Written by Kristofer Seppala, contributor
Keanu Reeves (“The Matrix”) stars as a hit man who goes on a murderous rampage after his car is stolen and his dog is killed. Yes, really, that is the basic one-sentence summary of this film. What sounds like a straight-to-DVD-maybe-I’ll-watch-it-on-Netflix type of film is surprisingly the best original action film in years.
The film starts off with John Wick receiving a puppy and a note from his recently deceased wife. The note tells John he needs someone to love now that she’s gone. John grows attached to the puppy. One day, he and the puppy go out for a joyride in his vintage Mustang. He stops at a gas station where a young Russian gangster named Iosef (Alfie Allen, “Game of Thrones”) tries to buy the car from him, but John tells him it’s not for sale. Later that night, John wakes up to find the Russian and some of his thugs breaking into his home. They beat him up, kill the dog and steal the Mustang. Now he’s ticked off.
This is where the film takes an interesting turn and begins to set itself apart from your typical bang-em-up-shoot-em-up flicks. Once John (whom we find out is a former hit man) goes out to seek the Russian gang who wronged him, we find ourselves immersed in a well-written world of crime filled with exotic and intriguing characters including a hotel exclusively for hitmen, a currency of special gold coins and an array of dangerous criminals.
The number of dead bodies in this film is countless. Directed by former stunt men David Leitch and Chad Stahelski (Reeves’ former stunt double), they do a fantastic job with the action. The fight scenes are magnificently choreographed and never is there a dull or slow moment. Just like Liam Neeson in “Taken,” Keanu Reeves does a great job owning his character and taking us for a wild ride as he kills anyone who gets in his way.
