The moment I got home I went online to see if “John Wick” was based on a graphic novel. Not only does the film have a brutal, precise style, but there’s also an in-depth world where everyone knows everyone as they check in and out of a hotel for assassins, fit with an on call doctor and dry cleaning. I turned up no results, meaning this is an original piece of work. Good God.
You would think that this is just your standard action crap like “The November Man,” but therein lays the magic of this action juggernaut. The second you realize how much detail went into crafting every aspect to elevate it above the standard revenge flick, is the second a smile is permanently cemented on your face.
The early scenes with John Wick (Keanu Reeves) mourning over the recent loss of his wife ring with a mature melancholy and heartache. I don’t know how they rung that out of the first 5 minutes, but by God they did it.
Maybe it’s because she didn’t die at the hands of a former foe, but naturally to cancer. The death is simply to illustrate Wicks current emotional state, and not the driving force of the movie. But then when a spoiled Russian and his goons kill his puppy—a final gift from his wife so he doesn’t have to grieve alone—then that’s when the force comes, erupting and turning Wick back into the badass super assassin he used to be—a straight-up case of pissing off the wrong guy by killing the cutest dog ever. Such a pro ASPCA message in such a violent movie.
As for that super spy bit, action junkies will shoot for joy when I say that Wick reminds me most of a one John McClane in the original “Die Hard,” with a little Neo from “The Matrix” sprinkled in. He shoots people in the head like no other, but he can be easily taken down. He gets beaten up, thrown over railings and stopped mid rampage quite easily. Each fight is filled with an intensity knowing he could get overpowered any moment, but also with excitement knowing he’ll find a way out.
But all the action is a mere cherry on top to the sheer world-building going on. John Wicks history as a badass is easily conveyed in the fear of the men who figure out he’s coming for them. The main Russian baddie (Michael Nyqvist) doesn’t stomp around with misguided arrogance saying “Da! Let him come! More vodka!” His eyes gaze towards the ground when he hears John Wick is coming. He knows he’s going to die. So badass.
Then we see Wick saying hello to other assassins and former foes like a superhero seeing his arch nemesis at a grocery store. You know you have an interesting moment when instead of blowing a security guard’s head off they chit-chat about his weight. They also all pay in these special golden coins. I don’t know what the exchange rate is on them, but they are desperately sought after.
What makes “Wick” so astounding is not only that the bullets fly better, or the characters are far more watchable, it’s that the filmmakers gave every aspect just a little more thought. They let the movie exist in its own world as if we’ve been there before. I wished I had seen something so fun and engaging in the genre before. What a life wasted.
