Ali Plumb reviews John Wick: Chapter 3

Get ready for “Gun fu”, “Horse fu” and even some “Dog fu”

After the events of John Wick 2, renowned assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) has a $14 million bounty on his head. Now he must not only evade his assailants, but also make his way across the globe to meet the head of the mysterious “High Table” to strike a deal to save his life. Along the way, he crosses paths with old friends and new – played by such big names as Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Anjelica Huston and Ian McShane – and takes part in fights so brutal even he may not make it out alive.

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Pros:

• This film is essentially an action masterclass, a two hour plus fight scene punctuated by occasional location changes and a few bursts of dialogue. Thanks to the hard work of Matrix veteran Chad Stahelski, these films are essentially peerless in Western cinema when it comes to fight choreography and inventive goon-dispatching. There are just so many glorious “OOOOOF” moments amongst the bone-crunching, “Oh good Lord!” action set-pieces: fights on motorbikes, fights on horseback, fights with horses, fights with dogs, fights with guns, fights fights fights.
• Keanu Reeves has been absolutely bossing it as John Wick over the past few years, even though he’s hit the grand ol' age of 54 (Tom Cruise is 56 by the way, but no biggie) and he is showing no signs of stopping. I’m starting to think Reeves and Paul Rudd have both discovered the secret of eternal youth, and while Rudd spends his behaving like a big kid (almost literally in the Ant-Man movies), Reeves uses his regenerative powers to balletically blast bullets into bad guys’ skulls. By this point, his proficiency in “Gun fu” – as his particular brand of shootin’ and a wrestlin’ and a punchin’ is called – is well known, but with this third chapter you’ve got horses and dogs getting in on the action, so like I say, expect “Horse fu” and “Dog fu” too.
• These films have a pleasingly dark sense of humour. Lest we forget, the first film kicks off because John Wick, retired assassin of legend, is angry at the guys who stole his car. Oh, and they killed his dog. And you do not want to set off John Wick. Chapter 3 continues that story in an increasingly involved underground world of professional killers, dealing with the bureaucracy inherent in keeping the peace amongst bloodthirsty ne’er-do-wells by, um, killing a lot of people. Yes, it’s convoluted silliness, but it’s all delivered in a such a stylish way – all neon lights, rain, people looking awesome in suits – that you should still enjoy it all, no matter how apparently po-faced it gets.

Cons:

• The plot really is a bit A to B to C to B to A, the dialogue tends to be a bit on the nose to say the least, and the majority of character development is delivered through jujitsu throws… and you just have to be okay with that. It’s no Die Hard, story-wise, but when the fights look and feel this good, you shouldn’t much mind.
• Coming in at 131 minutes, this is this longest John Wick yet, and you do feel it by the end. Director Chad Stahelski has said this is intentional, as he wanted the audience to feel a sense of “action fatigue” as you walk out the door, to feel as exhausted as much as John Wick himself. There are fights that go on too long, scenes that almost seem endless. It’s all well done, but maybe it needed some judicious editing to make sure certain sequences don’t outstay their welcome.
• Yes, we’re learning more about the mythology of the John Wick world, but as it all expands, the plot remains thin. There does come a point where we’re going to need more of an actual story to get our teeth into, or we’ll all become too desensitised to the brutal, bruising battles that make the series as successful as it’s been so far.

Three word review: “Woah, that’s violent…”