The coolest 'beat 'em up' in years.

Rating: 8/10 (24 January 2016)

Hearing nothing but good things about the sleeper action film John Wick (2014), I figured the high praise was enough give this one a go. Let me start by saying, nothing in this movie disappoints. The premise is ridiculous, the flick knows it's off the rails, and what makes it work is that it simply does not care what you think. The people behind the revenge picture might as well have added a disclaimer that reads: "Sit down. Shut up. Enjoy." And with that being said, (Holy Body Count!) was this a non-stop Funfest. (Even my Lady liked it. That's saying something.)
John Wick (Reeves) starts off as a sympathetically stoic widower having a tough time dealing with the loss of his ailing wife (Moynahan). Keeping to himself, very little is given about his back-story, other than he has a sweet ass car and an adorable new puppy. At times the opening feels like they were going for the sappy levels we succumbed to in the gut wrenchingly somber intro of Up (2009). But that all comes to a screeching halt once the son of a Russian mob boss (Allen) takes an unhealthy interest in Wick's car while filling up at a gas station (Word to the wise, don't mess with another man's ride.). After breaking into his home and stealing (amongst other horrific acts) the beloved vehicle, much (MUCH) more is of Wick's past life slowly simmers to the surface and eventually leads to an all out boil-over of who this relatively quiet man truly was. And it just keeps getting better from there.
This movie was drag out, blood and guts, slam-bam (add more silly terms at your leisure) from the end of Act One on and it doesn't let up until the final shot. Normally, this can be tedious and ineffective, but the world that opens up to the viewer is so well crafted that it leaves the audience clamoring for more. The supporting cast is amazing as well, dropping familiar faces into this gumbo of awesome at a steady, but not over saturated, pace. Rough, gritty, and self aware of it's coo-coo bananas plot, the filmmakers put together a production that comes with a slick polish all the while throwing everything they could at the screen without apology. I haven't seen a movie this confident in a crazy premise since Jason Statham ran amok in Crank (2006)