After
years of unmemorable protagonists, Keanu Reeves finally unleashes a character
that action junkies can get behind.
STORY:
John
Wick is a simple man with one simple love: Helen, his beautiful wife. And when tragedy strikes in his life, a cute
little puppy turns up to help him overcome the pain. But then fate intervenes again and poor John
is struck with a second bout of misfortune: robbers break into his house, punch
him in the face, steal his car, and hurt his cute little puppy. These events become a big problem, but not
for John Wick. They become a problem for
the people that interrupted his simple life.
Why? Because John Wick is not
really a simple man. He's actually a
gun-toting, death-dealing machine. And
everyone that was involved in the break-in (including their families) is about
to have a bad day. John Wick is back and
he's pissed. Gun kata, cute puppies,
badass cars, Russian bathhouses, gorgeous contract killers, and sheer action
awesomeness ensues.
"After we finish our cereal, I'll tell you a little story about a red and blue pill."
THOUGHTS:
About
the first fifteen minutes of John Wick is filled with nothing but sorrow,
somewhat stale dialogue, and close-ups of Keanu's unshaven face. And some of the sorrow will cause even the
toughest of guy to shed a single man-tear.
But relax. The film isn't all
despair and heartbreak. There is a light
at the end of the tunnel. In fact,
there's a light in the middle of the tunnel too. See, right after all the sorrowful events
happen, the movie switches gears and what follows is a series of fantastic
popcorn action scenes that require little to absolutely no thought
process. And sometimes, when the timing
is right, that can be the best type of movie.
If
you're renting or buying John Wick then you already know what to expect. (You've
watched the trailer, right?) There
will be no sudden twist at the end.
There will be no fancy "boy
meets girl, girl hates boy, boy reconciles with girl by lying" story
lines. There's no mushy father and son
bonding. There's not even dramatic
dialogue after the first fifteen minutes.
It's just a bullet-killing train that doesn't stop until Mr. Wick gets
his man. And if you're okay with that,
then you'll love this movie. Now you're
probably thinking, "Yes, but is the
action any good?" It's not
good. It's fantastic. And that's not the best part of the
film. The best part is the feeling of
seeking revenge and being totally content in how the film ends. More often than not, Hollywood tries to be
clever by making revenge films that end with the protagonist learning a hard
lesson like "revenge won't bring
back you're loved one or it'll only make you feel worse." Well this film doesn't dilly dally. It ends exactly how you want it to end and it
feels great once the credits roll.
"Spiderman...Spiderman...Spiderman. Why is it always about Spiderman? All that time he spends
alone, spanking it, I bet he can't even work a juicer. Douche."
ACTING:
Keanu
Reeves is easily the man as John Wick.
Finally a role came down the Hollywood pike that was perfect for
him. Sure a few early dialogue scenes
with Willem Dafoe can feel a little stiff at first, but once all the blood
splattering gets going, you'll forget all about that and just focus on the
awesomeness. Reeves' movements look like
they haven't aged since the Matrix. He
can still pull off sliding, punching, breaking arms, throwing women through
glass, and even the occasional bullet dodge.
He's the center of the movie and he's definitely what makes it
tick. Without Keanu looking proficient
while pointing a gun, the movie would've went right down the tubes.
"How's my makeup?"
"Fine. You might wanna get that gash above your eye looked at though."
Every
single character besides John Wick is basically either a stepping stone for him
to murder or just a plot piece to get to the next action sequence. Mr. Wick will actually spend a little bit of
time asking questions to find his target and that's when several actors and actresses
show up. First is Wick's longtime friend
in the story, Marcus, played by Willem Dafoe.
As mentioned above, the initial dialogue between the two feels awkward,
but Dafoe quickly slips into hitman mode and remains perfect for the role
throughout the rest of the movie.
Adrianne Palicki brings her curves into the story as the sexy/dangerous,
Ms. Perkins. The scenes with her that
unfold will make you think twice about turning your back on a beautiful
woman. Ian McShane pops up as a hotel
owner/hitman-godfather. He's not around
enough to make that much of an impact, but his scenes are definitely
memorable. John Leguizamo sprouts up to
have a drink with Wick and Bridget Moynahan spends her time in faded memories
as Helen. And finally, Michael Nyqvist
(Viggo Tarasov) and Alfie Allen (Iosef Tarasov) are the cause of the whole plot
line and spend most of their time trying to avoid John Wick…and sometimes even
in humorous ways.
"I'm not gonna lie. Ice Age was hell, man. Absolute hell."
CONCLUSION:
John
Wick may not tug at the heart strings throughout its running time. Or tell a tale that requires much thought to
enjoy. But if you're in the mood to sit
on the couch with a giant bucket of popcorn and just enjoy the fast-paced killing
scenes unfolding in front of you, then don't even hesitate to rent John
Wick. The film is one long kick-ass
scene after another and you wouldn't want it any other way. Keanu Reeves delivers a fantastic performance
as John Wick that'll leave you wondering just where in the hell he's been
hiding the character. Now, if you're
looking to squeeze this into a date night, there is an "aw" moment in both the beginning
and end. So using the puppy is probably
the best way to lore the better-half away the Notebook for the umpteenth time.
4
out of 5 Stars (minus a star for slightly
awkward dialogue and a simplistic plot)
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