Sunday, October 26, 2014

Movie Review: "John Wick" (2014)

Movie"John Wick"
Director: Chad Stahelski
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 41 minutes
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John Wick's (Keanu Reeves) wife has just passed away and as a dying gift, she has given him a beagle puppy to help with his grieving. One night, the son of a Russian mobster name Iosef (Alfie Allen) and his friends, who John had bumped into at the gas station earlier that day, break into John's house, steal his car, and kill his dog. What they do not realize is that John Wick was once the most dangerous assassin to ever work for the Russian mob and now he wants his vengeance. Iosef asks his father Viggo (Michael Nyqvist) for protection, even though Viggo fears Wick he does everything he can and employs everyone who he can to protect his son, though his whole army may not be enough. 

John Wick is mad as hell, and he's not gonna take it anymore!

For all of our talk about going into movies with no expectations, we couldn't help but groan the first time we heard about "John Wick." It looked like a movie that would be sold as an R rated film and turn out to be a watered down PG-13 action movie that would be the catalyst for Keanu Reeves' eventual return into action films.

Boy, were we wrong.

Whether you hate or love Keanu Reeves, you have to admit, it's fun to watch him act, or if you're a hater, try to act. We don't hate him one bit, actually, we're big fans of his. We're not saying he's the best actor, in fact, he's not really that great of an actor at all. But this, like many other roles, seem to work for him and to his advantage. He is sexy and dopey enough to be unassuming and not perceived as a threat, and yet is rugged and emotionless and still manages to be dangerous. The role of John Wick required a lot of stoicism, and if there's one thing Reeves has always been able to do, it's stoic. He has had a very storied and painful life outside of his acting career, and that is a shame. I just want to give him a big hug...so long as he's not playing John Wick when I do. Talk about shattered expectations for not just this movie, but for him in general!

This movie was an action junkie's wet dream times about one hundred. It had a lot of similarities to last month's "The Equalizer," where a retired ex-professional killer has something drastic happen in his life that makes him return to the fold, seeking the sweet embrace of murder and all that comes with it. The bodies count was stacked high, the bullets used were probably in the tens of thousands, and in between the car crashes and nightclub chases, there manages to be a little bit of humor sprinkled throughout to keep audiences interested past the smooth action scenes, large blood-squibs and grinding metal. It's ulta-hip and super stylistic in every facet of the word. Everything from the camera angles panning above the big city to Wick's simple appearance in a black suit and slicked back hair made this movie ooze coolness. It is thrilling, but not in an edge-of-your-seat kind of way, it's just exhilarating and an all-around splendid action-packed revenge flick.

Overall, if you're not into pure, unadulterated action movies, avoid this at all costs. But if, like us, you're willing to suspend reality for almost two hours and watch the kick ass return of Keanu Reeves and aren't a stickler for semantics, chances are, you'll enjoy the hell out of this film.

PS: It is interesting to note that Eva Longoria produced this movie. Huh, who would have thought?

My Rating: 8.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 8/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: ~86%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

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