YBMW Review – JOHN WICK

Last night I had a chance to attend a screening of the new Keanu Reeves film, John Wick. I had posted a couple of trailers for the film and was intrigued, but thought the premise of a former assassin going on a revenge killing spree to avenge his dead puppy was a little ridiculous. Well, it was… ridiculously awesome that is!

There’s a reason that John Wick is pulling a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is smart, funny, and entertaining as hell. At only around 93 minutes, they must have trimmed out everything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. The result was a film that let the viewers figure out a lot of the back story by watching character interaction as opposed to filling wasted minutes with endless exposition.

This is probably the most entertaining Keanu film that I’ve seen in at least ten years and it reminds me that he’s is both a great actor and action star when put in the right vehicle. Joining him in the film are Willem Defoe, Adrianne Palicki, and Michael Nyqvist who each bring their own edge and humor to their roles.

Without getting into the story or any spoilers, I just have to say that this movie is not only worth recommending, but I hope it does well enough to launch a franchise. There are locations in this film that are given such an interesting back story that they almost become their own character. You could launch a whole sequel just based around that.

If you are looking for a fun, shootem up film that men and women will go for equally, there’s nothing out there right now that’s going to hit the spot like John Wick.

Wookie Score – A-