John Wick Review

John Wick

The set up to John Wick might sound a little strange. It follows eponymous retired hit man (Keanu Reeves) coming out of retirement to enact revenge after some Russian gangsters kill the dog given to him by his dead wife. Let me assure you though the movie is so ridiculously entertaining, the story is well told the action so stylized and violent John Wick is one hell of a thrill ride.

When the film starts John  is living in his cold and clinical modern house we get the sense that everything around him is too safe, the white walls of the house could be livened up with a bit of blood soon though he’s called out of his retirement. I said the set up sounds laboured  but the film sells it firstly we get a sense of quite how much the dog means to him and secondly the scene where his dog gets taken from him is done so well that you want John to get revenge on these people.  And boy does he get revenge. The film is a tour de force of immaculate action set pieces. The film is directed by David Leitch and Chad Stahelski they’re former stunt men so that’s where the film finds its strength, the hand to hand combat scenes feel more like dance.  Yet their work on the film extends beyond these action scene they manage to perfectly balance the pacing of the film it’s fast moving but when it allows itself to get some air it’s still good to watch because the film is full of little moments of comedy and ideas about this world which breathe some life into the film for instance there’s a hotel exclusively for hit-men which has a very particular set of rules and a helpful yet sarcastic receptionist.

John Wick is a young persons film about an older man getting back to his past so its especially good that Keanu Reeves who is fifty years old leads the film with the skill he does. He really makes the role of Wick his own making him the relentless badass that it could be said that action cinema has been lacking there’s also a sadness to John Wick though and among all of the action we get a sense of how he is struggling to cope with the loss of his wife. John Wick is a ruthless out of control film that never gives in and never apologizes it feels like an action film for out time and it’s sure to go down in cult history.