Don’t mess with man’s best friend, especially when the man’s a retired mob hitman.
Keanu Reeves returns to big, explosive action in a subtly dark film soaked in bitterness and revenge. While many may criticize him for the lack of personality or depth given to his characters, his role as the eponymous assassin in "John Wick" is well within the reaches of emotional hardness. "Wick," however, does retain a slick balance between dry humor, cool, and bloodlust, which makes the film’s 101 minute runtime so guiltily enjoyable.
There are Russian mobsters (naturally), a hotel with “special accommodations,” and plenty of gunfire and fighting to fill your action quota for the month. It may seem too cheesy for its own good, but the film makes a point of highlighting the action instead of focusing on the exaggerated plot. Director Chad Stahelski specializes as a Hollywood stuntman, appearing as a body double for Neo in "The Matrix" and as stunt coordinator for many popular titles. Given his background, much attention is paid to action sequences, and the result is a neo-noir thriller--essentially, it’s a film of darkly suave, comic book proportions (compare the style to "V for Vendetta").
The script, penned by Derek Kolstad, is somewhat generic and awash in cliches, but entertaining and memorable nonetheless. As it goes John Wick is retired and grieving the death of his love, Helen (Bridget Moynahan), the reason for his departure from hired gun. His only reasons for being, it seems, include an adorable beagle pup, a gift from the late Helen, and his treasured ‘69 Ford Mustang. He is routine-oriented and constantly in a quiet rage; his Mustang regularly gets its rubber burned at an airfield as a mode of release. After performing this bit one day, he stops to get gas on the way home. A young Russian, along with his henchmen, comment on the car and ask for a price, quite rudely, and Wick replies it is not for sale, quite rudely back.
Shortly after, we endure Wick being taken from his sleep and beaten violently into unconsciousness by the same vandals. The beagle pup whines in fear, we see trails of blood, his keys are swiped. Upon waking, the camera follows a trail of blood: the beagle pup is dead in front of Wick. Upon losing the things that matter most to him, it is only logical he seek the highest order of vengeance.
And it just so happens it was the son, Iosef (Alfie Allen), and henchmen of his former mob boss, Viggo Tarasov, a fitting Michael Nyqvist, that destroyed his prize possessions. Tarasov knows, too, who is out to get him. He beats the son into understanding that he messed with the wrong man. Interspliced during Tarasov’s speech is Wick slamming through concrete, eventually unveiling the tools of his trade; adding complete gravity to Tarasov’s testaments of Wick’s focus (slam), commitment (slam), and sheer will (slam). A man who, as Tarasov delivers deathly blunt, “you send to kill the f***ing Boogeyman.”
The montage that ensures is one of pure digital delight. Tarasov voices over the coming fight scene, as he sings about the Boogeyman in Russian, while Wick dons more black clothes than Johnny Cash; Wick, of course, anticipates the steady stream of armed men swarming his house. And Wick, of course, kills every last gunman with expert precision.
The film runs long toward the latter half of Wick’s path of vengeance, leading up to an encounter with Tarasov in the pouring rain. Nevertheless, each scene is as visually satisfying as the last. Reeves claims to have done 90 percent of his stunts, and, in one instance, took his dedication to the role quite far. During a nightclub fight scene, Reeves was running a 104° fever, having also memorized the scene the day it was filmed. Wick switches between several shooting styles seamlessly; evidence of Stahelski’s stuntman prowess.
Other notable roles include Willem Dafoe and Adrianne Palicki. Dafoe stars as Marcus, a sympathetic sniping assassin, an associate and friend of Wick. Ms. Perkins, played by Palicki, is a sultry murderess eluded to having a past with Wick. Both are contracted by Tarasov to kill Wick, a hefty $2 million bounty, but each treat the order differently.
In terms of palette, the film tends toward darker, rich hues to balance out the overwhelming monochromatic black and white. The environments featured throughout parallel the pervasive cool and ruggedness of John Wick. The music, to echo the high stakes and high body count, is a mix of electronic and hard rock.
"Wick" is a top-notch movie worthy of a spot in epic action, with enough references and inspirations to solidify its place.
As for a sequel, Reeves says it best: “People keep asking if I'm back and I haven't really had an answer, but yeah, I'm thinking I'm back.” "John Wick 2" is due out in 2016.
