John Wick is a lot of fun. It’s the best action film of the year, and though I debate whether it’s Keanu Reeves’ best film since the Matrix, it’s definitely the most physically demanding role for the actor since Neo. At 50, the man’s physicality and impressive dedication to sell believability in his fight scenes is nothing short of astounding, and after proving that he still knows kung-fu in his 2013 directorial debut (and highly underrated) Man of Tai-Chi, you question why it’s taken almost 10 years for Keanu to make one of these badass action movies again.
Keanu plays the titular character, who goes on a killing spree after some gangsters stole his car and killed his puppy dog which was a gift from his wife. Yes it sounded ridiculous in the trailer too, but while most films fall into the conventional trappings of showing you a slo-mo montage of the hero bonding with his dog set to happy music playing over it, the script wisely jettisons such plodding tropes by economically ramping up to the main thrust of the plot, using the shock value of precipitating events to set the stage so our hero can quickly get to revenging. The film knows what it is and wastes no time cutting out the narrative fat to get to the lean meat of the story, coz it knows why we paid to see it. The action.
Which I’m happy to say, is amazing, because John Wick features some of the best gun-fight choreography ever put to film. First-time directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski are veteran stunt-performers and action choreographers, and it shows. John Wick’s use of modern military gun-combat maneuvers combined with MMA-esque grappling moves is both unique and cinematic, making the film an exciting new entry in the “Gun-Fu” hall of fame – a form of stylized martial arts gun-action popularized by 2002’s cult-classic Equilibrium and various John Woo films – yet offers a refreshing take and style of its own to stand out from its peers. The generous use of long takes and wide framing further highlights the complexity of the choreography as well as the work of the stunt-performers. If revenge is going to be best served cold, it does help to look great going on a dish.
The real surprise of the movie, however, lies in the level of detail infused into its world-building. A comic book-like universe is hinted early on until it’s established by a fictional locale complete with its own rules and code as well as colourful characters that serve as a backdrop to John Wick’s story, elevating the film beyond its fairly standard B-movie plotline. These added flourishes serve as a double-edged sword to inform you the backstory of John Wick without ever resorting to flashbacks while generating much of the film’s humour. Seemingly every character knows each other, and it is their interactions that fill in the blanks for you. This is aided of course by a wonderful cast – Adrienne Palicki, Willem Dafoe, Jon Leguizamo, Ian McShane and our favourite badboy Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) from HBO’s Game of Thrones – with Michael Nyqvist of Girl with Dragon Tattoo fame being particularly memorable as the villain.
If I had one minor gripe with the movie it is that the final showdown doesn’t quite live up to the dizzying heights of the first two setpieces. The meagre 20-mil budget however more than makes up for any nitpicks I had, given that the amazing production values make most films of this ilk with a higher budget look cheap in comparison. The characters, the film’s rich mythology, the score by Tyler Bates – all help to imbue the film with a sense of style that holds your interest in between the well-executed action. There’s enough material vested here for franchise potential, so Hollywood do whatever you can to greenlight a sequel – steal another car, kill another pet, insult his English teacher – coz by the time Taken 3 is done we’re going to need another badass hero with a particular set of skills
4.5 stars out of 5
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Review by Kamen. L
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