro

Kansas City Chiefs Star Travis Kelce in Talks to Star in Action-Comedy Loose Cannons, Produced by John Wick Director

He's heading to the big screen..

Travis Kelce is reportedly in talks to star in Loose Cannons, a new action-comedy in development at Lionsgate.

Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here .

Loose Cannons

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COMMENTS

John Wick movie review & film summary (2014)
John Wick. Just when John Wick thought he was out, they pull him back in. It's the tried-and-true formula of one last job/heist/assignment. A longtime bad guy leaves the life of crime in pursuit of peace and quiet, but naturally gets dragged back to his old haunts and habits to settle a final score. But "John Wick" breathes exhilarating ...
John Wick Movie Review
John Wick may be one of the best action movies of the decade that will be attempted to be replicated over and over again to middling success. However, we'll always remember the rip-roaring original as a pinnacle of the action genre. The movie begins with the death of John Wick's ( Keanu Reeves) wife to a terminal illness.
John Wick: Chapter 4 movie review (2023)
Welcome back, Mr. Wick. Four years after "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum," director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves have returned to theaters with "John Wick: Chapter 4," a film that was supposed to hit theaters almost two full years ago.Trust me. It was worth the wait. Stahelski and writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch have distilled the mythology-heavy approach of the last couple ...
The Deeper Meaning Within Chad Stahelski's Neo-Noir Action-Thriller
Guns and Violence in John Wick. John Wick reloads his gun. (John Wick, Lionsgate, 2014). Action movies are always packed full of violence and usually include a superfluous number of guns in them, and John Wick is no different. However, there is a notable aspect of John Wick that makes it stand out among the rest: HE RELOADS HIS GUNS. Taran ...
'John Wick' Review: Explosive Action Movie & an ...
It is perhaps a good first episode for a longer saga, seeing how well it does in presenting its universe and its main character. But as a standalone film, it just feels like there is something ...
John Wick
The film knows precisely what kind of movie it is: one that kicks serious ass and provides moviegoers a fantastic time out. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 9, 2024. Emiliano Basile ...
John Wick
Action movies are rarely so confident in their action as John Wick.First-time filmmaking team David Leitch and Chad Stahelski (the former receives a producer credit, the latter a director credit, but they did both together) have served as stuntmen and action coordinators since the early 1990s, working on everything from Point Break to Fight Club to The Matrix.
'John Wick: Chapter 4': Longer, bloodier and better than ever
March 20, 2023 at 3:58 p.m. EDT. ( 3.5 stars) Is "John Wick: Chapter 4" the best John Wick movie in the franchise, as early reviews suggest? Quite possibly. But what does that even mean ...
The Last Thing I See: 'John Wick' Movie Review
All of these things that shouldn't really work—like John Wick screaming "why" at the heavens, Viggo's cowardly lawyer (a perfect Dean Winters, the Beeper King from 30 Rock), and obvious dialogue that is obviously loaded, among many others—are totally fine and forgivable.Each and every beat is delivered with a perfect mixture of absolute sincerity and tongue-in-cheek awareness.
John Wick (2014)
RATING: [8/10] The best action revenge film of all time from 2014 so far! John Wick (2014) is the best revenge flick from Keanu Reeves of 2014 from The Matrix (1999) to John Wick (2014) another action fast paced, Entertaining slick action packed film, which kind I have never seen before.
'John Wick: Chapter 3' Review: Keanu Reeves Is Back for Another Brutal
Watch on. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019 Movie) New Trailer - Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry Video by Lionsgate Movies. Dumb as dirt and twice as filling, "Chapter 3" is a symphony of ...
John Wick: Chapter 3
As it turns out, "John Wick 3" is not quite the "Fury Road" of the series but is easily its "Beyond Thunderdome," a work of pop cinema so blissfully, albeit brutally, entertaining that you come out of it feeling even more resentful of its multiplex neighbors for not making a similar effort. The problem is not with the staging of the ...
'John Wick: Chapter 4' Review: Keanu Reeves in a Pure Action Spectacle
March 13, 2023 8:00pm. Keanu Reeves in 'John Wick: Chapter 4' Courtesy of Murray Close/Lionsgate. The creatives behind the John Wick franchise must lose sleep at night thinking how they can outdo ...
John Wick Movie Review
Oliver W. Adult. May 8, 2021. age 14+. John Wick gets violent and has language, but avoids gore-good for mature young teens. John Wick is an excellent action movie, and Keanu Reeves really shines. Violence-wise, the film definitely gets intense, but never gets overly gory.
Film Review
film review running head: redemeption of john wick redemption of john wick redemption of john wick redemption of john wick john wick (2015), written derek. Skip to document. Ask AI. Sign in. ... Compare and Contrast Essay; Crime and Drugs Question Answer MCQ; Paired-t test and Pooled-t test Comparison; Marketing 2225 Exam 3 Study Guide;
Can Someone Explain Why John Wick is so Highly Rated? : r/movies
As a huge fan of man-on-fire/revenge movies, John Wick manages to feel like a thoughtful modern distillation of classics ... John Wick does crazy, over-the-top action, but they add just enough tiny details to make it seem like it is all very grounded, "real tactics" fighting. Things like having John Wick almost always shoot someone in the head ...
"John Wick: Chapter 4," Reviewed: A Slog with a Sensational Ending
The very premise of "Chapter 4" evinces sequel fatigue. John Wick wants out. Reeves may well enjoy the role, but he convincingly portrays John's weariness bordering on exasperation at the ...
Describe your favorite movie
Moreover, the film's supporting cast, including Ian McShane and Willem Dafoe, deliver fantastic performances, elevating the movie beyond just a simple action flick. John Wick is a movie that has everything, a great story, breathtaking action, and exceptional acting, making it an instant classic. In short, John Wick is my favorite movie ...
John Wick: Chapter 3
More bark, more bite. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum brings the title character back to his roots while also offering new twists to where things could go from here, all with the over-the-top ...
Movie Review: John Wick
The plot of John Wick is so basic that it can be summarized using only a few sentences. John Wick is a retired hitman and his wife died recently. She left him a dog so that John would still have something to love. Losef, the son of a Russian Mafia boss, tries to steals John Wick's car. While stealing the car, Losef beats John Wick, and kills ...
What Makes John Wick So Good?
For 10% off your first Squarespace website or domain, visit https://www.squarespace.com/fullfat and use my Coupon Code: FULLFAT.John Wick is an action classi...
Is JOHN WICK About the Gods of Olympus?
It's going down for real, in John Wick. Mikey takes a look at the deeper themes in this film and discusses why John Wick must take on the Gods of Olympus to ...
'John Wick: Chapter 4': Keanu Reeves Saves Action Movies Again
The fourth time is rarely if ever a charm, and given the way that each movie has successively upped the ante, John Wick: Chapter 4 — the latest and likely last entry — has to bear the burden ...
Kansas Chiefs Star Travis Kelce in Talks to Star in Action-Comedy ...
John Wick director Chad Stahelski - who has a first-look deal with Lionsgate - will produce the movie through his 87Eleven Entertainment production banner alongside Jason Spitz and Alex Young ...
John Wick 5 Production Rumors Shut Down
A fifth installment in the John Wick franchise will not be moving forward in 2025. However, the film could still get the green light sometime in the future. Per Collider, sources familiar with the Keanu Reeves-led franchise recently debunked online rumors stating that the filming on John Wick 5 would begin next year.If a fifth movie does eventually get the go-ahead, Chad Stahelski is the only ...
The 14 Best John Wick Ripoffs, Ranked
From the first movie that came out of nowhere to the blockbuster movies that followed, the John Wick franchise proves that even a murderous, vengeful Keanu Reeves remains lovable. The sheer scale of the success of the John Wick series means that fans always want more of his particular brand of pulse-pounding fight scenes.But while they wait for the next movie, the gaps can be filled with a ...
Kansas City Chiefs Star Travis Kelce in Talks to Star in Action-Comedy
John Wick director Chad Stahelski - who has a first-look deal with Lionsgate - will produce the movie through his 87Eleven Entertainment production banner alongside Jason Spitz and Alex Young ...

John Wick Movie Review — The action movie and hero that saves a genre

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