Review of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019) by Bertaut1 — 09 Jun 2019

The franchise keeps getting better.

Directed by stuntman turned director Chad Stahelski, and written by Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is the kind of film that is well aware of what it is; a completely over-the-top orgy of violence, wherein the endless deaths by gun, knife, fist, dog, horse, motorbike, sword, pencil, and book of 18th century Russian folklore, are so excessive as to transcend any possible accusations of glorifying violence. In short, the film leans into its status as basically a live-action episode of Itchy and Scratchy. Sure, it can become a little repetitive at times, and there's next to no plot or character development. But that's to ignore how aesthetically accomplished it is, how funny it is, how compelling it is, and how unapologetically entertaining it is.

Beginning moments after Chapter 2 ended, Parabellum opens with Wick (Keanu Reeves) attempting to flee New York with a $14 million contract on his head. Meanwhile, the High Table dispatch an Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) to look into the unsanctioned help given to Wick by Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), whilst to lead the pursuit of Wick, she hires Zero (Mark Dacascos), who hates guns and is a huge Wick fanboy.

Firstly, Parabellum looks absolutely gorgeous. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 both looked great, but Parabellum is in another class, particularly Dan Laustsen's lush and vibrant cinematography. In terms of the action, as with the first two films, Parabellum has obviously been influenced by The Raid and The Raid 2, two films which redefined action cinema by shunning frenetic editing in favour of longer takes that showcased physicality. You know that seizure-inducing scene in Taken when Mills jumps a fence, and there are literally 15 cuts in five seconds? There's none of that in Parabellum, with the audience allowed to focus on the organic progression of Jonathan Eusebio's magnificent combat choreography.

Both previous Wick films have been said to resemble video games in their visual design, and this is even more pronounced in Parabellum, not just in its aesthetic, but in some of its narrative beats. For example, each fight is harder than the last (i.e., the difficulty level increases). A scene in a stable where Wick uses a horse to take out two thugs is essentially an environmental assassination straight out of the Hitman franchise. There's a single driving level, and a non-combat level where Wick must reach his destination before dehydrating. To make it to the final battle, Wick must face down a platoon of heavily armoured soldiers, each of whom requires multiple hits before going down, whilst Wick himself has to pause for a weapon upgrade.

One of the reasons the original film stood out so much was the brilliance of Kolstad's world-building, wherein we were introduced to a fascinating underworld featuring an international Assassin's Guild, a hotel for assassins in which violence is prohibited, even an assassins' currency. In Chapter 2, he introduced the person who helped Wick retire, the High Table, blood markers, and the Bowery King. In Parabellum, we meet the Director (Angelica Houston), the Master of Coin (Jerome Flynn), the Elder (Saïd Taghmaoui), the adjudication process, excommunication, and deconsecration. The mythology has deepened with each film, with its old-world religious connotations becoming more elaborate.

Are there some problems? Well, any film this violent is going to have immediate detractors. But the thing is, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously, nor does it expect the audience to, so questions of irresponsibility are kind of a moot point - of course it's irresponsibly violent, it's supposed to be irresponsibly violent. Does it treat guns and knives fetishistically? Yes, to a certain extent it does. Is it celebrating guns and violence in a realistic socio-political manner? No, not at all.

Having said that, the violence can occasionally come across as meaningless insofar as it doesn't seem to have any ramifications for any of the main characters. Related to this disassociation, and simply by virtue of logistics, almost all of Wick's opponents are nameless and faceless extras. The narrative structure is also a little awkward, and on several occasions, decisions reached over the course of multiple scenes are simply undone a couple of scenes later.

This notwithstanding, I absolutely loved Parabellum. Easily the best in the franchise thus far, it's more ambitious, more ridiculous, more violent, and more entertaining. Sure, themes such as fealty, honour, and fate come and go without much engagement. But this is not what the film is about. Instead, Stahelski has crafted an action film that features extraordinary aesthetic elements and a wonderfully vibrant visual design. Parabellum doesn't just unapologetically revel in its excessive violence. It makes art out of its excessive violence.