Parabellum – Prepare for War
John Wick has established itself as one of the best action franchises of our time, and with it’s third installment, it keeps getting bigger and better. There’s more fighting, more action, and more backstory. It’s quite the spectacle from start to finish.
Directed by Chad Stahelski (V for Vendetta), the story follows the titular character John Wick (Keanu Reeves) as he becomes a wanted man for killing a member of the High Table, an international guild of assassins with a strict set of rules.
The John Wick franchise promises plenty of action and it delivers. The fight scene choreography is insane and the kills are both gruesome and satisfying. There were a couple of times where it was hard not to make noises from disgust or from excitement. It’s constant, and it’s fun to watch.
The movie is also visually stunning. The camerawork and the cinematography accompanied by a variety of absolutely beautiful sets just makes it a joy to watch off of that alone. There’s different tricks they use throughout that take it above and beyond, and it really does make it entertaining, even when you’re not watching the fighting (which you should be).
Outside of the fighting and action scenes, there’s a ton of world-building from this third chapter. There was a lot of this in the second, but this one just shows the scope of the world of what they call “under the table.” The build-up is exciting, as it’s easy to tell from the timeline that a big climax is coming soon. Whether that’s in the fourth, the fifth, or whatever other chapter, it’s going to be big and it’s going to be badass.
Now, the big action sequences that make John Wick what it is also hurt it in a way in this chapter. As the movies get longer each time, it also becomes more tiring to watch. Sure, the fights are intense and the pacing is good, but after enough of these gripping brawls, it becomes a bit much. That intensity can come back to bite it after a while and it’s exhausting. All they really had to do to fix this was shorten a few of the fights and the movie as a whole so there’s not any burn-out from the audience.
The animals in this one also deserve a shout-out. Halle Berry’s character comes in mid-film with two Shepherd dogs that are trained to kill and they are a blast to watch. They’re not in the action for long, but they’re the highlight of every scene they’re in. The training that it took to get those dogs ready was probably extensive, and I applaud the effort. They really were some good boys.
John Wick: Chapter 3 did what it needed to do. It gave over-the-top but brilliant fight scenes full of excitement and satisfying blows. While adding to the story does help a lot, Keanu Reeves kicking ass is what fans really come for. He did just that, and they went above and beyond with everything around him. While it could have been shortened a bit to make it more clean and concise, it’s still an action movie worth watching nonetheless.
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