The third outing of John Wick, John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum has only ambitious plans in its agenda. And in that effort to expand the created reality, the movie manages to push itself further in all aspects. The spectacularly choreographed brutal actions sequences and a broader understanding of the character and this parallel dimension that has assassins like John Wick makes John Wick 3 a real visual treat.
So in chapter two, we saw John Wick getting declared as excommunicado and he is running around with $14 million bounty on his head. Well, pretty much that is what I can reveal in the plot because what happens after this is no big surprise. The man who can kill people with a pencil goes on a rampage and John Wick 3 shows us every choice our title protagonist had to make in this journey.
Director Chad Stahelski gives us a clear indication at the beginning itself that this movie will shift the gears and show a different level of action. We are welcomed with a knife set piece where everything is unbelievably brutal. Even the pathetic censor board of India couldn’t reduce the impact with their enforced cuts. And the film just goes on and on with action set pieces that look incredibly fresh on screen. If you have felt that the time given in the first two films to establish this “Continental” world was insufficient, here you may get some more answers as John Wick Chapter 3 explores more about the functioning of the High Table. The reason John Wick says for his desire to live plays a huge role in humanizing this indestructible man. And because we have been given so less about his past in the other films, the writer Derek Kolstad has a lot of opportunities to create narratives with multiple characters and he smartly utilizes those possibilities to create a world of its own.
John Wick is one character perhaps an actor should play in the one-dimensional zone. The always panting and ready to fight John Wick was safe in the hands of Keanu Reeves and he gives him that emotionally wounded dimension without much of an effort. Ian McShane reprises his role as Winston and maintains the coolness quotient. Halle Berry was memorable as Sofia and I hope she will have a major role in the upcoming chapters in this franchise. Asia Kate Dillon as the focused and fearless adjudicator was impressive. Mark Dacascos as Zero was somewhat a comic relief in the film. Laurence Fishburne and Lance Reddick were also pretty good in their respective roles.
As I said, this third chapter of John Wick tries to give us a broader understanding of the reality of the John Wick world. Chad Stahelski has openly said that the Wachowski’s had influenced his cinematic sensibility and we can clearly see it in the way the John Wick movies are framed. In John Wick 3, the structuring of the world somewhere reminded me of the way The Matrix got constructed. Even the philosophy one gets to hear in the movie has a similar texture. In the third chapter also, the color palette is an integral element in conveying the time and dimension. The cinematography is a bit more turbulent this time and yet has that noir feel. The action sequences are spectacular and Stahelski shows us how to present good action by editing it neatly with clarity.
John Wick 3 is very much what one would expect from the franchise that sort of gave action movies a new dimension. The action choreography is mind-blowing and the movie also shows interest in giving the viewer a better knowledge about John Wick and his life.
Rating: 4/5
The action choreography is mind-blowing and the movie also shows interest in giving the viewer a better knowledge about John Wick and his life.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
