Two weeks after the events of the first film, John Wick is on the run with a $14m bounty on his head; as the tag line suggests… Prepare for War!
Keanu Reeves is back again in a role that he was born to play, backed up once again by the ever-awesome Ian McShane, Lance Reddick and Laurence Fishburne, who are still having a whole heap of fun in their roles. They are joined this time round by Halle Berry who fits the cast remarkably well and gets to share one of the film’s best set pieces with Keanu Reeves. She is a great addition to the cast and if we’re to have to have more sequels, then her character is a welcome addition to the universe. There is another new addition as well but that shall a remain a surprise that will definitely please genre aficionados.
The fight scenes are nothing short of incredible and certainly match (if not surpass) the high standard already set by the series. Not only superbly choreographed but shot in such a way that no matter how fast the action gets you can always see what’s going on and you feel the impact of every punch, kick and indeed, head shot. What’s refreshing is that as well as being impeccably executed, these scenes never take themselves too seriously so you’ll laugh as much you wince!
John Wick: Chapter 3 is unlikely to appeal to everyone though. If you struggled with the sillier elements of the second film, then prepare to go further down a rabbit hole of nonsense this time round. The universe created here is a complex one and it spares little or no time explaining what’s going with Keanu’s ever expanding collection of coins and exactly what they all mean. If you enjoyed part two though you will have a great time here and none of this will matter.
Those of you expecting a conclusion to the story will come away disappointed too, as you won’t get it here. This is a concern as the ending is frankly a step too far into the ludicrous (even by John Wick’s ridiculous standards) and ultimately all series have a shelf life. It would have been nice to see John Wick go out on high with a strong trilogy rather than risk the inevitable decline that more and more sequels bring.
Ending aside, John Wick: Chapter 3 doesn’t really let itself down, you would be hard pressed to find a more intense action series and genre fans will have an incredible time with this… let’s just hope it shouldn’t have all ended here.
Author: Paul, Bath store
