John Wick

In three words; Bloody - Fast - Furious


Review;
It seems like a long time since we've seen Keanu Reeves kick butt and looking like the coolest bloke who has ever lived. Thankfully that is what he delivers in the role as John Wick. He is an ex-hitman who, after the death of his wife, returns to the murky world he had left behind to seek out revenge on people who don't fully appreciate how dangerous he is.

The Matrix was released in 1999 (is it really that long ago?!) and not since then have we seen Reeves' action and acting capabilities work so well. Of course there were the Matrix sequels but the less said about them the better. There have been a couple of martial arts films along the way but these have come and gone without notice. 47 Ronin being one to certainly forget.

It looks like Reeves has finally hit the right mark with John Wick. This is a film which is packed full of highly technical and high concept fighting sequences which seem to last forever. The violence is gruesome and unexpected at times yet the balance between these scenes and the dialogue works really well. There is an obvious influence from Anime and classic Kung Fu films here but for me what has been achieved is a live action graphic novel. Frankly, this is the first time it has been executed so well on film.

I'm no fan of the Sin City films at all. I just can't bring myself to watch them all the way through. They feel contrived, at times desperate and visually they are challenging to watch. John Wick is a film which plays on the lunacy, serialism and fun which we see in graphic novels. You can't help but feel that there is a massive back story on all of the strange characters we meet throughout the film. This is how you make a graphic novel film. This should be used as the blueprint for such films from this day forward. Robert Rodriguez take note!

John Wick is directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch who had worked with Reeves on the Matrix films. They choreographed the fight scenes in the Matrix series and it was Reeves who approached them the helm this film. Although neither of them had directed a film prior to Wick they have produced a thrilling and engaging film. The action is ridiculously impressive at times and the story develops as fast as a Reeves roundhouse kick to the head. If you are looking for a fun, exciting and bloodbath of a film then this ticks all the boxes.

Verdict;
4 out of 5