A sleak, fun ride at the expense of a detailed plot

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 2018)

2.5/4
This is a very Good Friday night flick. You're home from work, and it's time to watch a movie. You don't want it to make you think, you just want good acting, lighting, direction, and cinematics, and no expenses on the plot. For that kind of night, this is a spectacular choice.
First off, it's not at all that the plot is half-baked. There was no waste of paper writing this script. In John Wick, the plot comes in a half-portion. It is very simple and straightforward in an intriguing way. An oppressed ex-assassin is coping with the shame of his past-actions and the recent death of his wife. The last thing his wife gives him is a puppy. When the foolish son of his old crime-boss breaks into his house, kills the puppy, and takes off in Wick's Mustang..."Well I think I'm back!!"
On another note, the actors really fit into their roles. Keanu Reeves, who is a veteran in stylized action sub-genre, really rocks Wick in much the same fashion he did Neo in The Matrix (1999). This time though, he takes on a much more cold, The-Man-In-Black type persona... a man of few words. The action sequences are quick, flashy, and all produce the same end result. It can get a tad monotonous after a while, but in the end it conveys John Wick as a character more. It shows that a broken man who has everything taken from him will have the most incentive to get to what he wants. Alfie Allen, although his character is never able to be presented in a likable, preforms his immature young adult criminal. Another very sublime detail that you might not pick up on is that the mob is very talky, profane, and excersises little patience, yet Wick is a thinker. John Wick is a character you can truly root for in his conquest to avenge his anguish.
Cinematography proves another segway to the movie's stunning fluidity. Toward the beginning, Sela exaggerates very dark shades of black, and airy shades of white, giving the movie a very docile and harmless feel. As the plot unravels, you see the development of heavy greys kick in, and as the action sequences commence, neon and black become the dominant themes. It makes for a very tidy feature with slick fight sequences.
Another item not usually found in this particular genre... a good balance of everything, from an editing standpoint right down to the acting. I was pleasantly suprised that John Wick had the delivery that it's predecessors seldom did.