Film review: John Wick

I will always reserve the elite ratings for films that do everything and do it perfectly. John Wick is an action movie through and through, no slashes, no sub-genre. That being said, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t unique in ways, the whole interconnection between all that were involved in John Wick’s line of work and the hilarious civility and interactions made for a fun tone at various moments. There were plenty of little nuances that intertwined into classic action would seem to please a variety of viewers.

Moving past the tone of the film, individual things that were just brilliantly executed in this film roll out into a small list. Firstly, the lesser use of stuntmen. Keanu Reeves has always been great when it comes to keeping himself in the screen, any doable stunts were performed by him and it was nice to watch action sequences that weren’t diluted by wide-shots of imposters that were dressed like their lookalike stars. Secondly, the introduction. Many many films remain masterpieces based on a good opening. The plot and emotion that set up the motive was new and raw, but the debut of John Wick the ex-hitman from John Wick the dog-loving softy was perhaps my favourite ever. Most action films show off their resources and stunts in the prologue, they want to sell you their action hero right from kick off. You met John Wick as a respectable man undergoing tough times before his introduction as a legend, and it was literally explained to us and the antagonist by the words of someone who knew him. The editing and sudden revealing visuals while that explanation was ongoing was honestly one of the most epic curtain raisers to a character reveal I can recall.

The third and final thing that I enjoyed watching John Wick was the very scarce moments of comic relief. The standstill interactions between John Wick and multiple characters “complaining about the noise” was actually funny, and not the usual desperate attempt to make everyone laugh all though the film.

Considering the quality of the action scenes, the story, the world and the general feel, I would have to say it’s among the best action films I’ve seen, and so I feel obliged to prop it up right near the top.

Rating: 8.5/10