Keeping Mr. Wick alive
Zero (Mark Dacascos) is the latest villain in the third John Wick film.
Although any hype connected to the release of “John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum” was overshadowed by the end of the Marvel saga, the movie speaks for itself as an action-packed film that continues the story of dog-loving Wick.
In the wake of killing a member of the hitman organization High Table in the Continental Hotel, a place where any violence conducted by a member is forbidden, John Wick (Keanu Reeves), finds himself with a $14 million bounty on his head. Fighting for his life Wick becomes the target of the world’s most ruthless killers. In this installment of the series, the dogs in the story becomes even more crucial to the plot.
After watching the recent installment of the series, I was left speechless once again. The action scenes completely overwhelm the viewer with nonstop knives, guns and dogs.
While many sequels falls short of the original movie, “John Wick: Chapter 3” stood on its own with its signature dark tone and fighting scenes of the series. One of my favorite scenes follows Wick, Sofia (Halle Berry) and her two battle-ready dogs in a gruesome showdown with one of the members of the High Table and his men.
In addition to the film’s original cast members, including Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick), this film adds in interesting characters, including there were also new members debuting in the latest installment such as Sofia (Halle Berry), the Director (Anjelica Huston) and Tick Tock Man (Jason Mantzoukas).
As a die-hard fan of the John Wick series, I was disappointed that the choreographed stunt work at the end of the film didn’t match previous scenes. There were many instances where Wick could have died, but due to his opponents going easy on him, he survived. Also, some of the fighting scenes looked too overly coordinated, as it seemed like Wick and his opponents were dancing around each other rather than trying to kill each other.
Compared to past films, a variety of props other than the usual guns and knives were used. In the second installment, one of the more memorable scenes was when Wick used a pencil and repeatedly stabbed his attacker until he bled out. In this installment however, there was not any differentiation in props other than a book and dogs.
The John Wick series sets itself aside from typical action movies. Compared to regular action films, where protagonists seem to be nearly invincible and have endless amounts of ammunition, the installments are very realistic as John Wick has to reload in every gun scene and often is injured. Best of all, Wick is a dog person who would do anything for his furry companion.
Even at two hours and 10 minutes, the film moved along at a fast pace. Every scene was engaging and suspenseful, more than making up for some of the film’s flaws.
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