Flash Movie Review: John Wick
It can cut across all age groups. I am not saying it is right nor am I condoning it, even though I have done it myself. If you never acted it out there is a good possibility you have seen someone else do it. Maybe at the beach you saw two little ones building sand castles. I do not know what the attraction is but after the castles were done, one of the little ones kicked the other castle. In turn, the one with the broken castle ran over to the remaining castle and stomped on it. Through my school years I saw so many examples of revenge that sadly it was pretty much the norm. In my day revenge consisted of putting glue on a student’s seat or starting a rumor about them. With the access of the internet we have been exposed to various kinds of revenge and cyberbullying. I remember an incident where I worked at a company that had a boss who was a horrible person. Trust me when I say he was not a nice man; so keeping that in mind, I am going to tell you something that I am embarrassed to reveal. At work one day, late in the afternoon, I went to the restroom. Standing at the urinal I heard a faint cry for help. Looking over by the stalls I caught a glimpse of my boss’ shoes peeking under the only closed door. I pretended I did not hear anything and shut the lights off as I walked out of the bathroom. Back when that happened I knew it was wrong but it felt so good. REVENGE was the only reason ex-hitman John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves (The Matrix franchise, Devil’s Advocate), came out of retirement. This action thriller had a no-nonsense, take no prisoners approach that was beautifully executed by first time directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski. Interesting side note, the two directors were both stuntmen, which explained the focus on physical contact in this movie and I was impressed by it. The fights played out like live video games with precision choreographed movements. Keanu was well suited for this role with its sparse dialog that he delivered in the proper framework, whether it was sadness or sarcasm. Without giving away anything I thought the writers did a brilliant job on what was the motivation that pushed John back into his former line of work. Operating just as well were the actors Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo franchise, Disconnect) as Viggo Tarasov, Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones-TV, The Other Boleyn Girl) as Iosef Tarasov and William Dafoe (Out of the Furnance, The Hunter) as Marcus. This film knew exactly what it wanted to achieve and succeeded. I have to tell you I did not know revenge would be so much fun to watch. There were many scenes that had blood and violence in them.
3 1/4 stars
Posted on October 28, 2014, in Thriller and tagged 3 1/4 stars, action, alfie allen, gangster, keanu reeves, michael nyqvist, revenge, thriller, william dafoe. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
Keanu Reeves is one of my favorite actors. He takes some of the most daring roles and manages them terrifically. Thank you for this review. 🙂
I hope you see this film; I have a feeling if it is successful at the box office it could become a franchise. Thank you as always for coming by.
Oh wow, I fell in love with Keanu Reeves with Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I must have watched that movie 20 times. I know, I know, that not only dates me but shows what schtick for comedies I enjoy. But I’ve always enjoyed a good thriller movie with Keanu in it!
Then trust me on this one, you will really enjoy the adult Keanu in this thriller.
So Glad to see Keanu back on form 🙂 Thanks for the review, definitely gotta see this 🙂
Thanks for coming by and I would love to hear what you think of this film after you see it.
Ah – I have looked online, and John Wick only shows in cinemas here in SA in 50 days time!
Whaaat?? Well what a bummer, but I can wait to hear your take on it. Good luck and enjoy.
I now hope to see this! Great review!
I hope you see it also and I would enjoy hearing what you think of it afterwards. Thanks for coming by to leave your comment.
I want to see this one and it’s good to know that Keanu finally has another hit on his hands after the Matrix. There are some murmurs of a possible Bill & Ted movie in the works but at this point, it is strictly rumor with no production plans set in place. The last article I read, Alex Winter said he was all for another movie as Bill S. Preston but I’m honestly hoping that it never gets the green light.
I can’t imagine after all this time what another Bill & Ted movie would be like. But then again who thought there would be another Dumb & Dumber film. lol I hope you get to see this thriller as Keanu is so in the groove.