John Wick

After a time away, Keanu Reeves made his triumphant return to the action genre with perhaps his best one yet. Filled with exciting action sequences and strong emotion and a bit of humor, John Wick was a film that caught Action film fans off guard with just how good it really was. So, with the new release of John Wick: Chapter 2, I take a look back at the original that started it all.

John Wick (played by Keanu Reeves) is a retired assassin reeling from the recent death of his beloved wife from cancer when there is an unexpected delivery to his house. Inside the crate is an adorable beagle puppy and a note from his wife telling him that she got him the puppy to try and help him move on from her death. The plan works as John starts getting out of the house and living his life with the little puppy by his side as they go shopping and he drives them around in his classic 1969 Mustang. However, trouble soons find them in the form of Ioseph (played by Alfie Allen), an entitled little brat son of Russian Mobster Viggo (played by Michael Nyqvist). He takes a liking to John's car and offers to buy it. When John declines the offer, Ioseph and his cronies break into John's house, beat him up and kill the puppy. They then steal the car and leave. Soon enough, word of what Ioseph has done reaches Viggo, who promptly rips his son a new one as he explains that the man he just robbed is known in their circles as The Boogeyman, or more accurately the man you send to kill The Boogeyman. Emotionally devastated, John digs up all his old assassin weapons from the basement of his house and prepares to wage war on the entire Russian mob to get to Ioseph and kill him.   

While the revenge flick is a well worn genre, the filmmakers, director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad, found a new and unique vision for John Wick, creating a unique world of assassins that Wick comes from and left to settle down for a quiet life with his wife. Central to the film is a hotel in New York City that John takes refuge in known as the Continental and caters specifically to people in his line of work with the specific rule that no business can be conducted on it's grounds. The assassins also have their own form of currency, gold coins, which Wick uses not only to pay for his hotel room but also such services as a cleaning service to take care of several goons he took out. They also do a good job setting up John Wick as the formidable opponent with various characters telling stories such as a time he killed three people with just a pencil. Even when a cop comes to his door after a shoot-out with the aforementioned several goons, the cop just inquires about what was going on, sees one of the dead bodies and then leaves, wanting no part in John's affairs. The film also has fantastic cinematography and production design that gives a unique and memorable style to the film as it moves from location to location. I also have to give the film credit for staying away from the hyper editing and shaky cam that has permeated action films these days, preferring to keep the shots long, fluid and stable. It makes it that much easier to follow the action as well as making it that much more impressive. 

Keanu Reeves dominates the film as John Wick turning in perhaps his best performance as the title character. He really sells the emotional journey of the character, moving from intense grief to a small bit of happiness before being thrown into an intense and righteous rage as it is once again stolen from him. It's because of Reeve's performance that the remainder of the film was so satisfying to me as Wick lays waste to the people responsible for ripping away the last bit of happiness he had left. His performance really anchors the film and gives it a bit more emotional weight than the usual action film of this variety. 

Overall, John Wick was an action film that took audiences, and certainly me, by surprise with just how good it was. Anchored by a strong script and solid direction made this a more memorable than most action film. I'm psyched that we have a John Wick: Chapter 2 now out and by all indications a Chapter 3 to come. I say, by all means, bring it on.