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John Wick Movie Review

John Wick is a 2014 neo-noir action thriller film directed by Chad Stahelski and starring Keanu Reeves. It’s a typical, but undeniably very entertaining movie.

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“Your membership to The Continental has been,

by thine own hand, revoked“

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An ex-hit-man comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that killed his dog and took everything from him. This is one of those action thrillers that are entirely unoriginal. Whether you are talking about the films of Quentin Tarantino or the Liam Neeson vehicles, it is the same old revenge flick with the only difference being the dog card.

And that is the most important, most memorable angle to this film. Unlike so many other movies, this one actually kills the dog, and a puppy no less. That was brutal and just heartbreaking to witness. That entire sequence played out very effectively and the result was this very moving story and a great trigger for the revenge to unfold.

A lot has been said about its kinetic action, and it surely is very well executed. I would have preferred more regular fist fights instead of shootouts, but undeniably each is very well done. The hotel scenes were particularly arresting visually speaking and the fights there were brilliantly choreographed. This was the height of the film in terms of the spectacle.

Keanu Reeves is stupendous in the role that suits his talents very well. It is very easy to root for this guy and this is the type of perfect casting that transcends the material effortlessly. It is one of his best roles, that’s for sure. As for the other characters, I was not thrilled. The acting was fine, but the villains were particularly underdeveloped and the fact that they were Russian gangsters felt overly dated and boring.

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John Wick is at the end of the day quite entertaining and short, thus it did not get on my nerves. I am not an action movie fan, and even I could appreciate how well made and just how solid this flick is. The direction is very good as is the editing. I just wish there was more dialogue and better characterization.

While certainly standard fare in terms of its storytelling and the characterization left a lot to be desired, John Wick is still a surprisingly solid action flick that manages to transcend its pedestrian material thanks to a great turn from Keanu Reeves, a heartbreaking dog angle, fun and kinetic action scenes and superb direction.

My Rating – 3.5