John Wick★★★★
Former assassin
Keanu Reeves is back, yeah
Eff you, Theon G.
An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.
WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead.
John Wick is the kind of movie that immediately calls to me. If you've been reading my blog for while (or know me), you know that I love a good "action for action's sake with the teeniest bit of plot thrown in to hold things together" kind of movie (see: The Expendables, Fast and Furious franchises). I'm not a violent person by nature, but something in my personality gets a serious kick out seeing bad guys get what they deserve. And John Wick is certainly filled with that.
A misunderstanding of sorts—one that will make even the hardest of hearts SO ANGRY—forces the main character, John (Keanu Reeves) into reentering the life he left behind many years ago, a life filled with not so nice people with a set of very specific skills. Even John is sort of an anti-hero. I mean, he does (did) kill people for a living. Keanu plays the role minimalistically (which isn't a word, but I think you'll understand what I mean), but that's a good thing. No offense to him, but Keanu's a much better actor when he has fewer lines.
The supporting cast—which includes John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick, Adrianne Palicki, Willem Dafoe and Alfie Allen (hence the Theon Greyjoy reference in the haiku above)—added a good helping of actual acting to the film, in addition to a surprising amount of understated humor. John Wick is surprisingly funny. Once you get over the scene that causes John to return to his former life, that is.
The movie also had a little bit of a Wanted vibe, what with the underground society of assassins that John belongs to (or once did) who pay each other and for goods and services with these big gold coins. The backstory isn't completely fleshed out, but the little we do see of it builds a really intriguing world around John's quest for vengeance. I'd love to see more of this world.
Check it out:
This will most certainly be added to our Netflix queue for the future. I am hit or miss with movies like this (love the Fast and Furious films, yet I just can't do The Expendables!) so I always like to check them out!
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, I think it's more like a Die Hard with less plot. Lots of action and shooting with a little humor.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it when you get around to seeing it!