MOVIE REVIEW: John Wick 3 - Parabellum
(On The Hunt - Tyler Bates, Joel J. Richard)
There's something special about John Wick. Or maybe it's that there's something special about Keanu Reeves. Hell, it could be both, I don't know. What I do know is that when the first 'John Wick' movie came out in 2015, no one was prepared for how gleefully enjoyable it was, and for the variety of reasons it was so:
Insane stunts? Check.
Equally insane and shockingly true-to-life gunplay and martial arts? Check.
Gorgeous set pieces? Check.
A great cast list that KNEW THEIR JOBS? Check.
A simple, serviceable story? Check.
Open and close, no fuss, no muss, John Wick was, and I don't say this lightly, a perfect action movie.
Naturally, when Chapter Two was announced, people went ape-shit. They wanted more of what they'd already seen. Astonishingly, Chapter Two held up every bit as well -- some say better -- than the first film. Even better, Chapter Two ended on a cliff-hanger that just begged for a third movie.
Finally, that third movie is here, and depending on what articles you've read on the internet, the last of the John Wick films.
Does Mr. Wick go out with a bang?
...This is typically where I'd write a 'Short Version', but you don't care. If you're reading this, you're at least half-interested in these films. You'll go see the third one, and well you should. Go. Watch. Be amazed. When you're done, come back here and keep reading.
...Seriously, if you haven't seen the film yet, get crackin'. It's worth it, and everything from here on out is spoiler-filled goodness.
Okay, you've been warned.
First, let me say up front that I enjoyed the hell out of the majority of JW3. I'd gleefully go see it again. I also think this is the weakest of the three chapters for a variety of reasons, which I shall now explore in greater detail.
The writers behind the Wickiverse did an incredibly brilliant thing with the first film in that they made an air-tight, open-and-close story that you didn't have to concentrate on. They filled the gaps of the story in with perfect action sequences that were rooted enough in reality for us to willingly gloss over all of the crap that wasn't, put a great cast together to serve as glue, and set the whole thing out to dry over night. The result was a masterpiece, and rightly regarded as a masterclass in action film making.
In many respects, they should have stopped while they were ahead, but they didn't. They tempted fate and made a second movie. How do you improve upon perfection? It's not easy, but the minds behind Wick proved they were up to the task by making another serviceable, brief, air-tight story, etc. etc. Yes, the action was turned up a notch, but -- and this is telling of the brilliance of the film-makers -- they still managed to root enough of it in reality that you were still completely willing to overlook the truly insane stuff that couldn't ever happen in real life. They expanded on a great cast with even more wonderful supporting cast members, showed us even more of the delicious lore that we were all begging for and voila!
John Wick 2 was another masterpiece, right up until the last 5 minutes. Up until this point, everything about the first two movies was like Wick himself: Focused, disciplined, unerring.
Then the writers made the choice that John should kill D'Antonio. Within The Continental, no less.
HOLD ON A SECOND. Seriously, hear me out here.
This is John Wick we're talking about. He got out of the game, wanted to stay out of the game, and wanted it so much that he renegged on a marker that he'd given out in order to get away from that world in the beginning. John Wick is -not- stupid. He would surely have known about the consequences of his actions when he chose to do what he did. "He was pushed too far," you cry. This is not the Wick that we're introduced two through two movies. This is not Baba Yaga. John Wick -wanted out-. Violating Continental rules was never going to get him there. This is a choice that makes no sense for John Wick.
And unfortunately, that same sense of, "Why the hell did the writers do that?" runs through and through John Wick 3. Here are just a few items that are utter non-sequitors from JW3:
- First, let's be real here: Not every hitter in New York, or indeed the world, would be after John. He's known. He's the Ghost, Baba Yaga. The only people going after him would be rookies that he would dispatch easily, and the elite, which are in very limited supply. Any successful hitter would probably take one look at the contract on his head and go, "Can't spend that shit in hell. Gonna keep killing other people that can't easily kill me back." Wick actually tells Winston to warn everyone that if they come after them, it's for keeps. At several points during the first and second movie, it's established that Wick is a known quantity. People willingly get the hell out of his way. That just sort of flies out the window in Chapter 3.
- Wick is not stupid, and not confused, and not such a weak-willed man that he would have ever gone looking for the Man Above The Table to ask forgiveness so he could go back to work for the table. And if you're about to stand up and tell me that seeking out the Man Above was part of his big man to start doing war on the High Table, sit the fuck down. I don't buy that at all. "I want to live so I don't forget my dead wife." Are you kidding me?! I don't think so. Then he cuts off one of his fingers, which seems like a really stupid thing to ask your uber-assassain to do because it limits their effectiveness, and then GIVES UP HIS WEDDING RING?! Whaaaaat?!
- Wick is declared Ex Communicado, so his first act is to go to the Continental in Casablanca, where he would...wait...what?
- The Bowery King tells the Adjudicator to fuck off, and she rewards him with seven cuts that are clearly supposed to be his end. He behaves as though it is his end, and yet he survives?! THE HELL?
Unfortunately, that's not where the bad news ends where this movie is concerned. There are several other very noticeable ways in which the movie's creators deviated from their proven recipe of excellence:
- CAST: I know I'm going to take some heat for the next sentence, but this needs to be said: Halle Berry was a huge mistake, and was one of the major detractors from the film. There's only room for one bad actor/actress in the Wick movies, and that's the man himself. I'm sorry, but Berry can't act. All of the scenes where she was trying to be serious just come off as so damn try-hard that it's utterly unbelievable. They could have gotten any number of other 'knowns' or 'unknowns' to play the part that Berry occupied and it would have worked quite well. This is doubly tragic, because Berry very clearly put in the work to stand on the same screen as John Wick. Her stunt sequences are phenomenal, her gun-play is remarkably on-point considering her recent arrival to the material, and when she's doing her thing, she sells it COMPLETELY. Indeed, one of the film's main set-pieces revolves around her and her dogs wrecking everything around them with absolute impunity, and it's glorious. ...Then she goes and opens her mouth again and it all goes to shit.
- STUNTS: Chapter 1 was filled with amazing, gonzo stunt work. We've gone over that. Chapter 2 is filled with more of the same, and they somehow figured out how to ratchet it up without overdoing it. They sort of blew it with Chapter 3 though. Chapters 1 and 2 forged themselves in mostly believable fight sequences and stunt-work. Chapter 3 throws all of that out the window completely. Fight sequences are entirely too long and drawn out in several areas. John Wick deals with enemies quickly, and that just doesn't happen nearly as often in this film. Many of his fights get bogged down in complicated grappling routines. There's also some crap that happens in this movie that just makes you go, "I'm sorry, NO." Examples:
Let's start with the big one: John Wick takes a fall off of the ROOF OF THE CONTINENTAL and survives because he bounces into things like awnings and FIRE ESCAPES on his way down to the ground.
No way John survives the fight with the two uber-henchmen after he gets thrown through metal-reinforced glass cases over and over again, and there's certainly no way that he has enough gas to take on the Big Bad after that.
The High Table's armored hitmen throw smoke grenades into the Continental. Sure, that's fine, but they then proceed to march in there with huge lights on their rifles to clearly identify where they are. I think not.
Wick gets hit at the knees by not one but TWO CARS in the beginning of the film and just walks away from it.
Pretty much all of the shit with the horses.
The amount of killing that happens in the midst of bystanders without anyone saying ANYTHING is laughable.
John Wick 2 ends during the day. Winston VERY CLEARLY looks at his watch and it's just before 4pm. He tells John that he has an hour. John Wick 3 starts at night, and Ex Communicado begins at 6pm. That's just sloppy on several fronts.
- STORY: This is where John Wick 3 really fails, in my opinion. I can overlook everything else. John Wick 1 was open and close. John Wick 2 gave us more lore, and was still open and close, excepting that last shot. Chapter 3 gives us WAY more lore, which would be cool if it weren't for the very WTF nature of some of it. The way the movie ends begs for a fourth movie. This, I feel, is where we start to see some of the greed coming from the creators. There are articles online about how this was only supposed to have been a trilogy. More recently, you'll now find articles about how they could keep making loads of movies. And you'll also find articles like this one where the director talks about how the point of the third movie was to kill John, and that he wasn't necessarily setting anything up for a sequel. Now...anyone who has seen this movie and knows how it ends will understand what utter horse-shit this is.
All of these things that I've listed above are why this is, in my opinion, easily the weakest entry in the series. I was chomping at the bit for Chapter 3. I couldn't wait to see it. I'll be less so for Chapter 4. I just hope they can fix this somehow and get back to their roots. There are things that need addressing, after all:
- The big one is how Chapter 3 ended up. There's clearly unresolved issues between John, the Bowery King, and the High Table.
- There's Winston's marker to consider.
- Am I missing something, or were they implying that John and Sophia had a child together? No way that'll resurface.
- Ain't no way that the Adjudicator doesn't get dead.
- If John doesn't go get his wedding ring back, this series is dead to me.
- Winston himself shooting John is a little confusing. Are they trying to imply that he's turned heel, or that this is somehow part of his plan? That's hugely up in the air.
NOW. I've ragged on this movie a lot in this review, but let it be known that it was also full of amazing stuff, some of which I shall outline now:
- The opening fight in the library! Holy. Crap.
- All of the throwing knives! And that business with the hatchet!
- The knife to the eyeball! I had to look away.
- Pretty much everything with a dog in it, along with the "He shot my dog!" gag.
- More John Wick backstory. I SO want to know more about his history with the Rom.
- More delicious Continental lore, including the always excellent Lance Reddick!
- The whole stunt sequence with Sophia and her dogs was just amazing. Like I said, regardless of how horrible her acting was, Halle Berry -clearly- put the hours in. This was so awesome!
- More excellent John Wick theme music!
- GORGEOUS set pieces!
Yeah. Still a great movie, but the weakest entry in the franchise so far. That's all I got.
There's something special about John Wick. Or maybe it's that there's something special about Keanu Reeves. Hell, it could be both, I don't know. What I do know is that when the first 'John Wick' movie came out in 2015, no one was prepared for how gleefully enjoyable it was, and for the variety of reasons it was so:
Insane stunts? Check.
Equally insane and shockingly true-to-life gunplay and martial arts? Check.
Gorgeous set pieces? Check.
A great cast list that KNEW THEIR JOBS? Check.
A simple, serviceable story? Check.
Open and close, no fuss, no muss, John Wick was, and I don't say this lightly, a perfect action movie.
Naturally, when Chapter Two was announced, people went ape-shit. They wanted more of what they'd already seen. Astonishingly, Chapter Two held up every bit as well -- some say better -- than the first film. Even better, Chapter Two ended on a cliff-hanger that just begged for a third movie.
Finally, that third movie is here, and depending on what articles you've read on the internet, the last of the John Wick films.
Does Mr. Wick go out with a bang?
...This is typically where I'd write a 'Short Version', but you don't care. If you're reading this, you're at least half-interested in these films. You'll go see the third one, and well you should. Go. Watch. Be amazed. When you're done, come back here and keep reading.
...Seriously, if you haven't seen the film yet, get crackin'. It's worth it, and everything from here on out is spoiler-filled goodness.
Okay, you've been warned.
First, let me say up front that I enjoyed the hell out of the majority of JW3. I'd gleefully go see it again. I also think this is the weakest of the three chapters for a variety of reasons, which I shall now explore in greater detail.
The writers behind the Wickiverse did an incredibly brilliant thing with the first film in that they made an air-tight, open-and-close story that you didn't have to concentrate on. They filled the gaps of the story in with perfect action sequences that were rooted enough in reality for us to willingly gloss over all of the crap that wasn't, put a great cast together to serve as glue, and set the whole thing out to dry over night. The result was a masterpiece, and rightly regarded as a masterclass in action film making.
In many respects, they should have stopped while they were ahead, but they didn't. They tempted fate and made a second movie. How do you improve upon perfection? It's not easy, but the minds behind Wick proved they were up to the task by making another serviceable, brief, air-tight story, etc. etc. Yes, the action was turned up a notch, but -- and this is telling of the brilliance of the film-makers -- they still managed to root enough of it in reality that you were still completely willing to overlook the truly insane stuff that couldn't ever happen in real life. They expanded on a great cast with even more wonderful supporting cast members, showed us even more of the delicious lore that we were all begging for and voila!
John Wick 2 was another masterpiece, right up until the last 5 minutes. Up until this point, everything about the first two movies was like Wick himself: Focused, disciplined, unerring.
Then the writers made the choice that John should kill D'Antonio. Within The Continental, no less.
HOLD ON A SECOND. Seriously, hear me out here.
This is John Wick we're talking about. He got out of the game, wanted to stay out of the game, and wanted it so much that he renegged on a marker that he'd given out in order to get away from that world in the beginning. John Wick is -not- stupid. He would surely have known about the consequences of his actions when he chose to do what he did. "He was pushed too far," you cry. This is not the Wick that we're introduced two through two movies. This is not Baba Yaga. John Wick -wanted out-. Violating Continental rules was never going to get him there. This is a choice that makes no sense for John Wick.
And unfortunately, that same sense of, "Why the hell did the writers do that?" runs through and through John Wick 3. Here are just a few items that are utter non-sequitors from JW3:
- First, let's be real here: Not every hitter in New York, or indeed the world, would be after John. He's known. He's the Ghost, Baba Yaga. The only people going after him would be rookies that he would dispatch easily, and the elite, which are in very limited supply. Any successful hitter would probably take one look at the contract on his head and go, "Can't spend that shit in hell. Gonna keep killing other people that can't easily kill me back." Wick actually tells Winston to warn everyone that if they come after them, it's for keeps. At several points during the first and second movie, it's established that Wick is a known quantity. People willingly get the hell out of his way. That just sort of flies out the window in Chapter 3.
- Wick is not stupid, and not confused, and not such a weak-willed man that he would have ever gone looking for the Man Above The Table to ask forgiveness so he could go back to work for the table. And if you're about to stand up and tell me that seeking out the Man Above was part of his big man to start doing war on the High Table, sit the fuck down. I don't buy that at all. "I want to live so I don't forget my dead wife." Are you kidding me?! I don't think so. Then he cuts off one of his fingers, which seems like a really stupid thing to ask your uber-assassain to do because it limits their effectiveness, and then GIVES UP HIS WEDDING RING?! Whaaaaat?!
- Wick is declared Ex Communicado, so his first act is to go to the Continental in Casablanca, where he would...wait...what?
- The Bowery King tells the Adjudicator to fuck off, and she rewards him with seven cuts that are clearly supposed to be his end. He behaves as though it is his end, and yet he survives?! THE HELL?
Unfortunately, that's not where the bad news ends where this movie is concerned. There are several other very noticeable ways in which the movie's creators deviated from their proven recipe of excellence:
- CAST: I know I'm going to take some heat for the next sentence, but this needs to be said: Halle Berry was a huge mistake, and was one of the major detractors from the film. There's only room for one bad actor/actress in the Wick movies, and that's the man himself. I'm sorry, but Berry can't act. All of the scenes where she was trying to be serious just come off as so damn try-hard that it's utterly unbelievable. They could have gotten any number of other 'knowns' or 'unknowns' to play the part that Berry occupied and it would have worked quite well. This is doubly tragic, because Berry very clearly put in the work to stand on the same screen as John Wick. Her stunt sequences are phenomenal, her gun-play is remarkably on-point considering her recent arrival to the material, and when she's doing her thing, she sells it COMPLETELY. Indeed, one of the film's main set-pieces revolves around her and her dogs wrecking everything around them with absolute impunity, and it's glorious. ...Then she goes and opens her mouth again and it all goes to shit.
- STUNTS: Chapter 1 was filled with amazing, gonzo stunt work. We've gone over that. Chapter 2 is filled with more of the same, and they somehow figured out how to ratchet it up without overdoing it. They sort of blew it with Chapter 3 though. Chapters 1 and 2 forged themselves in mostly believable fight sequences and stunt-work. Chapter 3 throws all of that out the window completely. Fight sequences are entirely too long and drawn out in several areas. John Wick deals with enemies quickly, and that just doesn't happen nearly as often in this film. Many of his fights get bogged down in complicated grappling routines. There's also some crap that happens in this movie that just makes you go, "I'm sorry, NO." Examples:
Let's start with the big one: John Wick takes a fall off of the ROOF OF THE CONTINENTAL and survives because he bounces into things like awnings and FIRE ESCAPES on his way down to the ground.
No way John survives the fight with the two uber-henchmen after he gets thrown through metal-reinforced glass cases over and over again, and there's certainly no way that he has enough gas to take on the Big Bad after that.
The High Table's armored hitmen throw smoke grenades into the Continental. Sure, that's fine, but they then proceed to march in there with huge lights on their rifles to clearly identify where they are. I think not.
Wick gets hit at the knees by not one but TWO CARS in the beginning of the film and just walks away from it.
Pretty much all of the shit with the horses.
The amount of killing that happens in the midst of bystanders without anyone saying ANYTHING is laughable.
John Wick 2 ends during the day. Winston VERY CLEARLY looks at his watch and it's just before 4pm. He tells John that he has an hour. John Wick 3 starts at night, and Ex Communicado begins at 6pm. That's just sloppy on several fronts.
- STORY: This is where John Wick 3 really fails, in my opinion. I can overlook everything else. John Wick 1 was open and close. John Wick 2 gave us more lore, and was still open and close, excepting that last shot. Chapter 3 gives us WAY more lore, which would be cool if it weren't for the very WTF nature of some of it. The way the movie ends begs for a fourth movie. This, I feel, is where we start to see some of the greed coming from the creators. There are articles online about how this was only supposed to have been a trilogy. More recently, you'll now find articles about how they could keep making loads of movies. And you'll also find articles like this one where the director talks about how the point of the third movie was to kill John, and that he wasn't necessarily setting anything up for a sequel. Now...anyone who has seen this movie and knows how it ends will understand what utter horse-shit this is.
All of these things that I've listed above are why this is, in my opinion, easily the weakest entry in the series. I was chomping at the bit for Chapter 3. I couldn't wait to see it. I'll be less so for Chapter 4. I just hope they can fix this somehow and get back to their roots. There are things that need addressing, after all:
- The big one is how Chapter 3 ended up. There's clearly unresolved issues between John, the Bowery King, and the High Table.
- There's Winston's marker to consider.
- Am I missing something, or were they implying that John and Sophia had a child together? No way that'll resurface.
- Ain't no way that the Adjudicator doesn't get dead.
- If John doesn't go get his wedding ring back, this series is dead to me.
- Winston himself shooting John is a little confusing. Are they trying to imply that he's turned heel, or that this is somehow part of his plan? That's hugely up in the air.
NOW. I've ragged on this movie a lot in this review, but let it be known that it was also full of amazing stuff, some of which I shall outline now:
- The opening fight in the library! Holy. Crap.
- All of the throwing knives! And that business with the hatchet!
- The knife to the eyeball! I had to look away.
- Pretty much everything with a dog in it, along with the "He shot my dog!" gag.
- More John Wick backstory. I SO want to know more about his history with the Rom.
- More delicious Continental lore, including the always excellent Lance Reddick!
- The whole stunt sequence with Sophia and her dogs was just amazing. Like I said, regardless of how horrible her acting was, Halle Berry -clearly- put the hours in. This was so awesome!
- More excellent John Wick theme music!
- GORGEOUS set pieces!
Yeah. Still a great movie, but the weakest entry in the franchise so far. That's all I got.
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