Part of Action Distraction and Midnight Movies
They took his car. They ransacked his home. They killed his dog. Now, retired hitman John Wick — aka “Baba Yaga,” aka “The Boogeyman” (Keanu Reeves) — is out to kill every last one of them. Now, you are cordially invited to check back into the Continental Hotel.
Creating one of the most rich, self-contained movie universes in recent memory and sporting ridiculously fun and unique choreography, this moody and excellent neo-noir manages to surpass nearly all its peers to rise to the ranks of the very best Hollywood action films of this millennium. This FSBS (For Stuntmen, By Stuntmen) love letter to violent filmic excess set a new standard for the modern action film — and turned a new generation on to the thrill of propulsive (and explosive) genre cinema. Pulling inspiration from a prodigious roster of the world’s best contemporary genre films, JOHN WICK spawned a handful of mythos-expanding sequels and a frankly exhausting lineage of imitators.
“...There’s Mr. Reeves, always more comfortable in roles that demand cool over hot, attitude over emotion. Never at ease as one of a pack or as a romantic lead, he’s a loner with a dancer’s walk (from the hips, not the knees) and a physical charisma that the camera locks on to. Here, costumed in an indestructible three-piece suit, he’s the perfect locus for the film’s hyper-real savagery, the drain that everyone will eventually circle.” —Jeannette Catsoulis, NYT Critic’s Pick, New York Times (Oct 23, 2014) “[Keanu Reeves’] latest rock-’em, sock-’em mission of mayhem, JOHN WICK, is not only a return to badass form for the actor, it’s also one of the most excitingly visceral action flicks I’ve seen in ages…. JOHN WICK could have easily been another disposable Hollywood knuckle-dragger. But you get the sense that the filmmakers — and their revitalized leading man — were aiming for something a little daffier, smarter, and more elusive. They’ve taken a broken clock and lovingly restored it with Swiss timing and precision.” —Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly (Nov 3, 2014)
