Instead of going to see John Wick, Bill and I went to see
Big Hero 6. So I should probably head this as:
Ha, just kidding (although based on reviews and previews, I
would not be averse to Big Hero 6, but only in about 6 months once I've
downloaded it can see it from the comfort of my chair in my room in my house,
where I won't have to go outside in winter).
As I've told a few people, John Wick is the story of how
Keanu Reeves solves his problems with violence. Usually guns, but occasionally
savage beatings as well. Maybe a few stabbings thrown in there too, just for
variety. While the joke would be to use one word to describe this movie, and
that word would be "Whoa", the actual word used to describe this
movie is "Cool." Maybe not "Cool!" like The Raid (or its
sequel) but "Cool."
They do some really good action in this movie. It's not the
amazingly over-the-top stuff I've seen in a few other movies, but it's still
quite an adrenaline rush. Which isn't quite the surprise it could be, since
this movie was directed by stunt people. As if they just took a look at their
careers and said "Yeah, let's put as much of that on film as we can."
Which I guess means shootouts in a wide variety of locales (homes, clubs,
parking lots, churches).
I like a lot of the little stuff they did in the movie. One
of the running gags is that John Wick (Reeves) is retired, but still knows
everybody in the business. "John." "Clarence. Why don't you take
the night off?" "Thanks." Or "Harry."
"John." "Sorry about your [spoiler]." "Thanks."
Everywhere he goes, he knows the people there, as if all contracts killers know
all the other contract killers, and they all go to exclusive clubs who only
cater to contract killers (oh yeah, and no one's allowed to do any contract
killing at the exclusive clubs, despite the fact they are filled to the brim
with people who are hired to kill, and whose only job is, in fact, to kill).
Also, all of these characters are played by "That Guys", so that was
fun. Theon Greyjoy shows up from Game of Thrones as a prick, so he has to be
careful not to be typecast. Ian McShane is the proprietor of a hotel, where
Lance Reddick is the receptionist. You'll know him from everything. Clarke
Peters plays another guest, and I know him from Person of Interest. Bridget
Moynahan has a small role. Dean "the Vulture" Winters drops by from
Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Willem Dafoe has a supporting Role. John Leguizamo shows up
near the beginning. Bridget Regan is a bartender when she's not on White Collar.
Adrianne Palicki is here as a hit-woman, and you may know her from Friday NightLights, or GI Joe: Retaliation, or from several stories about how hard the new
Wonder Woman show will tank (it will tank so hard it never made it to air).
Anyway, they also throw in some other things. There's a
cleaning crew that shows up, and is paid in gold coins, which is apparently the
currency in this weird, assassin underground where everyone knows your name.
The only thing I didn't like about the movie, other than the
slow beginning, is the name. John Wick. Is there any full name movie that you'd
want to see? Evan and I had a conversation about this. John Wick. John Carter.
Jack Reacher. They'd all be better off as single name movies. Wick. Carter (or
Carter of Mars). Reacher. If we didn't have 20 years of good feelings for it,
would you see a movie called Forrest Gump only based on its title? Stallone
seems to have acknowledged this early, with Rocky, but then he went
ahead and called one Rocky Balboa, which, in a vacuum, I would not see. Mind
you, I didn't see it in real life either, so there's that.
So, complaints aside, it's a good, solid movie, filled with
action and violence. Just the way I like it. I'd rate it as a theatre movie.
