The John Wick Trilogy

Would I kill someone to avenge my furbabies?

What better way to start “Michelle Reviews” than with the ‘John Wick’ trilogy and the actor who is breath-taking on so many levels. He’s a great actor, great guy (from what I’ve read), he’s not a pervert, and of course, he’s great looking – like I said, breath-taking.

In the past few years, Keanu Reeves has become famous for his character, John Wick, a puppy loving assassin. You would think him a softie, but then he goes and kills all those people, so no … Boogieman is a better description, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

In short, ‘John Wick’ is essentially three movies about “It was just a f@#king (insert).” Allow me to illustrate.

‘John Wick’ – “It was just a f@#king puppy.”

In the first movie, we get to know John as a retired assassin. His wife recently passed away and he is grief-stricken. He receives a puppy as a last gift from his late wife to help him cope. He and the cute puppy bond, and you as the viewer fall in love with the pup as well.

John goes to a petrol station with his Ford Mustang (a cool looking car in my books) and a group of Russian gangsters is there as well. The one, Iosef, wants to buy John’s car but he refuses repeatedly. This does not go down well with the Russians and they follow him home. That night they break in, beat up John, steal his car, and kill his puppy. This is the catalyst for the whole story.

“You idiot” – Iosef’s dad

We find out that Iosef is the son of the head of the Russian mob in New York. Iosef’s father learns that his son stole the car from the one and only John Wick. He is distraught because he knows John’s reputation and skills.

From there a lot of violence ensues. To cut a long story short, a lot of people are sent to get rid of John but he’s just too damn good. John eventually gets his man and kills him.

In this movie, you also get to know the underworld of assassins. For example, there are ‘Continental Hotels’ with mainly hitmen (or hit-women) as their clientele. The rule is that no one may commit murder in these specific hotels, otherwise they’re screwed. You also learn that John gave up his old life (being an assassin) to marry his wife and be a normal citizen.

At the end of the movie John breaks into an animal clinic to treat a stab wound and there he sees a pit bull that is scheduled to be put down. He takes the dog and walks home with it. It’s a sweet ending to an otherwise wildly gruesome movie.

“John Wick 2” – “It was just a f@#king house.”

The second movie plays off just a few days after the events of the first. Here we find John retrieving his stolen car from the Russian mob and he kills most of the people in his way. In the process, he completely wrecks his car (which I feel is a bit counterintuitive, but anyway). John goes home and puts his weapons away from good – again.

John is then visited by an Italian mobster called Santino D’Antonio. D’Antonio presents John with a marker that he must honour. A marker is a blood oath that you make to another assassin and it looks like a medallion. You find out that D’Antonio helped John to retire from the underground world of assassination to marry his wife.

The marker entails one of only two rules that these assassins have – you don’t kill in the Continental, and every marker must be honoured. However, John refuses to honour the marker because it requires him to kill D’Antonio’s sister. John insists that he is retired. Obviously, the Italian is not impressed with John and proceeds to blow up his house.

Politics and backstabbing

After this John reluctantly accepts the task that the marker requires. D’Antonio’s sister must die because he wants her place at the High Table – the council of the assassins and other crime elite. John goes to Rome and in a strange twist of events, the doomed sister, Gianna, realises what is going on and takes her own life. John ‘double taps’ by shooting her through the head.

Then you find up that John was set up. D’Antonio’s men are out to kill him, but he eludes them. When John gets back to the States D’Antonio puts a $7 million-dollar contract on John’s death, because he wants people to think that he is out to avenge his sister. Again, violence ensues – it seems like every assassin with a pulse wants John’s head. However, in John Wick fashion, John fights them all off with splendour, but he is injured.

John eventually finds D’Antonio in the lounge of the Continental and the Italian is quite smug. He tells John that he will stay there indefinitely and John can’t do anything. But John does something – a very bad thing. He shoots (and kills) D’Antonio right there and then in the Continental.

After this John is in deep sh… you know what. The contract on his head is doubled and extended to the world-wide assassin community. Also, because John broke the “no blood on Continental grounds”-rule he is declared ‘excommunicado’ from the Hotel, and thus loses all the privileges and access to Continental and assassin resources.

The Hotel manager, Winston, is ‘kind’ and delays the announcement for one hour to give John some leeway to escape. The movie ends where John is on the run with his dog.

John Wick Parabellum – “It was just a f@#king assassin.”

The third installment of John Wick takes place less than an hour after the events of the previous film. John Wick is less than an hour away from being declared ‘excommunicado’ and having the $14 million contract activated. For most of the movie, John is on the run from many an assassin.

Interestingly, he first goes to the New York Public Library where he hid a crucifix necklace and marker in a book. He heads to the ‘Director’ – someone from John’s past who manages a theatre. John presents the crucifix and it acts as a ticket for him to travel safely to Casablanca, Morocco. Thereafter John has used up all his favours.

As John runs from the whole world’s assassins, a skinny woman shows up at the New York Continental. She is just known as the Adjudicator with the High Table. She is there to warn and punish those who helped John Wick after he killed D’Antonio.

John gets help

In Casablanca John goes to Sofia, a friend from John’s assassin days and the manager of the Continental hotel there in Casablanca. John presents a marker and Sofia is bound to honour it. Sofia must help him find the Elder, a member of the High Table, and high-ranking at that. She helps him find out where the Elder can be found and leaves him in the desert, with her debt paid. John must continue alone.

John walks until he can walk no more, as instructed, and collapses. He is found by the Elder’s men. John asks the Elder to waive his bounty, saying that he wants to live to remember his wife. The Elder agrees but on two conditions. John must kill Winston and then work for the High Table for the rest of his life.

Continental battlefield

When John gets back in town assassins are hired to kill him. He is at the Continental with Winston when the Adjudicator arrives there. John refuses to assassinate Winston and Winston, in turn, won’t give up his office. As a result, that specific Continental Hotel is deconsecrated, and thus anyone can kill there. A team of body-armoured men is sent from the High Table to get John. However, John and the Continental’s concierge, defend themselves. A lot of violence ensues – again.

Winston explains to the Adjudicator that going against the will of the High Table was actually a way to show their strength, and offers penance. When John arrives at the meeting, the Adjudicator calls him a threat, and cannot negotiate further with him alive. Winston then pulls out a gun and shoots John, who very theatrically falls off the roof. Thereafter, the Continental is re-consecrated.

However, the Adjudicator is suspicious and nervous when John’s body disappears. At the end of the movie, you see a homeless man pushing John away in his cart and is taken to Bowery King, an underground crime lord.

Bowery King makes it known that he has had enough of the High Table and will fight against them. He asks John, “Do you feel pissed off?” and John just says “yeah”.

And that is where it ends.

What do I think?

Right off the bat, I liked the realistic nature of a lot of the fight scenes. I do know something about martial arts and it was cool to see that a lot of the manoeuvres in the fights are possible – hats off to the choreographer.

Also, the first two films were quite dark, and the third one is definitely not a comedy, but it had more humour in it – which was a nice thing to counter all the violence.

What did I not like? The Adjudicator for one, I was so happy at the end when that twig bitch left.

To be honest, these films are more for guys (and the girlfriends who are dragged along). As mentioned (repeatedly), there is a lot of violence, and every movie gets more and more violent. But at least there is a cute dog in there …

John Wick – a franchise for lovers of violence and dogs, and not for the faint-hearted.

What do you think? Let me know – contact details below.

Meh.

Michelle

P.S. If you’d like to contact me, feel free to comment below, send an email to thatmichelleperson@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter @M_ClutterBox.