Never Hit a Hit-Man When He's Down

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2017)

"John Wick" (Keanu Reeves) is a highly regarded hit man for the Russian mob who has gotten married and retired. Sadly, five years later his wife dies and he is overcome with grief. Anticipating the impact her death will have upon him, his wife makes one last secret arraignment and has a little puppy sent to him a few days after her funeral as a parting gift. Realizing the love behind the gift he immediately becomes attached it. However, one morning while walking down the stairs of his home he is hit on the head by a thug named "Iosef Tarasov" (Alfie Allen) and before losing consciousness watches as it is killed in front of him. Afterward, Iosef and two other hoodlums then steal his mint '69 Mustang and leave. That afternoon these same thugs take it to a body shop to sell but the owner recognizes who it belongs to and refuses to have anything to do with them. As it turns out, Iosef is the son of a Russian mob boss by the name of "Viggo Tarasov" (Michael Nyqvist) who becomes terribly upset at Iosef for what he has done and desperately attempts to make amends with John. Unfortunately, John refuses to talk and this results in Viggo sending a dozen men to kill him at his home. But John is waiting for them and none of them come back alive. And now it's his turn. At any rate, rather than reveal any more I will just say that I really enjoyed this particular movie and it kept me entertained from start to finish. I especially liked the performance of Keanu Reeves who essentially owned the role and provided a dominating presence throughout. In short, I thought this was a really good film and I have rated it accordingly.