Keanu Reeves
Michael Nyqvist
Alfie Allen
Adrianne Palicki
Bridget Moynahan
Dean Winters
Ian McShane
John Leguizamo
Willem Dafoe

Derek Kolstad

101 mins.
Action, Thriller
October 24, 2014

Rated R for strong and bloody violence throughout, language and brief drug use. (MPAA)

“John Wick” is a film that relies on its supporting characters to establish its title character’s importance. It doesn’t just tell you that John, played appropriately by the ever-wooden Keanu Reeves, is not to be trifled with. No, it also shows you via the reactions of the rest of the characters to him and via his abilities as an assassin.

When a chop-shop owner, played by John Leguizamo, explains to a Russian mafia boss, played by Michael Nyquist, that he (the owner) punched the boss’s son for stealing Wick’s car and for killing Wick’s dog (a gift from Wick’s wife, now deceased) the boss replies with an “Oh.” (By the way, the whole dog sequence at the beginning of the film actually works. By linking the dog to Wick’s dead wife without much fanfare, the film manages to give a reason for Wick to come out of retirement without venturing into silliness – something that could’ve happened easily. They don’t overdo it.)

Another example: After Wick executes intruders in his home, he’s visited by a cop because of noise complaints. The cop sees a dead body on the floor of Wick’s home and asks: “Are you working again, John?” When Wick replies that he’s just taking care of some things, the cop says that he’ll leave him to it. And so on, and so forth. Wick’s not invincible, though – a nice touch.

This is a film that doesn’t aspire to be great; it wants to entertain with precision and style, instead. It does that rather well. It has rhythm and concision. There’s nothing new here – it looks and sounds just like you think it would – but that’s not its goal.

The action sequences aren’t stale, though. The way that Wick uses guns, inspired by Hong Kong cinema, seems fresh: He shoots not only from afar but also up close. First-time directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch (uncredited) use their experience as second unit directors and stunt performers and coordinators in those sequences. (They worked on “The Matrix” trilogy, by the way: Stahelski worked on the entire trilogy as Reeves’ stunt double during the first film and as the martial arts stunt coordinator for the final two films, while Leitch worked solely on stunts in “The Matrix Revolutions.”)

Also, the supporting cast, which includes Willem Dafoe, Alfie Allen, Dean Winters, Lance Reddick, Ian McShane, Clarke Peters, and Adrianne Palicki, in addition to Leguizamo and Nyquist, is solid. The actors do their jobs.

While “John Wick” doesn’t reach the heights of the “Bourne” series, it’s better than “The Equalizer,” another film that was released this year. “John Wick” doesn’t waste time; and for that, I’m appreciative. It’s been compared to “Le Samouraï” (among other films), and I can understand that. But this film doesn’t make the same kind of impression. “Le Samouraï” is an original, while this is a copy of other films – a good copy, though.

Verdict: Good

About: (Source: amctheatres.com/john-wick)

From Summit Entertainment and the producer of CLASH OF THE TITANS and THE TOWN comes a tale of adrenaline-fueled revenge and redemption. When a retired hit man is forced back into action by a sadistic young thug, he hunts down his adversaries with the skill and ruthlessness that made him an underworld legend.