John Wick
English (A) ¬¬¬
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, others
Director: Chad Stahelski
Last seen in the super flop, 47 Ronin (2013), Keanu Reeves (Speed, Point Break), returns as a former hit-man hell-bent on revenge in John Wick.
With a generic plot, common to several in the action genre, the film is about Russian mafia who end up taking on John Wick (Reeves), who it turns out is a wrong man to mess with.
John loses his wife to cancer, who before her last breath, gifts a beagle named Daisy so that John has company.
Alas, the joy of being with Daisy lasts two days, as Iosef (Allen) and his cronies wanting to buy John’s vintage car and his refusal to do so, break into John’s house, but not before killing his dog and stealing his car.
Films like John Wick are not meant to have depth, and what follows is straight-forward stuff: John taking on the criminals.
What is baffling is that although John helped Iosef’s father, Viggo (Nyqvist) rule the Russian crime syndicate five years back by eliminating his rivals, Iosef and John barely know each other.
Iosef shows no remorse, even after Viggo counsels him and appears to support John.
An emerging trend seen in the action genre, of late is that the hero always has to be either an ex-cop or ex-sleuth or ex-security guard. Why can’t he be a martial art teacher or gym instructor?
Despite this, John Wick has a lot of kick. Fifty-year-old Reeves is the right fit for the lead role.
For action buffs, the positives are that the dialogue is limited with little character development, with the focus more on the fights that occur in rapid succession.
John Wick may not be as legendary as the Schwarzenegger or Stallone flicks, but it’s worth a watch.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks