John Wick may be one of the best action films made in years, creating a character out of nowhere that solidified his presence in action history. This film is riddled with great elements, including original, interesting writing and a spectacular comeback performance by Keanu Reeves. While there were some parts that remain generic and form-fitting of an action film, the majority of this movie was creative and new, which is quite rare, especially in this genre.
The best part of this film was definitely Keanu Reeves' role as the titular character. After he gets married, John Wick retires from the hit-man profession to continue his life. But when his wife dies of an unexpected illness and some thugs break into Wick's home, beat him up, and kill his puppy, Wick decides to return to what he is best at: killing. There were many scenes throughout the film that truly mark this as Reeves' ultimate comeback film. The scene with the dead puppy in the beginning was obviously very emotional and Wick's monologue later on in the film was one of the most powerful and revengeful scenes I have ever watched. Compared to a lot of Reeves' previous roles, this one showed so much emotion and he did an excellent job of portraying that. Reeves really brought out the passion from the script, as the writing was fantastic too. The story in this film was very innovative, as it did not focus on the trope of a dead loved one, but rather the loss of hope. As heard in the confrontation-scene monologue, after Wick's wife had died, the only thing he had left was the puppy, named Daisy. But since that was taken from him, his hope was taken from him too, and nothing would stop him from getting vengeance on the people who emotionally broke him. Another great point that the writing did for the story was establishing Wick as a professional hit-man without too much of a backstory. Throughout the film, it feels as though Reeves has done this role for ages, as he really embodies the character, even though this is his first appearance on screen. It is his confidence and charisma that gives the character that much more grit and personality.
Along with the engaging story, the most pleasing aspect of this movie was its visual effects and choreography. The violence in this film did not aim to satisfy a PG-13 audience, that is for certain. While dozens of headshots and close kills were shown, it really displayed Wick's relentless for justice, while doing it in a beautifully-choreographed and stylized way. The final piece of the puzzle that really glued everything together, though, was the music motif. The song "Every Ending Has a Beginning" by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard was utilized very well throughout, as every intense action sequence had this song attached to it in one way or another. This really emphasized the R-rated violence and showed just how grotesque yet professional Wick was.
The writing in this film definitely stood out compared to other action movies, but there were still a few moments that were quite bland and did not match the tone of the rest of this film. The opening scene chronologically occurred at the end of the film, as the story circled around and caught back up to where we left off. I feel that this trope occurs way too often in film, and this movie could have done a bit better with bringing the story together. There were also a few moments in this movie where the dialogue was very weak and did not feel in place. A lot of Willem Dafoe's character's lines were very poorly-written, as his character deserved more justice, considering how integral he was to keeping John alive. Other moments in the film seemed very predictable and generic, and needed better care from the screenwriters.
All in all, John Wick is an original and engaging story about a killer who goes on a rampage after his loss of hope. Keanu Reeves delivered an amazing performance, and really personified his character while the writing, for the most part, was exceptional. This film is very appealing and fun, and I would definitely recommend it to any fan of the genre. However, I would NOT recommend fucking with Keanu Reeves or his puppy, as he will quite literally kill EVERYONE.
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