John Wick

Today I went and saw the new John Wick movie, but before I get to that one, I would have to talk about the previous movies in the franchise, starting with the first “John Wick,” released in 2014.

At first, there is a handful of stuff in this movie’s story that we have seen before in other films.

However, directors David Leitch and Chad Stahleski still are able to create an adrenaline non-stop action film with Keanu Reeves not playing the same boring, bland character that we have seen him play in every movie he has been in to date. The story starts with an injured John Wick (Keanu Reeves), who watches a video on his Smartphone of his late wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan).

The movie then shows the audience that Helen had passed away due to cancer.

John is at the peak of his mourning process until he a puppy named Daisy arrives at his front door, gifted to him by Helen who did not want him to be alone.

When John is at a gas station filing his classic 69 Mustang, John meets with Iosef, played by Alfie Allen, who wants to buy John’s car, but John tells him no.

Iosef and his gang later break into John’s house, really pull a number on John and killing Daisy before stealing his car.

The movie then shows the audience that John is one of the best assassins, currently in retirement.

John goes out to retrieve his car and avenge Daisy by fighting Iosef’s father, Viggo Tarasov, played by Michael Nyqvist, who John had worked for previously.

A desperate Viggo tries to stop John but nothing can stop John, who is out for pure vengeance.

The movie also includes a star-studded cast in small roles that leave a mark like Willem Dafoe, an assassin colleague who is John’s mentor and friend, John Leguizamo as a garage owner who is friendly with John and his car, Adrianne Palicki as an assassin named Ms. Perkins and Ian McShane as a hotel owner who isn’t bothered by murderers performing their jobs in the hotel.

Lots of action, lots of violence but the directors do include some dramatic moments.

S. Indra Sathiabalan said in her review, “Reeves, on his part, does a good job playing the title character, reminding us that he has displayed some acting chops in the past before his deadpan persona took over.”

Sathiabalan continued, “In fact, he holds his own in scenes with Defoe and Nyqvist, which is no mean feat.”

Overall, this is an enjoyable film that everyone should watch.

If you were a big fan of the first movie, then you will definitely want to watch “John Wick: Chapter 2,” released in 2017.

Keanu Reeves reprises the main role that really helped out his career with a huge leap. By performing most of the action scenes himself in this violent action thriller, Reeves is proving that he can still perform these action scenes, similar to Tom Cruise.

The movie starts with John killing more villains, and it appears that his vengeance is not over, as Abram Tarasov, played by Peter Stormare, the brother of Viggo from the first movie, has John’s car and he wants it back.

After so many car crashes, shooting, damage and murder, John drives off in his precious car hoping to let bygones be bygones once again.

However, the problems come to him through ex-associate Santino D’Antonio, played by Riccardo Scamarcio, who visits him with a marker that means the debt John still owes him.

We see that Santino had helped out John leave this job behind him and marry the late Helen (Moynahan appears in flashbacks).

Now, Santino wants John to kill his sister Gianna, played by Caludia Gerini, who is now the leader of their Italian crime family. John does what Santino asks to return the favor, only to find out that Santino has put out a contract to kill John.

Returning from the first movie are Ian McShane as Winston, the great manager of the hotel that gives murderers rooms, Lance Reddick as Charon, the concierge, and rapper Common as Cassian, John’s enemy who was hired to protect Gianna.

We also have new people in the cast like Ruby Rose as Santino’s deaf female assassin and Laurence Fishburne (Reeves co-star from “The Matrix” trilogy) as a suave crime lord.

Sathiabalan is right when she says, “The action is great, which helps viewers to overlook the many holes in the plot.”

The door is open for more John Wick movies to come out which fans should be ecstatic about. That does happen with the latest installment, “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” released last month.

This movie starts immediately where the second film left off, where famous hitman John Wick is running with his dog after being called excommunicado for killing a crime lord on the central grounds of The Continental Hotel.

This means that John has lost everything to these crime resources.

He also now has a huge money contract out to kill him, with every other assassins’ guns pointed right at him.

Sathiabalan said, “In a last-ditch effort to survive, he calls in all favours owed to him over the years, so that he can get a chance to plead his case to the head of the High Table, the shadowy organisation that sets up the rules for all assassins to follow.”

However, he quickly sees that “forgiveness” comes to him with a huge cost.

The violence really is increased in this movie compared to the last ones, and many new characters are added into the movie.

A few manage to really leave their mark, such as Halle Berry as the assassin Sofia who owes John a favor, and Angelica Houston as the Russian mobster who helps John travel quietly to Casablanca.

However, the real ones here are Mark Dacascos (host of “Iron Chef”) as the murderer Zero, who likes John but still wants to kill him for the reward and the glory, and Asia Kate Dillon as the Adjudicator, a member of the High Table with the job of dealing with those who help John.

Another standout is McShane who returns as Winston, the owner and manager of the Continental Hotel who gave John time to escape.

The fight scenes are great, despite that some look over the top and go on for a long time. Sofia’s attack dogs are really amazing though.

Make sure to spot Indonesian actors Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Raham (both from “The Raid”), who play John Wick fanboys who sadly have to kill him.

Sathiabalan noted, “This movie may lack the brilliant premise of the first, but fans who can’t get enough of Reeves will not be disappointed.”

Seeing how this movie ends, there appears to be another movie being made.

I will be honest, the middle of the third movie felt slow and boring. I guess that was making me feel sleepy, or it was the Father’s Day lunch I had today. However, I still think each “John Wick” movie got better and better, so if you haven’t seen any of them, watch them. If you don’t like how Keanu Reeves plays the same character all the time, this is a welcome change. See the first two first before seeing the third one, because you will be left out if you don’t. For those who have seen the first two, see the third one if you haven’t, you will love it.

Alright, thanks for joining in on my review tonight. Stay tuned Friday for the next installment in “Parody Month.”