Year of Release: 2019
Director: Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Asia Kate Dillon, Mark Dacascos, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, Tobias Segal, Said Taghmaoui, Jerome Flynn, Randall Duk Kim, Margaret Daly, Robin Lord Taylor
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review:
The John Wick narrative continues, following the successful previous two installments. This series, which saw a humble beginning in 2014, directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch (uncredited), two professionals previously associated with stuntwork, both of whom have successfully carved out a fruitful directorial career, just keeps getting better, more refined and engaging. The film picks up where the last installment left - after killing someone in a sanctuary locale, John Wick is given an hour to escape, since a bounty will be placed on his head. He, alongside his dog, desperately go in search of help, picking up a few items along the way in order to make that happen. Wick manages to get to Casablanca, in the pursuit of an old associate who can get him in touch with people who know how to get in contact with the head of the organization. Wick manages to buy some time, but in order to be granted his life, he has to execute one of his old allies. What lies ahead is a series of more obstacles for him to overcome.
Much of what I stated about the second installment of the series, applies to this film. These films have a distinct B-movie aspect to them, which they wear it on their lapel with much gusto. The characters never have much depth to them, but that has never been the core significance of this series. These films have an ultimate goal of making all the events suitable excuses for very choreographed ballets of death and bullets, administered by the taciturn Keanu Reeves. As the series continues, the budgets have gotten better, and so have the action set pieces, which continue to be exhilarating, even if at times, almost exhaustive in their length. Still, it's a film not to be taken seriously, where there's a gratuitous pleasure in the havoc and mayhem that Keanu Reeves' character creates. It's not as cartoonish as Michael Davis' "Shoot 'Em Up", but also nowhere near as complex as anything that Michael Mann has ever created. The cast is uniformly solid and cynical, with Anjelica Huston, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne and Ian McShane, adding just enough personality and wit to keep the film watchable and fun. The cinematography from Dan Laustsen is impeccable. An entertaining film worth watching.
Much of what I stated about the second installment of the series, applies to this film. These films have a distinct B-movie aspect to them, which they wear it on their lapel with much gusto. The characters never have much depth to them, but that has never been the core significance of this series. These films have an ultimate goal of making all the events suitable excuses for very choreographed ballets of death and bullets, administered by the taciturn Keanu Reeves. As the series continues, the budgets have gotten better, and so have the action set pieces, which continue to be exhilarating, even if at times, almost exhaustive in their length. Still, it's a film not to be taken seriously, where there's a gratuitous pleasure in the havoc and mayhem that Keanu Reeves' character creates. It's not as cartoonish as Michael Davis' "Shoot 'Em Up", but also nowhere near as complex as anything that Michael Mann has ever created. The cast is uniformly solid and cynical, with Anjelica Huston, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne and Ian McShane, adding just enough personality and wit to keep the film watchable and fun. The cinematography from Dan Laustsen is impeccable. An entertaining film worth watching.
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