MOVIE OF THE WEEK (5/17/19): JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM
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| "Hey fellas ... Did I tell you I'm working on another Bill & Ted movie?!" John Wick (Keanu Reeves, center) prepares to battle two of his biggest fans in a scene from JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM. Credit: Niko Tavernise. © 2019 Lionsgate Films. All rights reserved. |
WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Asia Kate Dillon, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Lance Reddick and Saïd Taghmaoui with Angelica Houston
DIRECTOR(S): Chad Stahelski
DIRECTOR(S): Chad Stahelski
WEB SITE: https://www.johnwick.movie/
THE BACK STORY: John Wick was an assassin for the mysterious High Table. Then he retired. Then his wife died. Then a gangster's son stole his car and killed the dog he got to keep him company after his wife's passing. Then he got his revenge ... Only to have a man named Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) from his past force him to go back into action four days later. Wick does the deed ... And then kills Santino in the one place he cannot – The Continental Hotel (a.k.a. a haven from criminals) run by Winston (Ian McShane). This forces Winston to declare John "ex communicado," which puts Wick on the run from essentially every other assassin in New York City and the surrounding world at large. Winston does give John a marker to use for help and a 1-hour head start given that EVERY ASSASSIN IN THE WORLD is about to put him in their sights.
And now we're here.
Seems that while Mr. Wick is on the run, the Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) is not only determined to make sure the $14 million (and rising) contract on Wick is collected, but that everyone who has or will help him flee the Continental and/or commit the crime there – Winston, the Director (Anjelica Houston), the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) – must pay. Throw in a ready and willing assassin in John Wick fan Zero (Mark Dacascos) and everyone is on his tail now with the same goal: killing him.
Guess that's why he might be ready to look up an old friend in Sofia (Halle Berry) for help – if she doesn't kill him first ...
And now we're here.
Seems that while Mr. Wick is on the run, the Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) is not only determined to make sure the $14 million (and rising) contract on Wick is collected, but that everyone who has or will help him flee the Continental and/or commit the crime there – Winston, the Director (Anjelica Houston), the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) – must pay. Throw in a ready and willing assassin in John Wick fan Zero (Mark Dacascos) and everyone is on his tail now with the same goal: killing him.
Guess that's why he might be ready to look up an old friend in Sofia (Halle Berry) for help – if she doesn't kill him first ...
THE REVIEW: A live-action video game that harkens back to the karate flicks guys like the Wu-Tang Clan loved in the 1970s and 80s, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum features some of the coolest fight scenes to come along in ages ... While also showing that the film franchise might be getting a little too cool for its own good.
On the pro-side of things, Reeves proves he still can hold things down with hyper-violent style as Wick, a man who follows his principles and knows the risks – "consequences," as he is prone to say of his actions. Seriously – any doubts you have that the 54 year-old actor could kick the average moviegoer's gluteus maximus will disappear mighty quick upon watching Parabellum as Reeves fight scenes in the film would probably make his former most-famous alter ego run back inside the Matrix. Reeves' has pretty much mastered the Wick character, making this incarnation of him his best outing to date. Throw in one of the coolest extended action sequences you'll likely see with he and Halle Berry teaming up in Morocco and audiences will likely eat up Parabellum in all its extremely bloody glory.
So no, the problem that is creeping up on the film isn't its action sequences or main star; it's the small nuances that take the film from realistic to "Yup – that only happens in movies" land. Whereas the fight sequences are incredible, the amount of times Reeves is able to get up after (1) crashing through glass or (2) literally fighting his way up to his final boss battle video-game style; someone in the film's production team has to be a big fan of Donkey Kong and (3) the "I'm super cool; can't you tell by the perfectly-timed soliloquys, leather outfits, oversized personalities and/or cool gazes I give into the camera?" moves employed by the film's antagonists, it starts to become a little bit bloated.
Fortunately, none of these things is big enough to distract from the film's overall fun factor – or at least as much fun as you can have with a film that has a body count high enough across two continents to make Michael Myers suggest sending someone to anger management. The grandiose personalities and Wick's propensity for getting up after a great fall – pun intended – start to make things a little ridiculous even given the film's world, but not enough to derail the fun and intensity of the movie as a whole.
And that's a good thing – because if you think Chapter 3 is the end, you should really go study the meaning of "parabellum" again ...
On the pro-side of things, Reeves proves he still can hold things down with hyper-violent style as Wick, a man who follows his principles and knows the risks – "consequences," as he is prone to say of his actions. Seriously – any doubts you have that the 54 year-old actor could kick the average moviegoer's gluteus maximus will disappear mighty quick upon watching Parabellum as Reeves fight scenes in the film would probably make his former most-famous alter ego run back inside the Matrix. Reeves' has pretty much mastered the Wick character, making this incarnation of him his best outing to date. Throw in one of the coolest extended action sequences you'll likely see with he and Halle Berry teaming up in Morocco and audiences will likely eat up Parabellum in all its extremely bloody glory.
So no, the problem that is creeping up on the film isn't its action sequences or main star; it's the small nuances that take the film from realistic to "Yup – that only happens in movies" land. Whereas the fight sequences are incredible, the amount of times Reeves is able to get up after (1) crashing through glass or (2) literally fighting his way up to his final boss battle video-game style; someone in the film's production team has to be a big fan of Donkey Kong and (3) the "I'm super cool; can't you tell by the perfectly-timed soliloquys, leather outfits, oversized personalities and/or cool gazes I give into the camera?" moves employed by the film's antagonists, it starts to become a little bit bloated.
Fortunately, none of these things is big enough to distract from the film's overall fun factor – or at least as much fun as you can have with a film that has a body count high enough across two continents to make Michael Myers suggest sending someone to anger management. The grandiose personalities and Wick's propensity for getting up after a great fall – pun intended – start to make things a little ridiculous even given the film's world, but not enough to derail the fun and intensity of the movie as a whole.
And that's a good thing – because if you think Chapter 3 is the end, you should really go study the meaning of "parabellum" again ...
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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