Please see this movie.

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2015)

John Wick is an interesting film that came and went before our eyes. Yet those who did decide to give it a chance, seem to love it very much. It's 'Certified Fresh' on Rottentomatoes and has a 7.5 rating on IMDb as of right now. Impressive for a film that is basically one shoot out after the next....after the next....after the next.
An ex hit-man comes out of retirement after he's attacked by three thugs in his home. This attack leaves him beaten, without a car and a dead dog, which was given to him by his recently deceased wife. Big mistake. Once these guys tries to sell the muscle car to a garage that strips parts, the owner seems to instantly recognize it. The man asks, who's car this is. Who cares? The young spoiled brat replies. I can tell you one thing, we beat his ass to get it, and his stupid dog too. Bam, punched in the face. The kid goes crying to his mob boss of a father, who then calls up that mechanic. Did you punch my son in the face? Yes sir, I did. Why, he asked. Well sir, because he stole John Wick's car...and killed his dog.
Oh crap.
This sets up the film, the classic revenge tale. Nothing really new here. We've seen dozens of films where the retired killer has to come out of retirement to revenge the death of a loved one. This time it happens to be a canine. The dog is adorably cute and my wife was in tears...TEARS I TELL YOU, when they killed the poor pup. About one scene before it happened, she says to me, "Are they going to kill the dog?" Terrified of the answer that I would not give her. Well, yes, they did. She instantly wanted John Wick to kill EVERYONE. So I guess when a dog gets it, you instantly want those responsible dead. Funny, I feel the same way. When people die on film, no big deal, but when an animal dies, all hell breaks lose.
After that is out of the way, John Wick suits up to take out those who have wronged him. It just happens to be the son of his former boss. So when the boss finds out, he knows he's in trouble. So now he has to get to Wick before Wick gets to them. Thus, the body count piles up. It piles up in a finely tuned operatic fashion, as the action sequences are some of the best in the last few years. Wick uses his guns with precision. Shot to the chest, then to the head. It's robotic. One man against a dozen? Fair fight.
To say the action in John Wick is stylized in an understatement. This is one of the best action films in years. Chad Stahelski, a stunt coordinator, makes his directing debut here. So he knows his way around a fight, being responsible for such films as the Expendables, The Wolverine, Tron: Legacy, and many many more. I like this new trend of giving people from different departments a chance at the directing chair. See what they can bring to the table. The man clearly knows his stuff, so give him a script to shoot and see what he can achieve. He nails it here. One impressive sequence has Wick going into a club, with multiple levels and rooms and takes out the bad guys one by one. First silently, then when all hell breaks lose, with calm and ease. Bottom line: This is one FUN film.
Reeves never impresses with his acting ability. It's kind of a running gag with people that he cannot act his way out of a paper bag. One scene here has him actually showing some emotion, which is when he reads the letter from his wife after receiving the dog. The rest of the film is how bad ass can Reeves look while taking out dozens of people. The answer, really bad ass. Familiar faces show up, such as Willem Dafoe, as another assassin. Adrianne Palicki as a beautiful....well...assassin. Michael Nyqvist, from the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, plays the Russian Mobster, whose son, Alfie Allen aka Theon Greyjoy, gets him into this mess. As if we needed another reason to hate Theon. Finally Ian McShane as a friendly face in a crowd of so few.
The world created in John Wick is interesting to me. These assassins have gold coins that get them into these places that only the secret society of assassins can access. There are hidden clubs, hotel rooms, etc. How can all these assassins and hit-men be in a club and not want to shoot each other. Well, there seem to be certain rules. Don't break them, or there might be consequences.
Those club scenes are really fun. Jonathan Sela, the DOP, bathes the film is icy blues and nice neon lighting for those club scenes. Giving it a heightened look and feel. Everything about the film feels smooth as ice, just like John Wick. The directing style reflects the lead character. Aggressive when it needs to be, but calm and collected most of the time. When I say aggressive, boy do I mean aggressive. Wick acts like a man with nothing to lose, no fear. He will walk right into the lions den to get the job done.
John Wick is one of the biggest surprises of 2014 for me. While some might call it a no brainer repetitive action film I call it high class action fun. FUN is the key word here. Watching John Wick dispose of those bodies was fun. Seeing this society of people who all know each other was fun. Seeing Keanu Reeves back in the limelight doing what he does best? You called it...fun.