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| Title: | John Wick |
| Director: | Chad Stahelski, David Leitch (uncredited) |
| Starring: | Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe |
| Genre: | Action |
| Runtime: | 1 Hour 41 mins |
| Music: | Tyler bates |
| Studio: | Summit Entertainment |
| Certificate: | US: R UK: 15 |
| Release Date: | US: Oct 24 2014 UK: April 10 2015 |
| See If You Like: | Taken, Safe |
Remember the film you wanted Taken 3 to be? The film you wanted The Expendables 3 to be? The film you wanted The Gunman to be? Well after being let down by so many action films this year, we’ve finally got one which delivers; the cool, slick, simplistic but sublime John Wick.
Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) stars as ex-assassin for hire John Wick; a man so proficent his employers referred to him as The Bogeyman (not because he was as bad as the Bogeyman but because he was the guy you’d call to kill the Bogeyman); a man who comes out of retirement when the son of a mob boss decides to steal his car, and murder his dog (a last gift from his dying wife) causing John to dive back into his old life, and headfirst into a glorious 1-hour-40-minute-long, revenge-fuelled killing spree.
It’s simple, it’s effective, and it’s basically everything you need from a modern day low-ish budget ($20 million) action movie; a recognisable star slotting into a role which is prefect for him (not only because Wick is a man of little words or emotion, but because it’s essentially mirroring Keanu’s own explosive return to the Box Office), an easy to understand plot, the odd chuckle, and some expertly choreographed action sequences which gives any action fan everything they crave; an R-rating and some sick kills.
In this regard John Wick doesn’t falter at all; we get the gore, we get to see Keanu dispatching countless henchmen in a number of cool ways, and we thankfully get to linger on a number of the best kills. Though sadly, with the lack of any stand-out set-pieces (aside from a final fight on the docks) the majority of the action takes place in clubs (or houses/hotels which look like modern clubs), and as it always involves Keanu/Wick using a gun to dispense with faceless nobodies, it does get a little repetitive by the end.
Still, it’s well shot, well choreographed, and Wick is fantastic part for Keanu; he exudes cool, and is perfectly set up as a believable badass throughout (even even does a solid turn in the more emotional scenes during the beginning of the movie). It is a shame however that the supporting stars don’t really get a chance to shine; as the mob boss’ son Alfie Allen plays a whiney little bitch much like his character Theon from Game Of Thrones, and does little except run away and throw tantrums; Michael Nyqvist (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) is acceptable enough, though like many of the supports his character is nothing but the personification of the Eastern European mob boss stereotype; and while it’s always good to see Willem Dafoe (Out Of The Furnace) it feels as if there was a large amount of squandered potential for both him, and his character.
Dean Winters (Oz), Adrianne Palicki (G.I. Joe: Retaliaion), Ian McShane (Hercules), John Leguizamo (Romeo + Juliet), and The Wire co-stars Lance Reddick and Clarke Peters close out the list of recognisable faces, and while some obviously have much more input than others, there’s also a feeling you’d have enjoyed seeing more from many of the people who complete John‘s world – just as you would the exceptionally cool criminal hotel in which John spends a portion of the movie.
There’s no depth to John Wick, an abundance of dire dialogue, and the entire thing is one gigantic cliché but Wick, like its titular character, is a movie which hits everything it aims for with ease; the action is awesome, Keanu’s back on top form, and the whole thing is a near perfect action movie; slick, cool, super-fun, John Wick is Wicked.
Highly recommended, John Wick is an action film guaranteed to please any true action fan. A potential franchise builder which leaves you craving for a sequel, as it not only hits all the necessary notes but has created an engaging and easily expandable world ready for the next instalment in the series.
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
