John Wick (2014) Review

 John Wick (2014) 8.5/10

Hello everyone and welcome back to another movie review. John Wick was released on October 24, 2014 with the director being Chad Stahelski. What can I say about this movie that hasn’t been said before? It’s a great movie, a solid first entry in the series, and arguably one of Keanu’s best roles. However I feel like, despite how solid the movie is, it could’ve been better in certain aspects. I’m gonna keep this short, so let’s begin.

The story follows retired assassin John Wick as he exacts his revenge against the son of a Russian mafia boss who stole his car and killed his dog, both of which were his last connection to his late wife Helen. While doing so, he enters back into the assassin underworld aka The Continental.

The narrative is short, sweet, and to the point. I love this whole underground society of assassin’s and organized crime and I love how they all follow a strict code when it comes to their work. John Wick’s story is that of loss and revenge and this movie does that very well. Don’t mess with a man’s dog. I love how feared and connected Wick is and you can tell that his mere presence shakes the room. I also love the main antagonists Iosef and Viggo, although Viggo was the better character.

The acting for the movie is great as well. Keanu Reeves killed it as John Wick, the quiet and focused assassin that took the assassin world by storm years ago. You can see Wick’s internal struggle with this whole ordeal and Keanu does this very well. Also shout out to Ian McShane (Winston), Lance Reddick (Charon), Willem Dafoe (Marcus), Adrianne Palicki (Perkins), and Alfie Allen (Iosef). Final shout out to Michael Nyqvist for playing Viggo incredibly well.

I love the cinematography for the movie. A lot of excellent shots that show off just the kind of man John Wick is, showing off his swift brutality, his connections, and the sheer amount of focus he has for his objective. The action scenes were done very well too. My favorite has to be the nightclub assault where Wick raids this place and murders all of his adversaries. The fact that he was able to keep the civilian casualties at zero is very impressive. And the interrogation scene where Wick explains why he’s doing this and says “Yeah I’m thinking I’m back!” There’s plenty of other scenes that I can go over, but I’ll leave those out.

Also quick shout out to the music director. The way he was able to create such a rocking yet ambient score for the movie is also very impressive. The music elevates your immersion tenfold and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Overall this is a fantastic movie and I can see why this series blew up the way it did. This is arguably Keanu’s best work and I definitely recommend it to everyone. Great story, great action, great acting, and great camera work. I can’t wait to dive into the second movie soon.

Final thoughts: Although this is a solid movie from head to toe, I feel like it’s missing the special ingredient to elevate it from great to perfect. I love John’s character and everything else about the story and the movie itself, but I couldn’t help but feel that the movie could have done just a bit more. But hey, but there’s inherently wrong with playing it a little safe with your first entry. Anyway, until then, stay safe.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.

This is Zorgak, signing off.