John Wick

[jenkins]

this is an interesting example of a movie that i liked and admire, but it'll never be the top of any list or seen as the greatest blockbuster possible

spoiler you really don't gotta sweat --
his wife is dead and the bummer topping is a russian mobster kills his dog. killing his dog broke the unwritten code, duh
^that was the spoiler

it's a movie about guy problems. and this guy, keanu reeves, has become terrific at killing people to solve problems. like taken, the liam neeson movies, the creators found a way to explain why keanu reeves would have to be -- he's gotta!! -- spend an entire movie killing people through fabulous strategy and execution, which he's spent his entire life developing, and no one shoulda fucked with him in the first place lol

i don't think the acting or any of the roles can be taken seriously. i like that in this weird way: irl everyone was sure this movie needed to be made for some reason. because the makers are guys who want to know badass well enough to make this movie. keanu reeves -- imdb says "he did 90% of his own stunts in the film." eat it. and you remember the matrix, and keanu's only directorial achievement, man of tai chi. keanu is serious about fucking around, like his directors, who are ex-stuntment. give the guys some credit! in the creative crew's top-shelf there's a single female -- the icelandic born/bred elîsabet ronaldsdóttir. pooh, nice. and what about how john wick looks, does the movie look as nice as it can? i think dan leigh is doing his best, and any pta fan is familiar with for example a director of photography making hollywood movies -- leigh worked on margaret, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, and recently warriors and john wick

my favorite moment was when, while fighting inside a ritzy club where the russian mob likes to chill, keanu fell from the second story to the first floor, onto his back, and this felt real to me, and he stood up, without even like "shaking himself off," he just fell from the second story to the first and stood back up to shoot the next guy he had to shoot. to pull off that specific scene isn't too tricky i don't think -- i have no idea -- but i'm not guessing it's impressively tricky, i just think you really have to know what you're doing to create that moment

i believe there are references to videogame first-person shooters, i mean there's a moment where people are playing videogames, and how keanu reloads i think, but anyway like i said: it's a movie about guy problems. i have 0 friends like this irl. we wouldn't have common interests. but i enjoyed watching john wick, i think only specific types of people could make this movie, and i always appreciate a movie that feels honest to its character

[polkablues]

"Guy Problems" would be such a better title. Especially if that was the main character's name still.

[picolas]

/\ genius.

Wick works because he doesn't bullshit around. he is the smallest divisible action movie unit.

in one memorable scene, a character asks another character something.
"because John Wick." the other character replies.
the first character turns to the camera to reveal their face in a closeup.
"Oh." he says. and then he walks away.

this same hilarious reaction happens again about five minutes later.

Wick isn't really deconstructing anything. it is genuinely that simple.

the movie is basically an excuse for a feature-length stunt reel, and when it's only about shooting guns (and frequently it is), it's a work of stunt art. i've never seen such flawless and riveting gunplay, to the point that wick even RELOADS spectacularly, just as i'm questioning the number of bullets left in his chamber. too bad they had to put dumb rock music over most of those scenes. this action doesn't need any kind of glamourizing. it's already amazing.

the subtitles are really messed up. there's a tendency to put random words in a bold, flaming typeface, and when this first happened, before i could read it, i genuinely thought someone had inserted a snickers ad into the movie.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/Snickers_wrapped.jpg

whenever wick stumbles, it's because it's trying to make something sexier than it ever needs to be. like the flaming text/rock music. if the movie had a little more self-awareness, i would feel right in calling it a comwick masterpiece. as it stands, it comes off more like a stupid but amusing friend who is fun to be around for an hour because they're so committed and utterly unpretentious.

[polkablues]

I feel like Jason Statham's made this movie about seven times, and the only real difference here is the protagonist reloading more often. Jenkins nails it, that it's a movie that can't be taken seriously, but that a lot of talented people put a lot of hard work into, and achieved what they set out to achieve. All in all, it's perfectly fine example of the man-with-a-particular-set-of-skills subgenre, without bringing anything revolutionary to the table.

the subtitles are really messed up. there's a tendency to put random words in a bold, flaming typeface, and when this first happened, before i could read it, i genuinely thought someone had inserted a snickers ad into the movie.

Yeah, that was awful. I think they were going for a late-era Tony Scott vibe with that, but ended up with more of a McG directing a Black Eyed Peas video vibe.

[modage]

Oh, I did not like this movie!

Keanu was really good and totally commits but he deserves so much better than this material which seemed like it was basically written by and for 14 year olds. Even the action was just super boring, the way the rock/techno score would cut in every time a fight starts just totally deflates any actual tension from any of the sequences. In the same year that gave us The Raid 2, I'm kinda shocked that anyone (over the age of 15) would give this a second look.

[Axolotl]

I must be under 15 since this I liked this much better than The Raid 2.

I totally bought into it and disagree that it should have been more self-aware because it's so successful in what it is and that's a damn good action movie. The ambience was amazing(that hotel scene where he moves in on Theon Greyjoy is a lesson in whacky atmospherics), the rules of this world were fun and made idiotic sense, it never goes into slow motion, and Keanu Reeves is.

And dogs, you guys.

[jenkins]

that's solid hype. see this movie because it'll make you feel under fifteen

[modage]

that's solid hype. see this movie because it'll make you feel under fifteen

It will not make you feel that way. That would be a compliment.

[jenkins]

but you said it was written for 14 year olds and anyone giving the movie a second look must be under 15. and we like the movie so, so...

[03]

this movie makes your brain want to be fifteen is what jenkins is saying.

[pete]

it's not consistently inspired but I don't hate it. it did everything honestly and I guess people just missed that. the best sequence was when Keanu got on top of that car and got to shooting. the best scenes were all the little ones.

[Gold Trumpet]

it's a B movie smirking at a few cliches. Not a re-imagination of the genre, but more of a fun take on a very familiar type of story. I enjoyed it because I also inherently enjoy action movies and when most action movies try to be half hearted dramas, this was a more honest break from that trend. Don't think it's comparable to The Raid 2 either.

[jenkins]

fyi

[RegularKarate]

I liked John Wick