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John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (1 Viewer)

Here's all I'm paying money to see...

Anti-hero Wick delivering headshots to bad guys in the over the top John Woo/Quintin Tarantino/Westernized Hong Kong style.

I know this will deliver.

 
I'm a big action film fan and an even bigger fan of this franchise in particular.  I think the "John Wick" and "The Raid" films are the pinnacle of contemporary action film-making.

I enjoy writing up reviews that I post on FB for friends and family.  I'll just copy/paste my summary/review here for those who care.

I find these films to be the most viscerally entertaining ones to watch. They actually manage to evoke physical responses from me (and most of the audience based on last night's experience). I audibly groan, laugh, cringe and squirm in my seat at some of the brilliantly outlandish acts of brutality they manage to conjure up during these action sequences. Whereas some artists work in paint or marble these guys work in the visual depiction of perfectly orchestrated violence, and they are maestros!
The brilliance is in the blocking and framing of these scenes. They really do their best to provide you with extended wide shots of the action which really highlights both the fantastic choreography and also the physical performances of the actors and stuntmen. This is the stuff legends like Bruce Lee and Fred Astaire strived for in their films. From a production standpoint, these films are in a class by themselves. Truly a joy to witness.
All that said, the film did have a few issues I took notice of. I felt the first few action sequences were the best. They managed to ingeniously ramp up the outrageousness of each fight to the point of insanity. Multiple times it had us as an audience groaning or cheering only to immediately follow up with an even more outrageous event heightening our volume even more. As a result, I felt the film kind of peaked about haflway through. While the action didn't stop, they didn't manage to hit as many highs as in the first half of the film. The other issue I had with the film was the motorcycle gun/swordfight. It was clearly the most CGI'd sequence in the film and was also a clear rip-off of a scene from another film, "The Villainess" (I'll link to the scene in a following post). They certainly did a good enough job pulling it off and for most of the film-watching world this will be the first time they've ever seen anything so bombastic, but for us TRUE action junkies, it lacked the ingenuity of the other scenes. Finally, I felt Keanu has hit the point of diminishing returns. The guy is 54 years old. It was bound to happen. He's having the same problems Jackie and Jet and Donnie started to have as they aged. Their legs are going. While it's almost imperceptible to most and can be covered for by using the proper choreography, it's still becoming evident to those who study such things that they just can't kick like they used to. There was more than one scene where John Wick was supposed to kick the legs/feet out of an opponent but the blows were weak and disproportionate to the reaction of the target. Again, it's something they were able to get away with for this film, but once it starts to go it never gets better. We've hit "peak Keanu". It's all downhill from here.
These criticisms pale in comparison to the things I enjoyed about this film. I don't want to go too deep into details for spoiler reasons, but here's just a brief list of what I thought was excellent about this film.
Were you a fan of James Bond's fights with Jaws (Richard Keil) or Bruce Lee's fight with Kareem? Then you'll enjoy watching John Wick vs 7' 3" NBA star Boban Marjanovic.
Animals. Specifically horses and especially dogs. They're not victims anymore.
Throwing knives. Turns out they're not as easy to use as is often depicted in action films.
Knife to the eye. Nuff said.
Simultaneous action - pay attention during the scene with Keanu and Halle. Their characters have separate action scenes separated by a short distance, but if you look closely you can see the other character in the background engaging in their own fight. They toggle back and forth between the characters quite effectively. I don't recall ever having witnessed a scene portrayed in such a fashion.
Busloads of badguys. Seriously. They bused them in. I had to chuckle at the self-awareness of it.
The plot. It didn't get in the way of the action.
The love interest. There is none.
Clearly the best action film of the year. We'll see if "Hobbs and Shaw" or "Anna" can give it a run. I wouldn't put money on it.
I'll be going to see it again tomorrow with my dad. I'm looking forward to it.
Click to expand...

 
totally unrelated, but you know all those "keanu reeves" stories you read about... i know a few ppl who know him personally, and they swear by it.

ive caught him on toronto transit only once myself, but ya... he sits there, minds his own business, on and off like anyone else. doesnt create a scene, waits and moves his way thru like a regular joe..

CELEBS, THEY'RE JUST LIKE US!!!

 
Soulfly3 said:
totally unrelated, but you know all those "keanu reeves" stories you read about... i know a few ppl who know him personally, and they swear by it.

ive caught him on toronto transit only once myself, but ya... he sits there, minds his own business, on and off like anyone else. doesnt create a scene, waits and moves his way thru like a regular joe..

CELEBS, THEY'RE JUST LIKE US!!!
Click to expand...
Except he doesn't age 

 
Soulfly3 said:
I have this theory that he is top 3 in women slayed in hollywood.

his name never gets tossed around w the pitts, depps etc.... but i have no doubt he crushes it
Click to expand...
He had a long term girlfriend who delivered a stillborn baby and then ended up dying a few year later in a car accident. Somehow I doubt he is out there crushing it.

 
Saw it last night with my family.  For my wife, daughter and me there wasn't nearly enough plot and way too much action.  My son and his friend loved it. I liked 1&2 much more than 3.

 
chet said:
Saw it last night with my family.  For my wife, daughter and me there wasn't nearly enough plot and way too much action.  My son and his friend loved it. I liked 1&2 much more than 3.
Click to expand...
For me, it was better than 2, but not as good as 1.  The first installment had emotional investment. This one was a bullet and blood ballet. Perhaps one of the best ever made, but I missed the emotional investment of just hating the hell out of Theon. 

 
Just saw it---I hate to say it, but you  become kind of numb with as many kills as there were (167 unofficial count). The movie needs to be seen again just to appreciate the level of choreography in those fight sequences. 

Just for comparison:

John Wick--91 kills

John Wick 2--119 kills

 
Do these movies have a plot or are they just kill fests? My friend loves them but I don’t trust his opinion. 

 
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