John Wick Review - 2014

Rating: 8/10 (5 November 2014)

John Wick is my kind of action movie. It's simple, strait to the point, and builds a truly unique crime world while not taking itself too seriously. It's just fun.
Keanu Reeves plays John Wick, a quiet man who has given up his career of an assassin to care for his dying wife. The film opens up with her funeral and wake. What disease did she die from? It never says, but it doesn't matter. What does matter, is that John Wick is hurting from his loss and we can clearly see this. As a last gift before her death, his wife gets him a puppy to help deal with the grief. The movie does a terrific job of building a believable love for the dog in a short period of time. After showing interest in John Wicks car, young gangsters break in to Johns house, beat him up, kill the dog, and steal his car. Big mistake. After this, the movie never stops. It is wall-to-wall action, and it is good.
The performances are solid all around. Willem Defoe is great as John wicks old friend, Marcus. And Michael Nyqvist is particularly entertaining as the leader of the crime world. But it is Keanu Reeves we come to see. This man has not lost his edge. From what I've gathered from other people's opinions, you either love Keanu or hate him. I like him. They don't give him too much dialogue here, but that's a good thing. Keanu plays a hardened killer very well and his actions speak far louder then words. Apparently, he did 90% of his own stunts for this film. And for the amount of stunts here, that's damn impressive. I liked that the film builds up how much of a badass John Wick is by telling us how much he is feared in the crime world. They call him the boogeyman for pete sake.
Lets talk about the setting. The filmmakers have done an excellent job of building a crime world that is colorful with stylish neon lights but dark and seedy all at the same time. I particularly like how everyone involved in this world pays with gold coins. It was a cool touch to let the audience know who is inside and who isn't.
My gripes. I felt the ending to be a little lack luster after such a terrific ride. But I guess it left me wanting more. Also, some of the lines seem a bit out of place in a cheesy way. But all in all this is a great action film with a star that was in desperate need of a win. Keanu defiantly won with this one.