John Wick

I'm not a big fan of over-the-top action movies. I was a police officer for 7 years, and I've been in a lot of fights and dangerous situations. Most of the movies I see are so fake, they're hard to watch. When you watch John Wick, you'll see the main character wrestling with foes to get their guns away, running out of bullets mid-fight and having to reload, and most fights end up on the ground, just like they do in real life. When he suffocates someone, it takes them a while to die, and the actors struggle for their lives in a believable way. It's all-around good acting from the main cast and everyone that's just there to get the body count higher. The stories in John Wick and John Wick 2 are great. In the first, John Wick tries to retire from his assassin career after his wife dies of an illness. She gives him a dog so he can love something when she's gone, and he finds a way to have hope through his relationship with the animal. That is until someone breaks into his house to steal his car and kills the dog, causing him to get back into his old ways to get revenge. It's a believable setup and the love and loss of his wife and then dog are heart-wrenching. There is a main set-piece that deserves special mention as well: the Continental Hotel. It's run by the shady element John Wick comes from, and is filled with people like him, but there's one special rule to the place, that no "business" can be conducted on the premises. This makes the hotel a sort of sacred ground and gives it its own life, as it features prominently in both the first and second movie. What also makes the world of the John Wick movies feel real are the use of gold token coins. John has a lot of them, and they're accepted as currency in different places and by different people. When he pays someone in a coin, it makes the world feel like it has existed long before we see it, that the ecosystem didn't just start when the viewer arrived to see it like some movies do. The second movie's plot involves John Wick having to repay a debt he owes someone from when he first started his career. This forces him out of retirement until his debt is paid. The plot of the second movie isn't as motivating as the first, but the action is even better. There are more fight scenes, and the quality and duration is higher. The gunplay in both of these movies is outstanding. John Wick has supernatural aim with weapons, and it's not like other action movies where the heroes spray bullets everywhere and no one can ever hit what they're aiming at. Keanu moves like a police officer or a soldier, always aiming down sights and prepared for what is coming around the corner. He shoots people in the foot or chest to cause them to drop their guards so he can finish them off with a headshot. He's also not a "good guy", so he kills the people that are trying to kill him without a second thought. I often watch movies where the hero lets the bad guy go and regrets it later. This would never happen with John Wick, and I appreciate him more for that. I rented the John Wick movies at Redbox, and after I had returned them I found myself thinking about the action sequences again and again. I had to buy them to add them to my collection, and they were just as good during the second and third viewings. They've topped my list of favorite action movies, and I recommend them to anyone who likes expert gun-fighting scenarios without being unrealistic or over-the-top with gore and explosions. I recommend both movies. You don't need to see the first to appreciate the second, but you really should see both as they're that good. Eleven out of five stars if I could.

Good movie

I first saw the film, John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves, at the theater when it was originally released. I hadn’t known anything about the movie until the week before when I accidentally saw a trailer for it on television. That sparked my interest. When I went to see the movie, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Since this Fall season had proven to be a great year for me and seeing movies at the theater (The Expendables 3, The November Man, A Walk Among the Tombstones, The Fury, The Judge, and The Equalizer), I suspected that John Wick might turn out to be the biggest and most badass action thriller of the year. For me, it certainly was. Like most of the other titles listed above, I also realized I needed to see the film a second time to see if I still felt the same about the movie. I had discussed the film with another reviewer whose opinion is usually right on the button with movies. He had graded it, however, a star lower than I would have, expressing a problem with the change in attitude near the end with the head of the Russian mafia in New York City, Viggo Tarasov (as played by Michael Nyqvist). Spoiler Alert! In other words, to live, the mobster had to be willing to turn over his son (Iosef) to John Wick. It took watching the movie a second time for me to feel comfortable with this change in attitude and to understand why the Russian mobster did it. As most viewers already know, the movie opens up with the death of Wick’s wife (played by the lovely Bridget Moynahan as Helen) and a few flashbacks to set up why Wick loved her so much. It worked for me. I could certainly emphasize with man when the Russian thugs break into his house, beat him up with a baseball bat, steal his muscle car, but more importantly, kill the puppy dog that was a final gift from his wife to help him with his grieving and to give him something else to love. Once Viggo realizes that his son (Alfie Allen plays Iosef) did these things to John Wick, he fully understands the nature of his situation and what must be done. He knows there will be no reasoning with John Wick about this, though he does give it the old American effort. That’s when he realizes Wick must be killed. I mean this is the man who used to work for Viggo…the man Viggo sent to kill the Boogeyman. He knows how deadly Wick can be and so sends a dozen well-trained killers to the man’s house. Wick kills them all with either gunshots to the head or hand-to-hand combat. No mercy is shown. That’s the moment in the film when most viewers realize something very special is going on…that Keanu Reeves is back in full battle mode. John Wick eventually has to take out the entire Russian mob in New York City to get to that one person who instigated it all, and he does it with such proficiency and panache that it nearly takes your breath away. The fights scenes alone will blow you away as Wick utilizes every move he knows from throat jabs to high kicks to using his knees and elbows to block and attack, not to mention countless take-down tactics. And these are all done with intensity and speed. They don’t look choreographed at all. Handguns are also treated realistically with Wick having to reload his semi-automatic handguns and automatic rifles continuously as he runs out of ammunition. He also has more than one or two handguns on him at any given time, and when he shoots a bad guy, he always ends it with a head shot. It’s usually two to the chest or stomach, and then one to the head. This way, no one gets back up to attack him. I loved Ms. Perkins (played by Adrianne Palicki), who is just as dangerous as Wick with small arms and hand-to-hand fighting. She’s called in for a high price to take Wick out and very nearly succeeds. She fights him with such skill and relish that I think he spurred her at sometime in the past. Maybe dropping her to marry Helen, and this is her revenge. Then, there’s the other assassin, Marcus, who’s brilliantly played by Willem Dafoe. You don’t quite understand his motives until the end. This is when you grasp the fact that he sees Wick as kind of a son figure. This is a relationship that Viggo will never have with his own flesh and blood. Marcus is ready to die for John Wick, but Viggo does just the opposite with Iosef, which tells you something about Wick and the person he’s hunting. There’s also Ian McShane as Winston, the owner of the hotel where Wick stays. McShane brings his character wonderfully to life by underplaying him. It gives his actions and dialogue even more strength, especially when he confronts Ms. Perkins at the end, knowing how deadly she is. Beautifully filmed, expertly choreographed, this film truly delivers on the action and fight scenes. This is not a thinking man’s movie, but rather one designed to bring Keanu Reeves back with full force to the fans who loved him in the Matrix trilogy. One major thing you should know about the regular DVD. There are no extras on it, unless you count the previews. No commentary, no deleted scenes, and no behind-the-scenes features. I haven’t seen the Blu-ray edition yet, so I can’t comment on that. I was totally surprised since this is the type of film you’d expect to have a ton of extras on it, especially with regards to the fighting sequences. So, if you buy the regular DVD, be aware of that. The movie itself is certainly worth the price alone.

Could’ve easily been straight-to-Tubi forgettable fare but Stahelski reached for something more. The comic book lore, the fluid action, the ultraviolence. Every collector needs this banger in their collection! It’s a classic at this point. Blu Ray quality is good, which there were a few more special features.

This is a brilliant film. Modern gangster classic. As good as Get Carter and other similar films. Reeves is very good in this.

El producto muy bien gran imagen y sonido mmm, para disfrutar y si le sumas una muy buena película, que mas puedo explicar

Excellent Bluray en 4K !! Lu dans mon lecteur Panasonic 4K sans aucun probleme et la qualité du film en 4K est au top mais il manque la HDR pour mon ecran Oled G6 de LG !!

Excellent performce of Reeves. Another "Die Hard" experience.

De por sí está primera parte de la saga de John Wick es muy interesante y entretenida. Buenas secuencias de acción y pelea ➕ una historia que te mantiene atrapado con imagen original y audio en alta definición y sus extras hacen que este disco sea superior que la versión de ZIMA (el doblaje en este blu ray de Lionsgate es de Chile pero se defiende).