Stylish (over-)sophistication

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2015)

I have always regarded Keanu Reeves a great actor, but some of his choices/opportunities have been bizarre - mildly speaking. Fortunately, John Wick puts Reeves back on track again - he is the real "filler" in this movie, there are a few short scenes without his presence, and quite often he is the only personality visible on screen. True, one can find similarities with his character in e.g. Matrix and A Scanner Darkly, and the plot has several flaws and airy-fairy moments, but all this is presented in a stylish and witty manner, with both multiple angles and endings. Reeves/Wick is a gloomy and firm man, his deeds are certain and final, yet dog- and wife-related scenes are nice and touching. And the locality of Hotel Continental is unconventional.
Apart from Reeves, there are many other distinctive performances as well, practically all who have verbal roles. Michael Nyqvist (as Viggo Tarasov) is a due antagonist to Reeves; rather frequently, there is no proper confrontation because the "bad guy" is more versatile/fascinating than the "good guy" (or vice versa).
All in all, the movie in question is no Tarantino, but yet a good entertaining action with pleasant performances.