John Wick in a Nutshell

John Wick is an unapologetic action movie that doesn’t let up or try to obtain a deeper meaning. At it’s most basic core, it’s just a simple revenge movie. However, at the mercy of differentiating it from every other action movie, the hero in this tale is none other than John Wick (Keanu Reeves). The base story is that he was a former member of an underground assassin’s league; which had heavy influences from the Russian mafia. He tried to escape, something or some series of events drew him back in, and here we are left to marvel at his tale. Right from the get go we are pulled to John’s side from an all too familiar emotional story-line. While it may seem too simple to some, it was just enough that I was able to go along with it. We are introduced to an old friend from John’s former life in the form of Willem Dafoe. Dafoe plays an admirable part in the telling tale of John. There’s much more I can say regarding the story but I would rather our readers discover it for themselves. Yet, I shall leave it at there’s every imaginable action scenario imaginable that happens throughout this movie; sans the romance plotline. As for the technical elements of this movie, again it’s everything imaginable from an action movie. There’s gunshots, explosions, slow motion, choreographed fight sequences; you name it, John Wick‘s got it. I dare to say there was almost a Matrix-esque element to certain scenes in it. Especially with the chosen music that set the mood for John’s current predicament.  Alfie Allen, who is most recognized for his role on the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, makes an appearance as one of the members of the Russian mafia. Another fairly big name would be John Liguizamo. While he had a fairly minor role in this, it was still good to see another recognizable face. Speaking of recognizable there were a ton of them, it’s just a number of names I’d rather not list now. Besides casting and other elements known to an action movie, the pacing was pretty much on point and the music made it feel more intense than it should have. If I had to choose a gripe, it would be the factor of realism within this kind of plot. By the time I figured it was set in New York City, I would have assumed there would be a NYPD element chasing this mafia around trying to bring them down yet they would always be one step behind. Yet by the time I figured there wouldn’t be a NYPD presence I was slightly disappointed. However, this is just one minor gripe I have in a movie that embraces exactly what it is and doesn’t try too much to be anything else. There’s excellent acting given the material, excellent action elements, and pretty much everything else is on point; as long as you look past the obvious.