A symphony of violence

Rating: 8/10 (12 March 2017)

You must let the 'suspension of disbelief' prevail when you watch John Wick. You'll enjoy it more by not going in with expectations of realism. It's nearly a super (anti)hero movie.
I have two complaints. The spark that ignites John Wick on his killing rampage could have been better. The interconnections of the mafia thugs accidentally meeting him at the gas station was just too coincidental and random to work well. Also, I wasn't sure what all the burn-outs in the Mustang was about. Maybe it was filmed for a sequence that was never completed. Maybe the director needed some filler. Maybe Keanu just wanted to spin the tyres of an awesome muscle car.
Besides those niggles, I loved the stylized violence, very tight direction, and the sheer number of deaths packed tightly in a fast moving, easy to follow plot. A perfect movie to watch when downing several beers.
This film is the very definition of a violent, action movie, a bit like those I remember from my youth. We knew what we were getting if we rented anything with Van Damme, Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan or Stallone in it. Now we have one by Reeves.