John Wick solutions the door to his residence, lights and sirens clearly seen outdoors. Wick isn’t bothered, half-covered behind the door, a gun clutched in his hand, held on the small of his again. A cop stands a respectful distance away from the door, turns his head, seems to be previous Wick and sees our bodies–not a physique, multiple bodies–within the entrance hallway. He leans again.
“Working once more, John?”
“One thing like that, Jimmy.”
The cop leaves shortly after.
This second was once I knew that this movie wasn’t simply good, it was nice. It was sensible. It used dialogue like a weapon, it turned charged conditions into worldbuilding alternatives, and most of all, it didn’t waste time establishing something; it put you in the midst of the motion with out apology or compromise, providing little in the way in which of a guideposts however anticipating—trusting—the viewers to maintain up. Apart from the very transient (actually two minutes? Perhaps three?) lifeless spouse character, there is just one level, early within the movie, the place some establishing info is laid out; when Viggo tells his son Iosef precisely who he has fucked with. I’ll enable it, as a result of giving Keanu Reeves the nickname “Baba Yaga” is extremely good for causes I can’t absolutely articulate.
Confession time: I watched John Wick (2014) for the primary time this week. I hadn’t been avoiding it for any specific purpose, I simply hadn’t gotten round to placing it on. Regardless of my overwhelming love for Keanu Reeves, the John Wick collection had remained a rising blind spot because the Keanussaince continued. And I’m so, so glad I’m catching up whereas John Wick 4 is in theaters. John Wick is, undoubtedly, one in every of my new favourite movies exactly due to the economic system of its storytelling, the effectivity of its brutality, and its refusal to inform something however the story that’s taking place instantly on display screen.
What John Wick will get proper, like, actually proper, may be present in its worldbuilding. In refusing to reply any questions until there’s a narrative purpose to take action, John Wick permits the emotional beats of the story to shine, particularly as a result of these emotional beats are so few and much between. There aren’t any pointless flashbacks or explanations, there aren’t any specifics given. Simply warnings and hints of a bigger backstory. It’s restrained, which could be an odd factor to say a few movie that feels gratuitously violent, however it’s true. The setting, aesthetic, power, efficiency: all that is exaggerated, however the story itself, the center of the movie, is just not. It’s a revenge story set in a world that’s each like and in contrast to our personal, and that dissonance is the place John Wick makes itself a masterpiece.
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One of the most extant examples of this is the Continental. While there seems to be an exterior facade of serviceability, it quickly becomes clear that this is a very special waypoint within the John Wick universe. There are unexplained coins which are clearly exchanged as a kind of tender outside of legal means. Their true value is never outlined in full, but we don’t need to know that—all we need to know is that they are valuable, and, to a certain class of people in this world, they are worth killing for. The rules of the Continental are assumed: this is neutral territory, a place where killers get their information, a gladiatorial arena where respect is more important than reputation, and a resting place between jobs. None of this is said, but it is plainly and deliberately laid out.
The violence in John Wick is likewise deliberate. It is unromantic, economical, and (for the most part) without flair. There is very little gore, the blood splatters are contained, and the deaths are not extended, dramatic, overblown moments where actors ham it up. People simply die. It’s this kind of restraint that helps the worldbuilding focus on Wick himself, on the thorough examination of misplaced grief, on the stylistic delivery of Reeves’ acting, and his wonderful physicality as he moves through the action sequences. In creating a rhythm to death, the film places its emphasis on the creation of the world that is built up in between those moments, on the lives that are centered, and how those lives are ended.
John Wick is, ultimately, a fantastic film because it is restrained. Because it places emphasis not on a gun’s flashing muzzle, but the ache of pain. Guns might have power, but the most powerful part of the film is not who has a gun, but who has enough hurt in them to pull the trigger. It is a story about a man who has lost everything and refuses to lose anything else, even as he becomes his worst fears realized over and over again.
This might seem like a lot to put on a mid-budget action film, but the way that John Wick has laid the groundwork for excellence in its first film is incredibly good. The world comes together in subtle moments and lines delivered without buildup, held together by tendons of action. It does not show all its cards, it does not play coy with information, it does not turn ignorance onto the audience like a cudgel. It simply moves. John Wick is a film that understands itself, and asks the audience to follow along until we realize that world-building only matters when it allows you to show the world how much pain you still have left inside of you.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is now in theaters.
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