Revisited - John Wick (2014)

So at the time before I watched any of the John Wick movies, the third installment's release was around the corner. I kept hearing of how crazy good the the first two was and how it builds this crazy and cool world as well as how badass Keanu Reeves is as John Wick. After hearing all they hype just like Kingsmen, I decided to sit down and watch both films and of course I loved them. The word that comes to mind when thinking of the film is Adrenaline. This film as well as the sequels doesn't let it's foot off the gas pedal.

The action scenes are fast paced and beautifully choreographed to make it seem almost like a dance of the most badass kind. It also follows a simple story of a man on a path of vengeance over the death of the last thing connecting him to his wife. That's the whole plot and it allows the viewer to soak in not on the character development or story but rather the world that they created for John Wick. Not only that but Keanu Reeves kills it in this film and true brings him back to the center stage of Badass films such as The Matrix did for him all those years ago.

John Wick (retroactively known as John Wick: Chapter 1) is a 2014 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Chad Stahelski, in his directorial debut, and written by Derek Kolstad. It stars Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Willem Dafoe. It is the first installment in the John Wick film series. Kolstad had completed the screenplay in 2012 and further developed it for Thunder Road Pictures. The film was produced by Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road Pictures, Leitch, Eva Longoria, and Michael Witherill. It marks Stahelski and Leitch's directorial debut as a team after multiple separate credits as second-unit directors and stunt coordinators. They previously worked with Reeves as stunt doubles on The Matrix trilogy.

Stahelski and Leitch's approach to action scenes drew upon their admiration for anime and martial arts films.The film used fight choreographers and gun fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema.The film also pays homage to works such as John Woo's The Killer, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge and Le Samouraï, John Boorman's Point Blank, and the spaghetti western films. The film was met with positive reviews, with critics calling it one of Reeves' best performances and one of the best action films of 2014. It grossed $86 million worldwide against a production budget of $20 million. Two sequels, John Wick: Chapter 2, and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, were released in February 2017 and May 2019 respectively, both to comparable critical and commercial success, with another sequel, John Wick: Chapter 4, set for a May 2021 release.

After John Wick loses his wife, Helen, to a terminal illness, he receives a beagle puppy named Daisy from his late wife to help him cope with his grief. Despite John's stoic demeanor, he bonds with the puppy and they spend their day driving around in his vintage 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1. At a gas station, he encounters a trio of Russian gangsters whose leader, Iosef, insists on buying his car, but John repeatedly states that it is not for sale. Frustrated, the mobsters follow John to his home, knock him unconscious, steal his car, and kill Daisy.

Iosef takes the Mustang to a chop shop to have the VIN changed. Aurelio, the shop's owner, recognizes the car and, upon learning that Iosef stole it from John, punches him before kicking him out of his shop. John visits Aurelio, who identifies Iosef as the son of Viggo Tarasov, the head of the Russian crime syndicate in New York City. Viggo, informed by Aurelio of Iosef's activities, beats and berates Iosef before explaining to him who John Wick is: a famed assassin formerly in Viggo's employ, nicknamed "Baba Yaga" (translated in the film as Russian for "Boogeyman"). When John wanted to retire and marry Helen, Viggo gave him an "impossible task," implied to involve multiple assassinations in a short period of time. John succeeded, and his efforts were key in establishing the Tarasov syndicate.

Viggo tries to talk John out of seeking retribution, but John refuses. Viggo then sends a twelve-men hit squad to John's house, but John kills them all and has the bodies professionally removed. An unsurprised Viggo places a $2 million bounty on John's head and personally offers the contract to John's mentor, Marcus. John seeks refuge at the Continental Hotel, which caters exclusively to the criminal underworld and permits no "business" on its premises. Viggo doubles the bounty for those willing to break the rules to kill John at the Continental.

Winston, the Continental's owner, tells John that Viggo has Iosef under guard at his nightclub, the Red Circle. John enters the Red Circle and makes his way to Iosef, but Viggo's henchman, Kirill, waylays John, allowing Iosef to escape. John retreats to the Continental to patch up his injuries. Ms. Perkins, an assassin and former acquaintance, sneaks into John's room to kill him but Marcus alerts John, allowing him to subdue Perkins. He forces Perkins to reveal the location of Viggo's front, knocks her unconscious and leaves her with Harry, a fellow assassin, to await punishment. However, Perkins frees herself and kills Harry.

John travels to the Little Russia church, which serves as Viggo's front and destroys Viggo's cache of money and blackmail material. When Viggo and his team arrive, John ambushes them, but is subdued and captured. Viggo taunts John for thinking that he could leave his old life behind. Marcus intervenes again, allowing John to free himself and to kill Kirill before accosting Viggo, who (implied to be tired of his son's behavior) reveals Iosef's location. John then travels to the safe house, killing Iosef and his bodyguards.

Perkins learns that John and Marcus have been in contact and tells Viggo, who has Marcus beaten and tortured before executing him in his home. Viggo calls John to report this, planning to have Perkins ambush him. While waiting for John, Perkins is called to a meeting with Winston, who has her executed for killing Harry on Continental grounds.

Winston calls John to inform him that Viggo is planning to escape by helicopter. John races to the harbor helipad, where he kills Viggo's remaining henchmen before engaging Viggo in a battle on the dock. Viggo pulls out a knife, and John allows himself to be stabbed, surprising Viggo. John then disarms Viggo and fatally wounds him.

John breaks into a waterfront animal clinic to treat his wound and releases a pit bull puppy scheduled to be euthanized. John and the dog walk home along the boardwalk, where he had his last date with Helen.

This film is amazing and a thrill ride to say the least and a film to revisit countless times over. Hell, I already watched it probably 5 times over as well as the sequels. This film put new life in the action film genre as well as revive Keanu Reeves Career and now he's in countless future projects and very deserving of it. Go watch this film, go watch the second one, go watch the third, and pre-order tickets for the fourth. You will not be disappointed. This has been Revisited, thanks for reading. Ricardo singing off.