Where the film falters, however, is in that insistence to reality. For almost all of the film, Wick’s insane ability feels like the only thing that stands out. The deaths, the crashes, everything is dealt with quickly and realistically – in an action movie world, of course. But that also means when characters make stupid decisions – like keeping characters they hate alive just to talk to them – it takes you out of the movie. You forgive it, because action movies have those convention and sometimes they’re unavoidable, but it’s a check in the negative column.
Even with a few gripes, John Wick is an inventive and fun action movie living a few notches below the movies that influenced it. Films like The Killer, Oldboy, Kick Ass, The Professional and The Matrix. It’s not as good as those films, but it’s in the ballpark and that’s a pretty impressive feat for a first time director.
/Film rating: 8 out of 10
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