Picture Credits: The Edge
“Well, John wasn’t exactly ‘The Boogeyman’. He was the one you sent to kill the fuckin’ Boogeyman.”
Introduction
Movie’s Name - John Wick
Directed by - Chad Stahelski
Genre - Crime, Action, Thriller
Language - English
Running Time - 1 hr 41 mins
Synopsis
Legendary assassin John Wick retired from his violent career after marrying the love of his life. Her sudden death leaves John in deep mourning. When sadistic mobster Iosef Tarasov and his thugs steal John's prized car and kill the puppy that was a last gift from his wife, John unleashes the remorseless killing machine within and seeks vengeance. Meanwhile, Iosef's father- John's former colleague- puts a huge bounty on John's head.
Movie Review
Though I wouldn’t call Keanu Reeves a phenomenal actor with amazing acting skills, somehow his less emotional, less intense and a bit more subdued and grounded acting kinda fits the role of John Wick perfectly and works really well with the context of the film.
At first glance, the plot seems pretty cliche- an invincible protagonist with a one-dimensional personality and a sad backstory involving a woman, ridiculously influential mafias (preferably Russians, and why not?), lots of car chases and whatnot. John Wick might have cliche elements but nonetheless, it's a massively exciting thrill ride.
The best thing about the action sequences of this movie, that also sets it apart from many other action movies, is their timing and pacing. It's not random fight after fight after fight with no other reason but to just keep the audience busy. The location of each fight is also different so the fight itself gives different, fresh vibes each time and doesn’t seem repetitive.
In many action movies, the fights are always too fast with too many cuts and sometimes it becomes a bit hard to follow them. But in John Wick, the fights move smoothly with each step directed perfectly and the actors make it so that the viewers can clearly understand their moves.
The modus operandi of each character is also well-established and helps the viewer to understand why they dare to fight the guy who once killed three men in a bar with a pencil. The brilliant dramatic acting by the supporting cast such as Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe and Ian McShane with Keanu’s grounded acting together delivered a great performance.
Highlights of the Movie
1. “Evenin’ Jimmy, noise complaint?”
Source: Showcelnews
Interactions between Jimmy, a police officer, and John are short but definitely leave you laughing your ass off. Here, Jimmy comes to John’s house because of a noise complaint from the neighbours. When John opens the door, Jimmy isn’t taken aback after seeing bodies lying inside the house and just simply says, “You workin’ again?” and leaves. Jimmy knew it was way above his pay grade.
2. “I once saw him kill three men in a bar with a pencil...a fuckin’ pencil.”
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| Source: Catchplay |
In this scene, we see Iosef’s father and the mafia “boss”, Viggo, being completely terrified of John Wick, a retired hitman and tells his son some tales of the ‘Baba Yaga’ to make him understand what a demon John can be. John used to work for him so Viggo is well aware that John is capable of raising hell all by himself, that there’s no one who can save his son.
“I heard you struck my son”
“Yes sir I did”
“May I ask why?”
“..Well sir, because he stole John Wick’s car and killed his dog.”
“...Oh…”
John was recruited by Viggo when he saw him killing three men with only a pencil. He both fears and respects John. When John wanted to leave the mafia for his wife, Viggo gave him a task that involved mass murder, that no one was capable enough to do and those dead bodies were what gave the mafia the status it has.
3. The Boogeyman comes out of retirement
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| Source: Reddit |
This is John Wick getting ready to come out of retirement. This shot is right after when John smashes the floor of the basement in his house to dig up his suitcase. Keanu really channeled the badassery of his character perfectly here. He digs up his ammo, takes a shower, gets dressed in an all black suit (looking hot as hell) and heads out to do some killing.
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| Source: Pinterest |
4. “Everything’s got a price.”
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| Source: ARRI |
Iosef wasn’t still completely aware of how much trouble he was in, that he had offended the man he never should’ve. But after hearing this one line from John Wick, the gravity of his situation finally slapped him in the face. John had called from Iosef’s friend’s phone which meant that that friend was probably dead.
In the beginning when Iosef asked John to sell him his car, John replied that it wasn’t for sale. To that Iosef said, “Everything’s got a price”. So basically John played the UNO reverse card on Iosef like the badass guy he is.
The Bottom Line
So, the moral of the story is - ‘Don’t kill people’s dogs’. They could be an infamous hitman for all you know. John Wick is a breathtaking movie without being too extravagant. It's simple and amazing and as we move on to the next movies in the franchise, it only gets better and better.
IMDb rating - 7.4 on 10
Written By - Sanjana Chaudhary
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