“JOHN WICK“ DVD REVIEW BY Phil Seahorn philseahorn@gmail.com
May 10, 2016
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Produced by
Chad Stahelski
David Leitch
Basil Iwanyk
David Leitch
Eva Longoria
Michael Witherill
James McTeigue Derek Kolstad
Written by
Keanu Reeves
Michael Nyqvist
Alfie Allen
Adrianne Palicki
Bridget Moynahan
Dean Winters
Ian McShane
John Leguizamo
Willem Dafoe
“I HEARD THAT YOU STRUCK MY SON.CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY?” “YES, SIR, I DID.YOUR SON STOLE JOHN WICK’S CAR AND KILLED JOHN WICK’S DOG”. “OH.” “JOHN’S NOT ACTUALLY “THE BOOGEYMAN.” “JOHN’S THE ONE YOU SEND TO KILL THE FUCKING BOOGEYMAN.” “OH.” ”NOW VIGGO, GIVE ME YOUR SON, AND MOVE OUT OF MY WAY, OR YOU CAN DIE SCREAMING BESIDE HIM!!!!!”” What really prompted me to write this review was from a remark a young lady librarian at the downtown Spokane library made a couple of nights ago. It was late and closing, so she was far more relaxed than her professional self. The movie
“John Wick came up. Now, this gal is straight from CENTRAL CASTING on librarians: right down to mousy voice demeanor and mannerisms. So I hear, rather loudly and boldly:” Yeah, “John Wick” is really good.” “Lots of shooting.” I was floored. That was like hearing Mickey Mouse saying, really loudly:” Yeah, man, that motherfucking killing shit was the bomb in that flick, playa.” I mean, a love of violence? From this young lady? So, as I rented the movie “John Wick “for the second time this week, I got to thinking. This movie is well on its way to cult status from online posts and general conversation whenever I encounter people on this DVD. And “John Wick” is gaining cult status. But for all the wrong reasons. So let me get the DVD review since it’s been on DVD for about three months now. This DVD package I got from the library may not be loaded with the usual extras.
The movie is shot in stark black and white and silver tone greys. It almost gives the entire movie a feel of gun metal. The fight choreography is straight from the team that brought you “The
Matrix.”
Even right down to the same stunt double for Keanu in “The Matrix”, there are two fight scenes between Keanu and this cat which are a solid nod to Keanu as “Neo” in “The Matrix” trilogy. The dialog is fast and short, the acting and mannerisms of the character of “John Wick” exactly like the” Neo” character in “The Matrix”. Reeve’s has always been one of my all-time Hollywood favorites. He has stated in interviews that he fully understands who he is as his own brand, and has only accepted movies that fit that brand. When Keanu and his crew came across this script, it was completely retrofitted to the Neo character from “The Matrix”. HOWEVER: (here comes the social, political, and historical rant): The violence glorification in music from cats like Marylyn Manson that had rich suburban white boys back in the day losing their fucking mind’s and going on killing sprees was quite evident as an influence for the first “Matrix Movie.” Right down to the black trench coats and black glasses, the horror of COLUMBINE was mirrored in the dress and gun violence of the first “Matrix” movie. But the violence in the first “Matrix” movie had a hook: the level of violence in these movies were completely rooted in a complex computer algorithm life simulator program. Ergo, the violence in the “Matrix” movie twenty years ago was completely
not
rooted in reality. Jump ahead 20 years to America in 2016: Americans regularly killing other Americans in mass shootings. So what does Keanu’s handler’s do? Bring back a character with a body count that would make the Nazi’s and the Japanese of world wat 2 giddy. And how do Keanu’s handlers explain the level of violence in today’s world of 2016? Oh, fuck it, it’s just a bunch of RUSSIAN
MOBSTERS.
If I were Russian in America today, I would notice that the main villains in movies in America in 2016 are Russian mobsters.
This rash of violence (and I mean gratuitous, vicious, and sadistic) in American movies toward Russians would give me pause. “John Wick” attempts to justify its level of violence and to justify creating this level of violence in a ‘realistic” setting by having the main character as a retired Russian assassin killing other Russian assassins. And the level of violence in this DVD is just wack. But Keanu, like Denzel
Washington,
who got down in his movie “THE
EQUALIZER” (now a franchise like Keanu’s “John Wick”) KILLS Russians in his movie like Jason Voorhees on meth. Voorhees on meth with years of combat raining. Both of these characters kill Russians with such abandon, glee, viciousness, and sadism that you really see the blur between hero of the movie and a sadistic serial killer. Keanu (as “John Wick”) shoots motherfuckers in this DVD in places no one should get shot. He shoots them coming out of pools. He shoots cats in his kitchen and beats them to death with his bare hands. He shoots, stabs and beats to death cats. And all the while giving you a very detailed and scenic view of his condo. He shoots people strolling them a club, in front of hundreds of witnesses. He has a full on machine gun fight in a section of New York that unfortunately you can obviously see is a location set in New York shot very early in the morning. He shoots people in a church Then he shoots the priest. Now, I know that this DVD is based on a motherfucking graphic novel. So therein is the built in “nod nod , wink wink, this could never happen into real world.” Even with the addition of a story element involving this otherworldly hotel and club for professional killers and a code of ethics for this group, even adding in the storyline a spooky ass “cleaning service” that shows up and cleans up mass killings for gold coins (which seems to be the common currency in the movie) the movie is still too rooted in reality to take away from the body count in the storyline. The sole purpose of the movie seems to drive home the realisms of a cat like John Wick walking our streets today. The premise of the level of violence as justifiable for killing the main character’s dog (left to the character by his dead wife) and the stealing of his vintage car (well, you have to
add the ass whipping the title character gets in the home invasion which results in the death of the dog) is CONSTANTLY questioned in the movie:” it was just a fucking car, just a fucking dog.” Sadly, this movie reflects a realism of violence in America in 2016 that simply did not exist twenty years ago. Reeve’s choice of this vehicle to kick start his career again may be questionable. With this DVD, with solid acting, script, and gun violence choreography akin to ballet, and you get a DVD that is one helluva motherfucking good action flick, but a really bad example and reminder of the mass killings that are quite commonplace in America’s society today. And, of course, Keanu Reeves is back to the old, mass murdering, black suit and tie wearing motherfucker of old. SEAHORN MOVIEMETER: “A+” for a damn good action movie, and the return of Keanu Reeves as a black clad mass murdering killing machine, with lots of time and guns and bullets, and absolutely no motive at all in killing so many in horribly brutal ways. Love it! But for all the fucking wrong reasons.