As far as the big budget Hollywood franchises go, John Wick is not one that I’m angry with. It is exaggerated cathartic action and nothing more. It doesn’t try to win over the critics by shoehorning in some pretence at depth of character or moral statement, while otherwise conforming to exactly the same formulaic structure again and again. With John Wick, you get exactly what you came for. Nothing more, nothing less.
John Wick exists among the classics of the action genre. The series is up there with Die Hard and Rambo. Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of the genre. Small set pieces of action can be used well to complement a good story, but when it’s the primary focus of the viewing experience I find it tiresome. This is probably why I had never watched a John Wick movie before, despite being a huge fan of Keenu Reeves.
Three hours of none stop violent action is absolutely not my idea of a worthwhile cinema trip, but I came away in awe. The work that has clearly gone into the choreography, stunts and cinematography is staggering.
Pure cathartic joy in ludicrous action everywhere.
Everywhere you look on screen there are elements taken from other genres and series. There’s the luxurious travel, suits and gadgets of James Bond and card games, quickdraw battles and riding out of the sunset from the Western. There’s a blind assassin character who is reminiscent of Daredevil, as well as one villain who is clearly modelled on Penguin from Batman. It makes me think of a kid opening their toybox and playing with everything all at once. It conveys a sense of pure cathartic joy in ludicrous action everywhere.
There were a couple of story elements that I liked. The concept of two men having to fight together up a hill, knowing they will have to turn on each other in a final duel at the top is a particularly dramatic idea that lent a lot of depth to that particular fighting sequence. I liked the sense self-awareness at play too. Some moments are so overly dramatic they appear as though they’re supposed to be funny. After a twenty-minute fight on a flight of stairs, Wick is King Leonidas kicked backwards and rolls down about a thousand steps and is forced to fight all the way back up them again. A person highlight was when, after a particularly impressive battle sequence, Wick runs at a window and dives through it, falling three stories into the street and crushing a car, then simply getting up and walking away. It’s a moment that completely abandons any sense of believability. You get the feeling you’re supposed to be laughing at the director’s audacity.
Having the courage to conclude your work and move onto something else is a way you can continue to stimulate creativity.
The movie finishes by making a move I have a lot of respect for- killing the main character. John Wick dies at the end, and the writers decisively round off the series in a way that says, ‘we’ve had our fun, now we’re putting it to bed.’ It’s a move I wish more writers would risk making. Having the courage to conclude your work and move onto something else is a way you can continue to stimulate creativity, and it helps the finished piece stand out instead of getting lost and diluted amongst hundreds of sequels and remakes. That said, this is Hollywood, and there were just enough minor hints at Wick escaping death for the resurrection and continuation of the series to be plausible. I hope it doesn’t happen, and that Wick remains dead so the series can lead by example and end on a high. But of course, I would not be at all surprised if John Wick is brought back from the dead with minimal explanation to continue his murderous rampage of outrageous action.
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