Welcome to Almighty Popcorn!
Our heroes speed along the road, shooting at bad guys they deem not worthy and winning the glory of the finest execution. And once they’re done with Mario Kart, they pop along to their local cinema to watch the latest of the latest, John Wick.
Lewis
LEWIS HATES THE BLUE SHELLS!
Alan
True they can be annoying, until you’ve got one and they’re a life saver.
Lewis
I want a rematch!
Alan
Bring it on Welshman!
John Wick
Director: Chad Stahelski
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alfie Allen, Ian McShane, William Dafoe
Duration: 1 hour and 41 minutes
Release Date: 10/04/2015
Synopsis
Ex-hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) has recently lost his wife, her parting gift to him was a dog for him to love. But when mobsters storm his house and steal his car, they kill his dog just for the fun of it. Bent on revenge, he sets out on a one man mission to destroy the mobsters that took everything from him.
Review
Alan
owadays, it can be extremely difficult to run a story with assassins/hitmen. The genre has been played so many times as a story for action and suspense that it can be a little predictable of what’s gonna happen next if you’ve watched enough of them. And with Danny Dyer churning out a gangster/hitman/assassin film every month that’s easily doable.
Double ass, in.
John Wick, however, slightly deviates from the usual path of I’m-an-ex-hitman-that’s-come-out-of-retirement-because-someone-killed-someone-I’d-loved/care for. Nope this one shows, in an impressive 60 seconds mind, that the assassin had someone special, had a very sweet life with her, but due to natural causes, lost her as well. No rival assassin or gang killed her. No mobster who didn’t like the idea of his best hitman retiring, decided that the only way to realise his mistake is to murder her. Nope! None of that.
This time it revolves around what his dying wife ordered him before her death came to be. Just before her illness, you never know what did take her the story tries not to emphasize solely on the wife’s death, she orders him a puppy. It was her wish that John (Keanu Reeves) continued to love something as much as he loved her. He gently gets used to the idea of having a puppy, until one night when his home is broken in to by a group of guys that want to steal his car. But in so doing, they purposefully kill the puppy right in front of John’s eyes..
Lewis
Lewis did not like this bit.
Alan
As you can imagine from my sensitive friend here, that it does get extremely rough to watch during that one scene. So much so I had to tell him to put his head down whilst I grabbed a tissue to dry his eyes.
Lewis
Lewis got sad and he WASN’T HAPPY!
Alan
True, a warning to all dog lovers out there that that scene alone is very disturbing. But I think that’s what the direction wanted to go. It wanted to show a man in remorse, that had a shot of a normal life, until a twerp named Iosef (Alfie Allen) completely ruins it by killing the one thing that John had left from his wife. Cue the shit storm. Not from John Wick himself, that comes naturally, but from the tense audience that would gladly see Alfie Allen’s character have a spike shoved up his arse.
The story then escalates with John going at great lengths to hunt down those that wronged him. So the story is near similar to all other revenge stories out there but it’s nice to see a change in pace when the point is that someone had killed a dog instead of another human being. But the pace of this film is gradual, there’s no action scene with loud explosions and copious amounts of swearing every 5 minutes. It’s almost like an upper class version of the Bronson films.
Kudos goes to the choreography of the action scenes. They were shot..
Lewis
Hehehe shot.
Alan
I meant by the camera. They were orchestrated so beautifully that it was almost like a ballet of gun violence that you wouldn’t mind seeing again and again. And gun violence there is a plenty in this film, if that is your sort of thing, jump on in, but what was puzzling was that with all this gun shooting, you wonder where the police were half the time.
Lewis
I was wondering that! And the one time they did show up, nothing was done!
Alan
True. There are a few noticeable plot holes in this film, 3 in the first twenty to be exact. Most notably *mild spoiler alert but nothing that spoils the entire film* how the mobsters found John Wick’s house and when a squad of hitmen storm John’s house, get killed, the police come knocking on the door, John answers, he knows the policeman, the policeman knows John, sees the dead bodies, and then goes about his way! No explanation of how John knows the policeman or what arrangement do they have.
Lewis
Perhaps the policeman was gasping for a cuppa tea and didn’t want to deal with all that mess?
Alan
Yeah, me thinks not. Anyway, *end of mild spoiler*
What did you think Lewis?
Lewis
I didn’t think it was too bad to be honest. It wasn’t slow to start which helps me lots cos you know…short attention span and all. I did not like what they did to the puppy.
Alan
I know you didn’t buddy but remember, it was all pretend.
Lewis
Wants the bad guys to pay!
Alan
I know, I know. But ignoring that bit.
Lewis
Ignoring that bit, which I can’t. I agree with you on the action scenes. They were played out rather well and I liked that there wasn’t too many of them cos it always has a chance of getting really boring.
Gotta say though, did you find Mr Alfie Allen’s accents, really…weird?
Alan
Well his Russian wasn’t exactly perfect but it’s not like we could do it.
Lewis
I knows that, but it’s like, when he spoke Russian, out pops the Comrades and what not, but as soon as he turns English, it’s almost like he’s gone full fledged American!
Alan
He does a bit.
Lewis
Problem I got though is that John Wick is a bit ….stoic. I mean if they didn’t want it too cliché, why bother going “cold-hearted” assassin? Be making no sense
Alan
I did kinda see that as well, but I kept telling myself that after being through so much and losing that puppy..
Lewis
Don’t make me cry again!
Alan
Sorry. But, wouldn’t you feel a little dead inside as well.
Lewis
True. But it wouldn’t have hurt to put a little more feeling into it. Like my singing!
Alan
You’re not singing now.
Lewis
You never want me to sing! How am I to practise?!
Alan
Task at hand buddy.
Lewis
Fine! Other than that I really enjoyed the movie itself. It wasn’t too flamboyant with its action scenes but it didn’t get boring either.
Alan
Flamboyant?
Lewis
Google helps me learn more words.
Alan
….Well at least you’re learning. Didn’t you feel like Ian McShane was a little typecast for his role?
Lewis
Listen butt, Mr. Ian McShane can do whatever he pleases because he’s Ian McShane, you don’t mess with him whatsoever. You seen Deadwood? Yeah, exactly! No one messes.
Alan
I just found that he was cast as the clever, sly, “always has the last line” anti-hero again. Like that in Death Race, Hercules, and The Seeker.
Lewis
It’s ok though. He can pull it off cos it’s Mr. Ian McShane.
Alan
Tell you what though, Jon Leguizamo had the role of a lifetime in this!
Lewis
Oh my days! Oh my days! I wish I had his part in this film. All he did was look worried, slap Mr Alfie Allen in the face and drink. He must have been jumping when he be reading the script on this one.
Alan
Speaking of Alfie, do you think he’s turning sadist?
Lewis
What’s that mean?
Alan
A sadist? A person who likes having pain inflicted on them.
Lewis
….K.
Alan
I mean what with his recent transgressions in Game of Thrones, and the amount he gets hit in this film. It’s almost like he loves getting hit.
Lewis
Well…each unto their own innit?
Alan
Quite.
Conclusion
With a slight alternative to the assassin action genre, few plot holes, and some what anti-climatic here and there. John Wick is an exciting and thrilling ride that plays a different sort of story from the others.
Naturally with the recent rave reviews, a sequel is in talks.
Rating
Alan
With the near original story and exquisite gun ballet, I give this film 3 out of 5 stars.
Lewis
See I’d give this 5, but Lewis got sad with what happened to the puppy so Lewis gives it 4 out of 5 stars.
Alan
So you’d give it 5, but with what happened to the puppy, you’re giving it 4?
Lewis
Yeah. Lewis likes dogs.
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