The 80s are back in a big way. Since 2008, its influences have appeared in music, clothing, and more recently, in cinema. From remakes like The Karate Kid and Red Dawn, to the somewhat nostalgic Expendables trilogy, that decade’s brand of action has been all over the big screen. Arnie and Stallone even have their own vehicles popping up here and there, and these projects are performing well enough financially to not show any signs of disappearing. Now, a movie which feels like an 80s actioner in nearly every facet has come along, plays far better than any work previously mentioned, and its star is a leading man from the action cinema of the 90s. Strangely, Keanu Reeves has found the right project from the wrong era in a new decade. What?
John Wick is about this guy who used to work for the Russian mafia, and then his wife dies and his former employer’s son kills his gift puppy and steals his awesome car. Then, he kills everyone.
Yeah, that’s about it.
As it turns out, Wick is the ultimate badass. He fights a sort of gun-jitsu, almost exclusively shoots people in the face (this movie is drowning in CGI blood), and doesn’t have anything to lose. It is very much the classic revenge flick, and as I mentioned earlier, it is also very much an action film from a certain bygone era. “They messed with the wrong guy” came to mind following the first act’s inciting incident. Though it doesn’t have quite as many ridiculous problems as say, Commando, it does suffer from the kind of scene where, just after the perfect opportunity to squash their attacker, the bad guys tie up Reeves and talk about how mad they are. As you might have guessed, John Wick lives to face-shoot another day.
Sure, it’s predictable, familiar, and just a little bit stupid, but it’s also exciting, loud as hell, solidly acted, and surprisingly very funny. It’s not perfect. Of course the puppy is manipulative. If you are concerned for your maligned actor’s ability to be sympathetic, kill his adorable pet. Also, the story is thin, but its being force-fed a fatty vat full of muzzle flares, grunting, and broken bones. It fires on all the right cylinders, and sometimes it just doesn’t matter that you can count every story beat out before it hits, or see what it is trying to do to you before it can successfully do it. When a movie is giving you what you want, especially with a cast full of cool character actors, what do you have to complain about?
Well, I for one would complain about its visuals. This is not a great looking movie. As you can see from a few of the stills provided, it has that whole nu-metal music video color scheme thing going on, and that ain’t my bag. I am sure it is someone else’s, so I am happy for someone else. Regardless of its look, it’s a thoroughly entertaining affair featuring Reeves’ best performance… maybe ever. If you find yourself in need of some big bad fun this weekend, throw your money at John Wick. Just make sure you leave his car and puppy alone.
