John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asaia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Tobias Segal, Anjelica Huston, Said Taghmaoui, Jerome Flynn, Jason Matzoukas
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Thriller
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After John Wick (Keanu Reeves) broke the rules of the Continental, a large bounty is placed on his head and he goes on the run from the assassins who want to collect the bounty by killing him.

Review:

Tim: It's fairly amazing that John Wick has become a solid, exciting franchise that now extends to a trilogy. I'm not sure a ton of people had that expectation when the first movie was released. While the movies aren't great enough to get me to see them in the theaters, they are must-sees on DVD. The quality of these films have remained remarkably consistent across three films. It delivers exactly what audiences want- a ton of exciting action scenes, over-the-top violence (that always remains grounded in reality), and of course, a bunch of head shots. John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum continues to expand the world around Wick. I enjoyed how this movie continued to push the mythology of this world while telling a thrilling, exciting story.

These films have really differentiated themselves with some of the most intense, incredible fight scenes. Director Chad Stahelski has really been consistently great at these sequences. This movie features perhaps the greatest knife fight I've ever seen on screen. It was ridiculous yet effective, a bit over-the-top, but mesmerizing. I'm laughing just thinking about how cool the scene was. It was perhaps my favorite moment of the entire movie and pure joy to watch unfold. The horse scene is memorable (although a tad underwhelming), and the fight scene with the dogs is certainly unlike anything we've seen before. The climax of the film is quite memorable, with Wick going through more glass walls than I would have ever expected to see in one film. The action scenes have always been a highlight of these movies and this third movie doesn't disappoint, in some ways upping the ante of what we've come to expect. That's still the biggest appeal of these films.

I really enjoy the mythology in this series. You have the Continental, the assassins, and their rules and tokens. This movie opened up that world to help us understand more about the High Table, the Elder, and all that. This is an aspect of the films that can't be overlooked. Too many action movies fail in this regard. They tell a high octane story and wrap it up neatly. They're too self-contained. The John Wick movies have given us so much outside of just the main characters and their immediate concerns. The building up of this secretive world of assassins gives this franchise more depth than the average film. You feel like you could continue to explore this world for many films, rather than going the typical sequel route of just telling the same story again and again, but slightly bigger.

I have to simultaneously praise and berate Keanu Reeves. He absolutely deserves acclaim for an incredibly physical performance. He's great as John Wick and is obviously fully committed to the physicality required for the role. He looks so cool and just draws you into his character with his movements and the various stunts he performs himself. I love him in this role, which is funny because his performance is actually painful to watch. The delivery of so many lines made me cringe. It comes across as forced, flat, and wooden. Watching this movie, I was just struck by how bad of an actor Reeves so often is. The film obviously tries to limit how much he needs to talk because of this. And yet, there's something undeniably cool about him. So, I can simultaneously hate and love his performance. I honestly can't claim he was good here, even though I enjoyed him in the role. I'm not sure I can think of another similar instance of that.

The supporting cast has always been so important to these films. Ian McShane is once again wonderful and makes a huge impact on the film. Lance Reddick is always enjoyable. I loved seeing Laurence Fishburne here, although I wasn't sold on his character's arc and involvement. I wish he felt more important to the overall film. I was excited to see Halle Berry here, although I'm not convinced she was utilized properly. Her presence was welcomed and she's part of a terrific, memorable scene with her dogs. However, that whole sequence felt tacked on and a bit superfluous. It felt like a really cool action scene because we needed a really cool action scene, not because it was essential to the overall story. After those scenes end, Berry disappears and it feels like we get back to the main storyline. This is part of a larger issue I had- the beginning of the movie was incredible, the middle of the movie was okay, and the end of the film is solid. Berry's scenes were cool, but overall, less effective. Said Taghmaoui, Jerome Flynn, and Anjelica Huston were good. I always love seeing Jason Mantzoukas. As a whole, the cast was really solid.

While John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum is a bit uneven (more so even than the first two), it's still an incredibly effective action film. The movies are so exciting, the action is dialed up to a 10, and they're just great fun. All three of these movies are exceptional and I cannot wait for this franchise to continue.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Matrix trilogy, John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2