John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum - Review

For years and years, the film industry has been trying to hit gold with game to movie adaptations.  From the perfectly cast Angelina Jolie, in the cinematically dull Tomb Raider films (the original starred an American accented, pre-Bond, Daniel Craig, so that fan fiction of Bond and Croft teaming up exists, as well as a pre-Daenerys friend-zoned Iain "Jorah" Glenn), to the risible Doom flick (totally missing the point of the game being an action game with horror aesthetics and instead appearing to a remake of the original Resident Evil film).

Strangely enough, to date, the best video game as a movie was one not based on a video game, namely Scott Pilgrim vs The World. It overtly blended the real and video game world, replete with
8-bit effects, beat-em up brawls, and boss fights. However, there is another film series, which has continued to get stronger with each entry is also borrowing heavily from video games to give you that non-stop action rush. The John Wick series.

John Wick was a sleeper hit in 2014. A stylish, action spectacular, with a real focus on quality fight scenes, with the seemingly novel approach of actually letting viewers follow the balletic brawls on screen without needing to constantly cut, cut, cut, to hide the stunt doubles and multiple takes. Led by the zen like Reeves, and directed by his stunt double in The Matrix, it showed how action cinema can be done, in the same way that George Miller drove the equivalent of an 18 wheeler, with frenzied flamethrowing guitar playing passenger into cinemplexes with Mad Max: Fury Road.

Naturally, John Wick led to John Wick 2 and the cliffhanger of John Wick 2 bleeds directly into John Wick 3, with an Earth where 99% of people seem to be assassins and a hit has just been put out on our "Baba Yaga" - John Wick. Naturally, as an action film, which leans heavily on fate and consequence, Wick's fateful decision to dive back into the neon lit underworld is going to lead to even more killing. And more killing. And death by horse kick. And death by book to neck. And lots of bullets.

Story isn't necessarily why you watch a John Wick film, and the filmmakers wisely don't complicate the plot any more than necessary (John Wick will fight to survive and that's about it) but that doesn't mean they skimp on fleshing out this tattooed world of rain-slicked, neon bathed, assassins (one could almost say cyberpunkish...). We get glimpses into Wick's origins, as well as the hierarchy controlling this world of assassins but these details are smartly kept as glimpses or wisely avoid exposition dumps. Characters talk about concepts and rules without falling into the trap of explaining such things as if one of the characters has somehow never heard of the concept when they should well know, just for the benefit of the audience understanding. Furthermore, the glimpses into Wick's past are gracefully done, relegated to literal background detail whilst the plot marches forward. There is no hazy flashback to a mop-headed 9 year old Reeves, playing cops and robbers.

The story beats are interspersed with the action climaxes that you're looking for but thankfully the quieter moments are never dull nor feel perfunctory. This is down to a wonderfully cinematic eye, which casts its sights wider that the nightclubs and art exhibits of Chapters 1 and 2, expanding out to a true world of assassins, including having Wick fight in landscapes that look like they have been ripped directly from Uncharted 3 (one plot point involving Wick in a desert cannot be an accidental cribbing from the adventures of Nathan Drake, and another act of sacrifice has to be lifted from the Assassins Creed series).

Additionally, these scenes are buoyed by a cast fully embracing the glossy camp of proceedings. There's a scene stealing Halle Berry, making up for the long ago rumours of having a Jinx spin-off from Die Another Day, stealing the action camera away from Wick to lead an all out action scene, with supporting players being some not so cuddly kevlar wearing, bollock ripping, dogs. Elsewhere,  a mysterious Angelica Houston is training up the assassins of tomorrow. Back at the Hotel Continental (which is the name of the upcoming John Wick tv-show) you've got the gruff and fatherly Ian McShane, adding some wrinkles to his character, as well as the loyal Charon (the name of the ferryman in Greek mythology, taking souls to the underworld don't you know), played by Lance Reddick from the 3rd best tv show ever made, The Wire (Sorry, Breaking Bad and Hannibal win out). Reeves also gets to share more screen time with Laurence "Morpheus" Fishburne, which is always welcome. Now let's hope we get Wick fighting Hugo Weaving or Carrie-Anne Moss in the next one and we've got The Matrix reunion we want.

And anchoring it all is the soulful Reeves, somehow scoring two iconic action hero roles in his lifetime. It is likely that Wick will eclipse Neo as his identifying role. The gusto and commitment to the action and style that he brings to proceedings cannot be underestimated. British film critic Mark Kermode smartly points out that we have acting awards for what people say and emote but we don't shower such appreciation to actors who use their whole body to act and convey the action. And in that regard, Reeves is in a league of his own. You watch him load and reload, fling knives, ride horses, punch and kick his way through an army of goons, faultlessly, like a dancer of death. Go watch the YouTube video of him in training for John Wick 3 - if this guy was to turn to crime, we'd be in trouble.

It seems the mantra for this film was just to best the action scenes that came before, and in that way the film does not disappoint. And it is in this regard, along with the overt game references above, that the comparison to games is made most clear. It feels like the writers wanted to distinguish each action scene by setting, tempo, and challenge, creating levels for our hero to best. So we've got one on one boss fights, ganks of two on one, regular shoot ups with goons but with ally dogs, stealthy takedowns in a techno-gothic lobby that evolves into a shoot out with bullet proof mercs that vibes like a stealth section in the Arkham games. Oh and there is horse-fu. It comes across like Uncharted crossed with Hotline Miami.




If there's one complaint, which is only natural, it is that the heart of the original film, being a man grieving for his wife, who is forced back into a life of violence, is getting somewhat lost amongst the firefights. Yes, there is some through lines back to this, but it is clear that this thread is getting thinner and thinner. But with action so captivating, perhaps that is the point: once Wick opened up that door back into a life of blood, bullets, and bodies, they pour out and smother what heart he'd tried to develop. And if it keeps splashing out in such pretty patterns, I hope that door stays open for a few more sequels.

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