John Wick

John Wick is a hitman coming out of retirement seeking revenge on the mob family who stole his car and killed his puppy. It sounds pretty dubious, but it works, and here's why: It doesn't pretend to be anything other than a good old-fashioned action revenge flick. It is short enough to captivate the audience's attention, rarely taking the foot off the accelerator. It's directed by a pair of veteran stuntmen, so the action is somewhere in between a B movie and a top shelf Hollywood action film. And finally, it doesn't attempt to create unnecessary character depth or back story. It knows what it needs to do, and it delivers.

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is a legendary operator in the community of wet work, and he's respected and feared by everyone. Since retiring and settling down with a family, his wife gets sick and dies, leaving him a puppy as his only remaining link to her memory. A reckless son of a Russian mobster breaks into his house, steals his car, and kills his dog, unleashing the fury and rage that has been building within Wick. What unfurls is a killing spree in a series of action sequences that keeps the momentum and the tone of the film light enough to fully enjoy, but fast enough to appreciate.

Reeves is in his element, and at 50 years old, is showing that he's aging gracefully in the path of Tom Cruise. He seems to get better with age, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Keanu make his presence known in the action arena over the next 10 years. His next project is titled Rain. He plays John Rain, an assassin who makes his victims look like they died of natural causes. Is there a trend developing here? Long thought to be a joke of an actor, with some pretty memorable lines throughout the 80's, 90's, and even through his Matrix trilogy, he is more soft-spoken in John Wick, and delivers a self-knowing, mature performance. Not to be taken seriously, but comfortable and confident where he is. One thing is certain, he is pretty solid at action.

The directors, David Leitch and Chad Stahelski have been around Hollywood for years as stuntmen, so their experience is vast, but their shelf-life as directors is probably going to be limited. They create a pretty cool movie however, and the action sequences are solid. Nothing particularly noteworthy, but definitely popcorn friendly.

A Swede and a Brit play the father/son Russian mobsters, and although convincing, it's nothing that we haven't seen before. Willem Dafoe makes an appearance as a fellow assassin and John's seemingly only friend (although everyone who knows him pays him the respect of a king). Adrianne Palicki is the femme fatale, but doesn't get much screen time, nor are her best assets featured very prominently. It's alright though, because it's not that type of movie. It's about revenge.

John Wick is a surprisingly entertaining movie, and although its body count is pretty high, it's not done gratuitously, which makes it kind of fun. Reeves is a gunfighter, and this is 90 minutes of macho fantasy. Besides, any movie with Lance Reddick as a hotel concierge has to be pretty cool. 7/10.