KEANU IS COOL IN THIS

SLICK ACTION FLICK

 

 

 

At one point during John Wick, Keanu Reeves growls, “People keep asking me if I’m back. Yeah, I’m thinking I’m back!”  The quote is a clear wink to the audience as Reeves declares his return to the action genre and his Hollywood relevance with John Wick.  On the surface, John Wick looks like your run-of-the-mill action film.  The kind of forgettable film you might rent when there’s nothing better to do on a Friday night.  This assumption is understandable, but completely inaccurate.  John Wick is one of the best films of the year and one of the best action films of the decade.

 

Reeves was once king of the box office with hits like Speed and the Matrix trilogy.  He then strayed a little bit into the romantic comedy genre and some smaller budget films before all but disappearing before his return last year with the box office bomb 47 Ronin.  John Wick is the role Keanu Reeves needs for his career right now, and it’s also the kind of film Hollywood needs right now.  Wick is an original action film with franchise potential.  True action films have all but disappeared from the cinematic landscape. Trying to find an action film that doesn’t include men running around in tight costumes is getting harder and harder to find these days.

 

In fact, besides The Expendables there hasn’t been a true, original action franchise since Taken and that was already in 2008.  I hope that’s about to change because John Wick deserves to stand right next to the very best the genre has to offer as a character and a film.  Keanu Reeves is a genuine action star, a dying breed in Hollywood.  Reeves just oozes cool as John Wick.  Wick a silent-but-deadly assassin that is so dangerous and fearful of being lured back into the game that he buries his guns under two feet of concrete.  Now that’s dangerous. 

 

John Wick is your typical revenge flick with a pretty basic story.  Wick is a former hitman who has his car stolen and his dog murdered by the son of a local Russian mobster. From there, the movie takes off with non-stop action.  The fight scenes and the shoot out scenes are well designed and are some of the best you’ll see outside of The Raid franchise.  The film is highlighted by a fantastic nightclub scene that will literally have you on the edge of your seat.

 

What sets John Wick apart from other similar films is a unique visual style and beautiful cinematography not often associated with an action film.  Wick is more than just action though.  The film packs some surprising emotional punch and is often quite funny. 

 

It’s hard to identify what makes an action movie successful.  Some movies have big actors and fail.  Some receive awful reviews and thrive.  John Wick has been well received by audiences and critics alike.  For me, it’s about the character.  There’s nothing particularly special about Die Hard’s story.  It’s about a guy stuck in a building while it’s being taken over by thieves (that’s right, they were thieves not terrorists.)  What makes Die Hard the best action movie of all time is John McClane.  He’s just a great character that elevates the material.  Some movies have it and some don’t.  John Wick has it and I see no reason why he can’t shoot and punch his way into the conversation of one of the best characters the action genre has to offer.