The 10 Sins Recanted - Wick Tops Action Hero List

Rating: 8/10 (24 July 2017)

Looked through some of the reviews and felt obligated to add my two cents, mostly because Keanu Reeves and I are both Canadian and with such a scarcity of Canadian movie stars I feel the need. And I like him too. I like how he hasn't got that one wonky bottom tooth fixed. He's genuine, the real deal; no steroids here, no fake teeth or hair.
But I'm here to talk about his latest: John Wick 2. And I'd like to deal with a review herein that lists 10 great sins in this movie. Let's deal with those: (sorry if grammar is bad, had to edit many times to meet this site's stringent rules; so I'm sick of editing now) 1. Nobody is afraid of him.... Only one stupid Italian guy named Santino isn't afraid; and he's obviously insane. The Russian guy at the start was afraid. And 'afraid' can be subtle, not everyone is going to flat out say this; and there are degrees of fear ie. deep anxiety about getting killed. I believe I saw this in the eyes and face of Fishburne, Cassian (woman's black bodyguard), and Ares, the mute bodyguard. Anyway, totally untrue statement by the writer; Santino took him on because Santino was an idiot (kills his sister), the black bodyguard dude was getting revenge/ doing his job after Wick kills his 'ward', but he can still be afraid. This argument is a non-starter. People fear The Batman, but they still want to kill him.
2. No character growth....... He has changed. By movie's end we can see he has given up on a normal life. He is back to his old self, a killer, with no delusions. He has given up his dream; now he will just kill everyone who comes. You can see it; his destroyed house symbolizes it, all his memories were there, now it's gone. You can see it in his face and his last line of the movie.
3. Weak plot....... good grief, it's hard to respond to such nonsense – tell me any action movie with a great plot! Virtually non-existent. C&R say the first Wick movie had a strong plot. What?! This new one actually has a twist, the old double-cross by Santino. Why didn't Wick just refuse Santino's original offer. He tried, and lost his house. But he still feels he has to try and be free, get back to his dream of normality, so he accepts. He likely knows Santino is a cretin with no honor, but Wick's dream is so important, he'll take the chance.
4. Body count......... It's a modern one-man vs. the world action movie. Let me help you out, the recipe for success these days in an action movie is more action; more action sells. Yes, high body count, very high, but watching Wick I can believe. Hey, Reeves trained heavy for three months for this role: fighting, weapons, and driving. He's not a typical action hero 'kay? He's a freaking assassin, dig? Why do bad guys keep coming? Uh, because they get paid a lot of money? Ummm, because they think it's cool to carry a cool gun and kill someone? Ah, because if they don't their boss will kill them? Duh, they'll be famous for killing Wick? Again, you could say this for every freaking action movie. Why do all those thugs fight superheroes like Wolverine – that's a better question.
5. Invincible........... well, at least he does get hurt, unlike so many action heroes that aren't even scratched after a major beating. Shot in the side twice by the violinist? Well, she was a woman, maybe carried a .22 cal. Shot in the side? Missed vital organs. This is common – Payback, 1999, Mel Gibson is shot twice at close range, in the back, with a .357 Magnum! He lives. Fistful of Dollars, 1964, Clint Eastwood 'Blondie' is shot 7 times! He lives. I could go on and on.
7. Gadgets: somewhat bulletproof suit, 'safe'hotel, silent silencers........ Sure, all of this is impossible.
8. Bad soundtrack........ This is a sin? OK, whatever you say.... It's not fantastic, but it's OK. Anyway, I am from the old days when a soundtrack was background, not in your face like today where it's so loud I can't hear the dialogue, now that is bad. The music here is not terrible. In fact, the weird music performance in the Roman ruins was pretty damn provocative. Don't want to buy the album, but interesting.
9. Pacing...... Action movie/ pacing? I'm confused. In any other genre this might be an issue, but action? Pacing? Sorry, I'm lost here. Action movies, the good ones, have only one pace – freaking frantic, with a few seconds here and there to get beer or hit the john. Any sentimental stuff should be minimal.
10. Rehashing things that worked in the first move......... So, everything that worked the first time – throw all of that out in the next movie! See how long you survive in Hollywood with that mantra: "It worked great before, OK, so this time all of that is out." Anyway, my work here is done.
But, the pencil thing, fantastic; the knife fight in the subway with Cassian... Holy heck, that was the best fight I've ever seen! I always loved the hand-to-hand in Bourne, but Wick would kick Bourne's butt!! He is da man! There is no other action hero comparable, hands down: fast, smart, skilled, determined, tenacious, implacable; but with the smallest touch of humanity even when doing his job – he let Fishburne live (years before), and Cassian (heart stab). Anyway, you can see Reeves training at work; really extraordinary fight scenes, and long, and intricate. That sells me on the flick right there.