Reeves plays the title character, who is a retired assassin trying to deal with the loss of his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan) to terminal cancer. As a final gift from Helen before she passed away, Wick receives a dog named Daisy to keep him company now that she's gone. Wick's quiet new life is quickly turned upside down after he refuses to sell his '69 Mustang to a low-level thug named Losef (Alfie Allen) during a heated encounter at a gas station. Later that night, Losef and his henchman go to Wick's house, steal his car, and kill Daisy. Enraged and heartbroken by the actions of Losef- who turns out to be the son of a Russian mobster (Michael Nyquist) Wick was once employed by-he is forced to re-enter a world thought he had escaped to seek revenge on Losef and kill anyone that tries to stop him from getting his retribution.
In a year where most B-grade action films have been huge disappointments (The Equalizer, The Expendables 3) John Wick is a godsend. The full-throttle action is constant, the story flows nicely and above all, the film is fun as all hell. First-time directing pair David Litch and Chad Stahleski use their prior experience as stuntmen to stage some of the most exhilarating action scenes to grace the screen in 2014. The two key action setpieces at Wick's house and a Russian-owned nightclub standout with their mix of hand-to-hand combat and gunplay, and great camera movement that is able to capture all of the rapid-pace action. The last couple of fight scenes get a bit bogged down with repetition, but it's not nearly enough to take away from the strength of a majority of the film's action sequences.
Whats sets John Wick apart from a lot of other films in the genre is the atmosphere it establishes. The world of assassins and organized crime John Wick portrays just oozes cool. I mean what's more badass than an assassin-friendly hotel with its own special currency? As you would except from a film with such a interesting backdrop, the film features a set of fascinating characters. The colorful supporting characters including Ian McShane as the owner of the assassin hotel, Lance Reddick as the hotel's front desk receptionist, and Nyquist as the film's most powerful villain pile on the charisma and make the dialog-loaded scenes just as fun as the action. Even with an excellent supporting cast, this is still very much Reeves' show. He delivers his most confident performance in ages here as Wick- a killing machine who shows minimal emotion. Reeves has never had the chops for serious dramatic work, but there are only a few actors working right now that are better equipped to handle the lead role in a pure action film. He just has that special eternally cool presence that's needed to anchor this type of film. John Wick is a smart, expertly-crafted B-movie that delivers the pulpy thrills action junkies have been craving all year long.
4/5 Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment