The Boogeyman

John Wick

So here is a question for all of you out there…Does anyone remember Keanu Reeves being cool? I can remember him being at the center of things during The Matrix, but after the third one, Mr. Reeves kind of just fell to the wayside. Besides having that stoned look on his face all of the time, I actually enjoyed Reeves’ movies. Point Break to Speed to The Matrix, Reeves has proved that he has what it takes to be a good action star. Like every other action star, Reeves has had his missteps (47 Ronin comes to mind) and like all of the other action stars, Reeves just has to wait for that bounce back. Well, this year may be the year that Reeves bounces back with his new action film, John Wick.

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) has just lost his wife to an incurable disease. As almost from beyond the grave, Wick’s wife gives John a puppy advising him that he needs something to love after losing her. Accepting the gift with some tears, John tries to go back to his normal life. Unfortunately for John, that doesn’t quite happen when a couple of men check out his classic muscle car at a local gas station. After declining multiple offers to buy the car from John, John leaves as peaceful as he can. Not taking no for an answer, the group of men decide to rough up John in the middle of the night, steal his car, and kill his puppy. Coming to in the morning, John seeks out his car from an old friend and finds out that the kid who ultimately stole John’s car is the son of the richest Russian gangster in New York, Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol). Soon Tarasov finds out what his son has done and explains to his son why he couldn’t have picked a worse person to steal from. According to Tarasov, John is the one man that you send to kill the Boogeyman and now that Boogeyman is after Tarasov’s son.

I don’t know if anyone else out there likes to play video games like Call of Duty to release some stress like I do. Sometimes I also like to release some steam by watching violent movies like Sucker Punch or John Woo’s The Replacement Killers. These aren’t award winning films, but just a movie to watch explosions and useless violence. I know I’m messed up in the head, but everyone has their releases. John Wick is one of those movies. Wick is not going to the Oscars, but I can assure you that it will be one to talk about with your friends.

This film has great action scenes, a story to “believe”, and acting that isn’t horrible. Reeves returns in Matrix form, proving that he belongs with other great action stars. Wick isn’t a man of many words in this film, so Reeves relies heavily on the action chorography and his body language during non-action scenes. Reeves does great at both. There is one person that I would have liked to see more of, fellow “hitman” Ms. Perkins played by Adrianne Palicki (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Palicki actually does a great job holding her own against Reeves and since her outing as Jaye in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Ms. Palicki has shown that she has the chops to be in these big action movies. In Wick, Palicki has a great presence and a great sarcastic attitude I love in a “hitman”. On the flipside to these two good performances, is two not-so-good ones. The one I was least disappointed with is Michael Nygvist. Nygvist’s character is very bi-polar in the way that he is ruthless when no one is pointing a gun at him, then he runs around liken a girl when the bullets start to fly. How did this guy become a major crime lord in New York City being this bi-polar? The one I was most disappointed with was Tarasov’s son, Iosef Tarasov played by Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones). This character was ANNOYING. What I had the biggest problem with is Allen is amazing in Thrones, but essentially plays the exact same type of character here in Wick. Maybe the director should have picked a different actor or Allen may have wanted to play Iosef differently than his character on Thrones.

The far more interesting part about this film is that it was the first film directed by two former stuntmen. Chad Stahelski (credited) and David Leitch (uncredited) take the helm on this action film and do an incredible job for being first time directors. Obviously their work as stunt coordinators and assistant directors helped, but they handle this project like they are seasoned directors. They use the camera really well and incorporate great music to fit the scene or action.

For all of you that would like to see Keanu Reeves back in “action” and watch a film that takes that stress away, John Wick is a great movie to watch. With great action scenes from two people that probably know more about it than most Hollywood directors, Wick takes itself seriously enough that we, the audience, view it as an A-list film, but not serious enough where the film doesn’t have any fun.

The Verdict: Worth Your Time