John Wick at 10 and the resurrection of Keanu Reeves

Before getting into the film itself, it’s worth taking the time to remember that Keanu Reeves had lost much of his star power in the industry. In 2014, more than a decade had passed since the third Matrix film. The Matrix Revolutionsand Reeves had had no comparable success in that period. Reeves still worked regularly, but John Wick It wasn’t a big major studio release. Everyone who wasn’t in the movie assumed it would just be another low-budget action movie with a former star in the lead.

Reeves also deserves credit for helping screenwriter Derek Kolstad reshape the John Wick character to more closely align with Reeves’ on-screen persona. Excess dialogue was removed and the film relied on Reeves’ face and body language to convey what was happening, rather than him saying the obvious out loud. That went a long way toward making the audience feel like they knew John, because he looked so much like Reeves.

John starts off in a very human place at the beginning of the film, and the audience meets him as he mourns the death of his wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan). Before she died, Helen arranged for John to be given a puppy to care for, and he accepted that dog into his heart. But before long, Russian mobsters break into John’s house, steal his car and murder his puppy before leaving him for dead.

Unlike the vast majority of moviegoers, John did not need to seek help from the police. As a former assassin, he recovered from his wounds and set out on a bloody path of revenge. Ironically, John’s desire to take revenge on himself and his dog resonated with moviegoers and turned out to be more interesting than simply avenging his wife, as many action heroes had done before.

Aside from Reeves’ performance as the main character, the great appeal of John Wick It is your action. Former stuntmen Chad Stahelski and David Leitch co-directed John Wickalthough it was only credited to Stahelski due to DGA rules. Regardless, Stahelski and Leitch brought an understanding of action that the Michael Bay school of filmmakers lacks. They didn’t rely on quick cuts or incomprehensible editing to convey the action. They focused on longer takes and well-choreographed fights.

Even the shootings of John Wick It featured stylized action that separated it from the previous films. Once John Wick was discovered by action fans, they embraced its unique touches which were taken even further in the sequels.

Compared to the movies that came after, John Wick It is clearly set in something that resembles our reality. This was long before the public knew about the High Table and the arcane rules of this world of assassins. That said, John Wick He lays the groundwork, so to speak, for all of those things by introducing The Continental hotel, which is an oasis for murderers and criminals to roam freely without fear of violence.

This film also revealed that the currency of the underworld is not strictly cash. Instead, it revolves around gold coins that are worth more than simple money and with which you can buy access to The Continental, among other services that cannot be purchased legally.

There are two scenes in the film where the characters put the taste in Iosef Tarasov’s (Alfie Allen) mouth for being stupid enough to attack John Wick, steal his car, and shoot his dog. John Leguizamo’s Aurelio does so, and is soon followed by Iosef’s father, Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist). The reason those scenes are so effective is that they establish the mythology of John Wick himself, as expressly laid out by Viggo. Without flashbacks, the audience discovers that John was one of the most feared killers in the underworld. The supporting actors hype John up for the audience before the film shows what he can do.

Two of the other supporting characters, Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick), were so memorable that they have appeared in every sequel to date. McShane in particular dominates the screen as Winston and adds a lot of flavor to the film. Willem Dafoe and Adrianne Palicki also have great roles as Marcus and Mrs. Perkins, respectively. They helped flesh out this world and gave Reeves intriguing characters to play against.