Review of John Wick (2014) by Quincytheodore — 02 Nov 2014

The One has been stylishly resurrected from depth of obscurity. It's a crucial requirement for hitmen to have a mediocre first name and quirky last name, as seen with Bond or Bourne, by this standard, John Wick has secured himself in pantheon of action heroes. His tale follows the known formula of one assassin returning to his old life, but what makes John Wick stands out is how vibrant and exciting the movie portrays him. From the nuance, visual and audio, everything looks like enhanced virtual reality or a very polished video game. Keanu Reeves struts with every bone breaking moves he makes, and without a doubt delivering his best performance in years.

Keanu Reeves, despite having impressive resume, might not be the most dynamic actor. He doesn't transform himself in every role, like say, Tom Cruise. However, with good direction and material, both are present in this movie, he will perform amazingly. This is one of Reeves' best roles aside from his in Matrix and Speed, he brings the air of confidence along with hidden yet excessive violence. Reeves display a good emotion as the character, and he also moves with certainty like a hitman would. There is expert use of close quarter combat technique with multitude of fire arms and knowledge of martial arts for the foundation of the character. Although it is heavily brimmed with action elements, John Wick is also equipped with a bit of emotional baggage. From ancient time, the loss of loved one is an acceptable motive for incoming rampage.

The movie is exhibited with flair, its use of color is simply impressive. Every set piece is done with meticulous vivid visual. The camera angle makes it as though the world of John Wick is seen in different light, almost in the setting of enhanced modern noir. Each action is choreographed meticulously and it's a paramount aspect to make him believable as a lethal force. One of the best things about the action is how the fast pace can be captured with precision. Oftentimes movie employs shaky camera or highly uncoordinated editing. This movie manages to display action with clear focus and crisp movements, even at more crowded setting it never relents or overload the viewer with too much visual information.

Soundtracks help a lot with solemn tone and faster techno rhythm. It's probably one of the best soundtracks of this year, rivaling Hans Zimmerman's from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. There are not many action movies with this high of production value, it certainly packs enough fiery punch to leave a scorch mark for sequel, I won't be surprised if there's even a video game of it. With no Bond, Hunt or Bourne in sight, this may be the time for John Wick.