Watchable shooter

Rating: 4/10 (27 January 2015)

If you're 13 or 14 years old and you absolutely adore violent video games, get your mom to take you to this picture and you will be in awesomeness heaven. If you're not, you'll probably want to steer clear of this ultra-violent and essentially nonsensical hit man revenge shoot-em-up. The body count surpasses most war movies — I lost count after the first 50 heavies had been dispatched in gorgeous squibs of blood and gore. The film requires a good deal of suspension of disbelief — for instance, there's a special hotel where hit men and women stay, paying in Krugerrands. There's also an exclusive club for hit men and women, where they can dance the night away as long as they respect the rules about not carrying out contracts on the premises. Keanu Reeves is better than usual as John Wick, the retired hit man who gets dragged back in, although i can't help feeling there is something sick about glorifying the talents of a hired killer. And there is a supporting cast of always-good character actors, including Willem Dafoe and Ian McShane, who add some grit and texture to what is otherwise a glossy and superficial fantasy of balletic violence. But getting back to the attractions for teen video gamers — there are some really cool cars in this movie too, and Keanu does this majorly cool thing where he drives real crazy and shoots people and runs them over. What a cool guy!