At this point I've watched all of the "John Wick" films, and this is the first time I've written about any of them. "John Wick: Parabellum" has been a surprise hit at the box office, its star Keanu Reeves is once again a pop culture darling, and director Chad Stahelski is being attached to a lot of other projects, so I figured this post was past due. However, I'm reluctant because my reaction to the series can really be summed up in a resounding "meh."
"John Wick" exists to provide an excuse for R-rated action scenes, and these are absolutely wonderful, crazy, R-rated action scenes where some of the best stunt people in the business get to show off their skills without too much CGI gumming up the works. Around them, the filmmakers have created this elaborate underworld of assassins and ne'er-do-wells, who operate a detailed shadow economy with very strict rules. In the first movie this system was mostly limited to the Continental, a hotel for assassins run by Winston (Ian McShane). By the third film, this has expanded to many different businesses, schools, services, and networks of criminals operating over multiple continents.
The series has gotten less grounded and more fanciful over time, while its budget has increased and its fight sequences have grown ever more complex and grandiose. So what was originally a very simple revenge story about John Wick and his dog, so simple that it's been repeatedly mocked in-universe, has turned into this ornate action fantasy franchise full of secret societies and obtuse mythology. The world building is fun when it comes to things like John Wick visiting an armorer who presents him firearms like a sommelier. However, it's notably sloppy when handling characters like Wick's ally Sofia (Halle Berry), who seems to have contradictory motives, or any time it tries to pull anything resembling a plot twist.
The series is at its best when it's providing us with spectacle like John Wick fighting thugs on horseback, or dispatching foes with library books, or stalking enemies through a room built of projectors and mirrors, or the famous Red Circle Club sequence. To its credit, it's well aware of this, and the movies have been overwhelmingly action-heavy with very little plot or story to complicate things. Keanu Reeves remains a charismatic, interesting presence and a perfect fit for the role of the terse John Wick. I like some of the supporting actors who have popped up, including McShane, Berry, Lance Reddick as the Continental concierge, John Leguizamo, Peter Stormare, and even Angelica Houston in the latest installment.
The trouble is that the movies keep getting longer, the action keeps getting more unrealistic, and John Wick is pretty much an invincible superman by this point. I liked the first film for being this scrappy little action thriller that had a sense of humor about itself. It had stylized language and some fun genre elements, but it was also very hands-on and tongue in cheek. Two films later, it's not nearly as entertaining with John taking everything deadly seriously, and the filmmakers pushing a lot of those interesting little flourishes too far. It's clear that they enjoy the worldbuilding, but they aren't very good at it. If you think too hard about how the universe functions, it all falls apart.
Yes, I know you're not supposed to be thinking too hard in these movies, and I'm glad that the filmmakers are always willing to suspend logic in order to show the audience a particularly cool shot or stunt. However, the only level that these films are truly satisfying on is the visceral level. And that would be fine if that were the only thing that "John Wick" was interested in. However, clearly it's not, and the clumsier attempts at storytelling are getting in the way of the thrills and chills. I had a similar problem with "Atomic Blonde," from the first "John Wick" film's co-director David Leitch. The action and visuals were great, but the scripting for the spy thriller bits was incoherent.
I keep watching the "John Wick" films because they provide some easy cinematic pleasures. John Wick fights the main players from "The Raid." John Wick puts down Alfie Allen from "Game of Thrones." John Wick buys a wicked cool bulletproof suit. John Wick has the greatest knife fight ever. However, I don't love the films or look forward to them the way other people do. I need more than just cool fight scenes and bullet ballet for that. However, I respect what they do well, and admire their commitment to a bloody good time.
---
No comments:
Post a Comment