The Movie: John Wick 3 - Parabellum
The Director: Chad Stahelski
The Cast: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Saïd Taghmaoui, Jerome Flynn, Randall Duk Kim, Margaret Daly, Jason Mantzoukas,
The Story: Super-assassin John Wick is on the run after killing a member of the international assassin's guild, and with a $14 million price tag on his head - he is the target of hit men and women everywhere.
The Review:
John Freakin' Wick, everyone! When it comes to action movies this franchise is now the gold standard and it looks like there will be no end in sight for the world's deadliest assassin. Director Chad Stahelski has kicked the world building up a few notches by creating a global underground filled with nothing but death and destruction with Mr. Wick of course leading the way. The roster of talent has also expanded with appearances from Halle Berry, Anjelica Huston, Asia Kate Dillon, and Mark Dacascos who are mixed in with returning cast members Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, and Lance Reddick.
One thing that makes this movie special is how the depth and history of the international assassin's guild gets a major expansion and we get to see just how ingrained into the global fabric this underworld element really is. The characters played by Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburn become vitally more important to the entire underworld and to how Wick continues to survive after being excommunicated at the end of the last movie. I loved Asia Kate Dillon's inclusion as an adjudicator and it's super cool how you can just tell the character is a total bad ass within a world of total bad asses yet they choose to not unleash any abilities and skills on screen. Yet.
On the flip side of that, we do get to see Halle Berry in full action mode glory as she dispenses generic bad guys as efficiently as Wick himself and has the help of her two dogs and holy crap what a show that was. The choreography involved in some of her scenes with the dogs in play had me grinning the kid who gets exactly what he wanted from Santa and more. Much more. And then ice cream. The whole container. And then the pizza delivery guy shows up. With pizza, cheese sticks, and root beer. Yeah, that's the kind of happiness I'm talking about.
Of course, Keanu has more than enough time to shine and the escalation of action is pretty much non stop throughout the entire movie. One thing I really enjoyed seeing in the movie was the motorcycle chase/sword fight that was lovingly lifted from The Villainess, an South Korean action movie that you really need to see. Stahelski has actually talked about how much he loves that movie and had no problem with recreating some of its most iconic moments for this movie.
The Verdict:
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is a breathtaking non-stop action festival that barely allows you to get comfortable in your seat before taking you on a jaw dropping journey you won't soon forget. Strap in, buckle up, hold tight to that bucket of popcorn and make sure you don't have to take any bathroom breaks, this freight train has no stops and, thanks to a wide open ending, has no final destination.
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