In a movie year where Denzel Washington has a badass action movie and Liam Neeson has two, Keanu Reeves storms onto the scene to win the action championship belt. John Wick is a hella fun, well thought out shoot em up. If someone killed your dog, wouldn’t you be pissed and try to take out the crime underworld too?
John Wick (Reeves) is one of the great assassins that retired to settle down and get married. He gets sucked back in when Iosef (Theon Greyjoy himself, Alfie Allen), son of crime lord Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist), breaks into John Wick’s house, beats him up, steals his car, and kills his puppy given to Wick by his dead wife. Wick then channels all that rage to go after Iosef and Viggo. While tracking the family, he runs into old “friends” Marcus (Willem Dafoe), Aurelio (John Leguizamo), Winston (Ian McShane), and Ms. Perkins (Adrianne Palicki).
John Wick is one of the better action films building the myth around its hero. After the assault on the puppy, we wait about 30 minutes before the action starts. One character attacks Iosef, a powerful man, hearing that he took Wick’s car without considering helping Iosef hide the vehicle. When Viggo calls the attacker, upon hearing his explanation, responds “Oh, I see,” and himself beats up his son for the mistake. Viggo also acts more resigned to his fate instead of fighting against Wick, knowing how terrifying his resolve is. Normally, show don’t tell is the better method in a movie, but in John Wick, these short stories give context and justification for all the action that dominates the final hour.
That final hour is a no-nonsense killing spree for Wick to get to Viggo and Iosef. The action scenes are exciting, direct, and easy to follow: quick cuts and shaky cam are kept to a minimum. What makes John Wick better than the average action film is its world, which is shockingly well-realized for a minimalist plot. When Wick isn’t killing people, he’s living in the syndicate underground, which has a very structured set of rules. There is a “cleanup” service in case of a house invasion massacre. The hotels, cars, and restaurants he partakes in are all crime owned, and prohibit work inside the establishment. These cold blooded killers walk by each other as if they were stock traders, exchanging pleasantries over a beer. If the rules are broken, unspeakable consequences will result. The hitmen also have their own currency, where favor exchange is in monetary form. These little touches give John Wick’s quest for revenge some fun, and explain how easily he finds his way to the Tarasov family.
Keanu Reeves has been playing John Wick for years now. Reeves gets to seethe anger but play cold and emotionless. Unfortunately, there’s no “dude” to be found in the movie. By simply looking scary, Reeves gives John Wick the persona needed to make us believe in him. Michael Nyqvist is a nice change of pace from the crazy crimelord, playing frightened and solemn with his bad luck. Adrianne Palicki, Lance Reddick, and Ian McShane have the most fun with their limited screen time.
Directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski use their fight choreography background and style with Keanu Reeves’s knowledge of Kung Fu to the best of their abilities. John Wick is different enough to be a fresh take on the revenge flick. But seriously guys, a puppy? I’m not the biggest dog fan, but even I think that WAY overcrosses the line.