John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is directed by Chad Stahelski. After being announced excommunicado, John Wick is on the run as every assassin is out to get him for the 14 million bounty put on him. It’s Wick against everyone else, with no help or services available will John Wick finally be defeated? The movies stars Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Marc Dacascos, Laurence Fishburne, Asia Kate Dillon and Lance Reddick.
I have been a fan of the John Wick franchise so far. I liked the first movie and I liked the second movie even more. The pattern seems to continue as I personally think Parabellum is the best out of the three. However with this franchise, while I always enjoyed it and I have a great respect for the hard work put into them. I never really found them to be memorable or having an intriguing story. Parabellum is no exception as the action takes priority leaving the story to be simple and without depth. It seems like this franchise is encompassed by the concept of the first movie, a man who is out to kill his past and live a normal life with his dog.
The story in Parabellum isn’t really all that different from the one in the previous two with the exception that instead of Wick hunting the antagonist, the antagonists are out to get to him at every corner. That being said, the decision to make John Wick excommunicado is an amazing idea. In the previous two movies, Wick had to go after usually a group of assassins, in this movie literally every assassin there is out to get him. We get to see Wick in his former glory as he tries to assassinate his way to safety. The movie makes us understand that he lives up to all of the comments made about him.
Keanu Reeves and John Wick are inseparable. Reeves has made this character such an icon in the action genre. He is not the next Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt, he is the one and only John Wick and boy do they love saying his full name in a dramatic way in this movie. Reeves makes Wick an actual character with personal conflict and in this movie he even shows us Wick’s vulnerable side since nobody can help him. I also applaud Reeves for doing most of his stunts, that dedication is one of the many reasons I can’t imagine someone else playing this character.
The rest of the cast does is great. Ian McShane is great as Winston. It’s the first time I actually liked his character. I can’t wait to see where his character goes next. Halle Berry is in the movie for a short period of time but she kicks ass just as much as John himself. I do hope we get to see more of her in John Wick: Chapter 4. I absolutely love Marc Dacascos’s character. He is a serious threat but with an actual personality and quite charismatic despite being a killer. However I absolutely hate Asia Kate Dillon’s character. She was stiff, emotionless and boring. She never did anything, she just slides a coin to some people and commands them. Aside from that the cast is great and I wish to see more of them in the future.
While the story is rather simple, the movie makes up for it with some of the best action to hit the screen in a long time. Action is one department which no one can complain about when it comes to the John Wick franchise. It is shot in wide takes, so you can actually see what is happening, rarely does shaky cam ever get used and even when it does, it’s used very effectively. It is especially thrilling since John Wick has to do whatever he can to stay alive, he kills with a passion in this movie.
It is brutal and violent and quick. You would think that it would get boring after seeing so much of it but the movie is smart and moves the action to an exciting location every time. Whether it’s on a horse in the streets of New York or in Casablanca. It is different every single time and the choreography and sets, I can’t praise this aspect of the movie too much. It is why we go to see a John Wick movie and Parabellum delivered.
I also liked how they kept building the world the first two movies did. The mythology of this franchise is really interesting. I love how the rules of the Continent makes this movie feel like a game. They make rules which the assassins have to obey and I found that very interesting. They even use them to put some humor in the movie, there is one scene where the action is getting intense and as soon as someone is about to deliver the final blow, a character touches the stairs to a building which the rules say that there can’t be blood shed in and the fight just stops. It’s moments like these which separate this franchise from the other action movie franchises. Well that and the amazing style and class this franchise has perfected.
Overall John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is a damn good action movie which doesn’t even give you time to take a chance and breathe from all of the action going on. Action which is shot in a crisp, clean and spectacular way. Thanks to great performance from Keanu Reeves who makes this iconic character his own, this is basically the best movie adapted from a video-game we never got.
owen is a filmaholic 