I know, I know; I’m late to this.
In my defense, the John Wick movies came out during some of the hardest times of my academic life. The first was when I was preparing for the SAT’s and ACT’s, and the second and third were during my college years. Seeing movies during that time was quite hard for me to do, but now that I graduated nearly three years ago and finally have time to sit down and binge stuff, I decided to watch the John Wick movies for the first time, all the way through.
And, wow! How did I not know these were amazing?
Granted, I had seen a bit of the first film, but never all the way through. My father, who is a huge Keanu Reeves fan, always told me how badass these were, but for the life of me, I never believed him, because I didn’t think Reeves could get better than The Matrix series, but here we are. I freaking love these movies – and we’re going to talk about them today.
Keanu Reeves Is Always A Win
This is something that anyone can admit to, but Keanu Reeves is always a win. I mean that in the best way possible.
I feel like he has sort of become the internet’s boyfriend over the last several years. Everyone has come to love and appreciate him not only for the great actor he is, but just the overall awesome person he appears to be, as well. He’s funny, kind, and literally everything you would want to see in a celebrity.
But, Reeves in the John Wick movies is on a whole other level of awesome. To be honest, in my eyes, he’s almost unrecognizable from who he is as an everyday person, which is a testament to his great acting skills. He’s a freaking badass and somehow rocks it in every single one of these films without his character growing stale, continuing to not only blow my mind, but make me want to watch more.
If the franchise ends up becoming something like James Bond, where they change the actor to reboot it, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch one of these films without Reeves.
But I Will Admit – I Cried When The Dog Died
I mean, everyone did. Come on.
I’ll admit first hand that I’m a pretty emotional person. I’ll literally cry over the smallest thing, whether it be the Ted Lasso Christmas special, or some enemies to lovers movie, or whatever the heck, but it’s rare I cry during an action film. Most of the time, many action movies don’t really have the heart that I look for in other films, but the first JW, straight out the gate, did that to me.
Most people don't like it when animals die – especially dogs, which is why I’ll look for any movie where the dog lives. However, the original really does throw you right into waterworks by giving him a legit reason to go after the men that killed his dog – particularly since it was a gift from his wife. So much to cry about.
I Genuinely Really Liked Alfie Allen In The First Film
I will be the first one to admit that I will watch anything the Game of Thrones cast is in because I want to support them in anything they do, from Peter Dinklage and his roles to Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington – but I have to admit I wasn’t expecting Alfie Allen to be in such an antagonistic role here.
It makes me happy to see that he’s getting these big roles because I really do believe he’s a super talented actor and he proved that time and time again on Game of Thrones, but to see him play Iosef – whoo, boy, that made me hate his guts at the same time because his character was such a jerk, but that’s what made his acting so great. How his character ended was deserved – but he would have been fun to see in later films.
The Second Movie’s Action Is Even Better Than The First
I’ve seen that a lot of people like the second movie the most, and I’ll admit, I do think it’s better than the first. The story feels relatively the same in terms of impactful-ness, but the action is a million times better. I don’t know what it is.
The first film felt a lot more intimate when it came to the action, because Wick was really driven by his emotional connection to what happened to his dog and his life. The second one, though, feels like the most badass sequel ever with its action scenes, because he just refuses to hold back even more. I was on the edge of my seat – however, I don’t think the second movie is, overall, the best.
But The Third Film Is The Best, In My Eyes
I genuinely believe that John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is the best one out of the three that have been released so far. There’s just so much to love about the third movie that I could go on at length about. From the John Wick characters to the action and even the story, where it doesn’t feel entirely like Wick hunting people down – instead, he’s the one being hunted. That’s a great change of pace.
It makes me wonder how the fourth film is going to play out, because what’s something new they could do to make this franchise even better than before? Judging from the Rotten Tomatoes score so far, it looks like the fourth movie might be even better.
Also, Can We Talk About How Awesome The Music Is?
For real, though. Can we get a little bit of applause for Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard? Their score for these movies is outstanding and I would gladly recommend listening to it just if you love movie scores overall.
It reminds me of some of the best movie scores out there, such as those from Hans Zimmer or John Williams, because those people are known for making scores that really capture the feeling of the scene that we are watching. Every single piece of music that is in these movies perfectly encapsulates the scene it's played in, whether it be emotional, impactful, or pure action. Hats off to these composers.
Halle Berry Was The Best Part Of Chapter 3
Halle Berry is a freaking badass.
I swear, this actress can do it all, from emotional roles to kick-butt parts, but she was one of my favorite aspects of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Her role as Sofia was literally everything I could ever want in a kick-butt female action star, and I would gladly watch a solo movie based just around her if that ever happened, even if she won’t be in John Wick: Chapter 4.
Also, her chemistry with Keanu was just amazing. I really want to see them together in more movies because I would love to watch them play off each other like they did in this film.
Lance Reddick Was A Great Stable Character – And I’ll Miss Him In Future Movies
As I was writing this, Lance Reddick sadly passed away. I had viewed these films just a couple weeks prior, and truly enjoyed seeing him as Charon. He made for such a great character, who appeared throughout all three films, was so smart, and so clever.
While we won’t be seeing any more of Charon after Chapter 4, I can at least look back on these films and admire Reddick in this role that he so easily elevated, because he was truly one of the best parts of these movies. He’ll be sadly missed.
The John Wick movies have truly become a fan-favorite action movie franchise, and I’m finally glad I got the chance to watch and enjoy them fully like they should be. Now I just need to buy my tickets for the applauded John Wick: Chapter 4 – and enjoy the action all over again.
