John Wick is the most smashing action thriller of 2014! Its premise
is based on the simplest of ideas: revenge. Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick, a
former underworld figure who has been transformed by love and has distanced
himself from his past and it’s by far his best performance since the off-beat
2006 Phillip K. Dick adaptation of A
Scanner Darkly.
In John Wick’s opening montage, the audience see Wick’s world come
quietly unravelled through a series of scenes that end with the death of his
wife from a terminal illness. At his wife’s funeral, the audience are given
their first insight into the man Wick once was with a visit from his old friend
Marcus (Willem Dafoe), who’s just checking in to make sure that he’s “alright”.
It’s a short scene but establishes very early the deliberate economy by which John Wick has been made, as this brief
exchange of dialogue establishes the relationship between Wick and Marcus and
its importance later in the film.
The night after his the funeral,
Wick receives a puppy; a final gift that his dying wife had arranged to help
him deal with his grief. He quickly develops a grudging affection for the dog
and the pair head out in Wick’s 1969 Mustang to do errands. While at the local
petrol station, Wick crosses paths with three punks, one of whom wants to buy
his car and then makes a wisecrack in Russian about his “bitch” dog. The punk
who makes the remark is Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen), the son of a New York
Russian crime boss. The audience gain another insight into Wick at this point
as he counters Iosef’s insult in fluent Russian, brushes him off and leaves the
young punk somewhat confused by what’s just happened.
Later that night, Iosef and his
two friends track Wick back to his house and break-in. To teach Wick a lesson,
Iosef kills his dog and then steals his car. Iosef, not realising with whom he
has messed, takes the Mustang to Aurelio (John Leguizamo), the owner of a
vehicle cop-shop controlled by Iosef’s father. Aurelio immediately recognises
Wick’s car and tells Iosef to get the hell out, laying a punch on him in the
process. Later, Aurelio receives a phone call from Viggo Tarasov (Michael
Nyquist), Iosef’s father, wanting to know why Aurelio punched his son. He
informs the crime boss that Iosef is responsible for killing John Wick’s dog
and stealing his car. Viggo knows the fuse has been lit and that hell is about
to arrive on his doorstep.
From this point, the story rarely
takes a moment to catch itself. Derek Kolstad’s screenplay continues to provide
the viewer with the salient amount of exposition to care for Wick while
creating multiple set pieces that allow Reeves to take full advantage of the
physicality of the role. Reeves has never been highly regarded as a ‘actor’ and
nothing in John Wick will change any
of the preconceptions that movie-goers may have about him. The great benefit
for Reeves in this film is that it’s the action,
not the acting, which makes his performance and the film successful. Reeves is
fantastic in the action sequences. His movements are purposeful and economical;
making it very easy for the camera to track his every movement clearly. John Wick co-directors David Leitch and
Chad Stahelski are both experienced stunt choreographers who have worked with
Reeves on The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions and Constantine. Based on the results of
what they have delivered with John Wick,
both Leitch and Stahelski clearly understand the combination of style and
economy required to deliver an all-out action thriller.
Beyond their leading man, Leitch
and Stahelski have assembled an outstanding team of actors and movie-makers for
John Wick. Michael Nyquist, as Viggo
Tarasov, has the hardest job in the film; balancing his desire to protect his
son while, simultaneously, admiring Wick for his ‘unique’ approach to getting
things done. Ian McShane has a small but important role as Winston, a man of
influence within the criminal underworld of assassins and hit-men. Adrianne
Palicki injects the second half of the film with sultry antagonism, as her
character – Ms Perkins – breaks the code of the assassin’s profession in an
effort to claim the contract Viggo has placed on Wick. Lance Reddick adds an
element of mystery & mythology as the Manager of the Continental Hotel, a
neutral-zone for assassins in New York on “business”, as does David Patrick
Kelly as Charlie, a man who runs a very unique cleaning business.
John Wick benefits greatly from very strong cinematography by
Jonathan Sela and a pumping soundtrack from Tyler Bates & Joel J. Richard.
The visuals and the soundtrack combine to add an extra layer of style to the
film that is completely unexpected and pleasing to both the eye and the ear.
Jonathan Sela is a relatively young film-maker, but he has already been
director of photography on a number of large scale movies including 2013’s A Good Day To Die Hard and has worked
with feature film director John Moore on two other occasions lensing Law Abiding Citizen and Max Payne. Much of John Wick takes place at night and Sela provides a lighting palette
that is very effective at communicating the sub-culture of crime and assassins,
with the use of red and purple highlights against grey, smoke-filled garages,
nightclubs and hotels.
Recent entries into the action
thriller genre, such as Denzel Washington’s TheEqualizer, have attempted to intellectualise their protagonists and make
them sympathetic for the sake of audience fulfilment at the end of the movie. John Wick doesn’t bother with this
approach. It uses a simple premise and then unleashes an almost non-stop
barrage of violence that only comes to end when Wick himself decides that
enough is enough. It’s an excellent action film and a great return to form for
Keanu Reeves.
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