JOHN WICK (2014)

[indianasmith]

John Wick (played by Keanu Reeves) is a wealthy gentleman of perhaps 40 years of age. In the beginning of the movie, we see a montage of scenes as he falls in love, gets married, enjoys a few brief years of bliss with his wife, then tragically loses her to a long illness.  At her funeral, an old friend from his workplace comes by to offer condolences, and Wick goes home to an empty house and an empty life.  That night he receives a delivery: a pet carrier with a beagle pup and a note from his dead wife, who had made arrangements to have it delivered the evening after her funeral.  She urges him to get on with his life and learn to love again, and offers the pup as a starting place.  Wick cries a bit and hugs the puppy, who becomes his inseparable companion.
   Three days later, Wick is filling his car - a vintage '69 Mustang - with gas when a group of Russians fill up at the next pump.  The youngest Russian, who might as well have RICH PUNK tattooed on his forehead, comes over and admires the car, and asks how much Wick wants for it.  Wick tells him it is not for sale, and the Russian says in his native language: "Everything has a price, b***ch!"  Wick responds in Russian: "Not this b***ch!" and drives away.
   That night the pup starts barking, and Wick gets up to let it out, and gets koshed on the head by masked intruders who proceed to beat him senseless, kill his dog, and steal the car.  The ringleader foolishly shows his face and taunts the semiconscious Wick before leaving.
   You don't steal John Wick's car.
   You don't kill John Wick's dog.
   You see, before he retired from his profession and settled down, John Wick was the most talented professional assassin in the business.  Who did he work for?  Primarily, for the young man's father, vicious Russian gangster Viggo (played by Michael Nyqvist).  Wick's Russian nickname was "the Boogeyman" - although, as the horrified Viggo explains to his punk son, that is somewhat inaccurate.  Wick, he says, was "not the Boogeyman - he's the one you called when you needed someone to kill the f****ing boogeyman!"
  The rest of the movie was a predictable but enjoyable revenge flick a la THE EQUALIZER in which Wick goes through Russian goons and professional assassins like a buzzsaw, trying to find his way to Viggo's son.  The body count is so large I lost track, and Keanu Reeves takes more punishment than a human body could possibly endure, but overall, I found this one to be a goofy, fun action flick.

I was also pleasantly surprised at Keanu Reeve's acting chops.  Could it be that Hollywood's legendary wooden man has finally learned to act in his old age? JOHN WICK seems to make the case that he has.

This one was a solid 5/5 in my book.

[SynapticBoomstick]

At first I thought the whole premise for his revenge was really contrived and stupid but then I realized what kind of movie this was going to be. Having loved the hell out of Shoot 'Em Up, the levels of insanity in this movie kept me in stitches.

The best quote has to be the phone conversation early in the film: "Oh." -click-

[indianasmith]

That moment was awesome all right!

[The Burgomaster]

I wanted to see this in the theater, but I never got around to it.  I got it from Netflix a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it.  It's just a shoot-em-up video game disguised as a movie, but it definitely ain't boring.

[Archivist]

I thoroughly enjoyed John Wick in the cinema, and am looking forward to getting the blu-ray.  The premise seemed kind of hokey at first, but it is loads of fun when it plays out.  Normally, revenge motivation is like,

"They killed his wife, now he is out for revenge."

"They killed his family, now he is out for revenge."

"They kidnapped his daughter for the third time, now he is even more p**sed off."

While "they killed his dog" doesn't really pass muster on paper, it delivers on screen.

[messedup]

Just read that Lionsgate officially announced the sequel. So more John Wick in the future

[Archivist]

What will they do next, kill his potted plants? 

[BoyScoutKevin]

What will they do next, kill his potted plants? 

No, they'll make "John Wick 2," which should be out in 2016 or 2017, and as it is suppose to be a trilogy, then if the 2nd one gets made and does well enough, then we should see "John Wick 3" in 2019 or 2020.

[Archivist]

What will they do next, kill his potted plants? 

No, they'll make "John Wick 2," which should be out in 2016 or 2017, and as it is suppose to be a trilogy, then if the 2nd one gets made and does well enough, then we should see "John Wick 3" in 2019 or 2020.

Which still begs the question of what they will do to him next that will inspire his vengeful gunslinging wrath?  He has no wife, and no dog.  Can't remember what happened to his car.  His pot plants seem like the most likely candidates now.

[messedup]

Maybe a Prequel that shows his life as a professional hitman.
I just don't hope they will go the Taken-route where it's basically the same movie with tiny changes. The second one was still okay, but nobody really cared about the third.