John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum Review
Chad Stahelski (John Wick Series, the upcoming Highlander) and Keanu Reeves (John Wick Series, The Matrix Trilogy) have created one of the coolest characters of all time, not to mention the ridiculously deep world building that has been done over the course of three films. John Wick introduced us to the retired assassin, played by Keanu Reeves (Speed, The Matrix Trilogy). The reluctant assassin, who was mourning the loss of his wife, was brought back into the fold when the punk son of a Russian mobster kills his dog and steals his car. After killing all the people responsible John adopts a new puppy and he retrieves his car in John Wick: Chapter 2.
Having buried his life as an assassin once again, John is instantly pulled back into the fold when he is presented with a marker by Santino D’Antonio, played by Riccardo Scamarcio (Master of None, The Ruthless), which is essentially a blood oath to do a favor. Unfortunately, Santino double crosses John and places a bounty on his head. John survives and after killing all of Santino’s henchmen, with the help of Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix Trilogy, Black-ish), who plays the Bowery King, yet another sect of assassins who pretend to be homeless beggars and communicate via pigeons. Santino finds sanctuary in the New York Continental, the hotel for all the assassins, in which no “business” can be done. After goading John about this fact, John promptly shoots Santino in the head, instantly forfeiting his good standing with the Continental.
Chapter 2 ends with Winston, played by Ian McShane (Deadwood, Game of Thrones), who is the manager of the NY Continental, informing John that he will be “excommunicado” after an hours’ time, which essentially means John is cut off from any facilities related to the Continental, including medical assistance, weapons, and allies. This all while the 7-million-dollar bounty on John’s head is doubled to 14 million by the High Table, which control the world John Wick lives in. At the end of the film, John is running through Central Park with his dog, nervously watching all the people around him picking up their phones, unsure of who is trying to kill him or not.
Parabellum opens seconds after Chapter 2 ends with John running away with his dog. After sending his dog to the NY Continental’s concierge, Charon, played by Lance Reddick (The Wire, John Wick Series) John heads to the NY Public Library to pick up some supplies, where he is brutally attacked by a giant assassin, played by NBA star Boban Marjanovic. After dispatching him, John continues to run through New York, being relentlessly pursued by all sorts of assassins. The film is a non-stop action-packed thriller with arguably the best fighting choreography of all time. John must figure out a way to right his wrong with the help of old friends, Sofia, played by Halle Berry (X-Men Series, Swordfish) and Anjelica Huston (The Addams Family, The Life Aquatic) who is a mysterious ally who reveals some of John’s background. On another front, an Adjudicator, played by Asia Kate Dillon (Orange is the New Black, Billions), is going throughout New York finding any and all people who have helped John and serving out exacting punishments straight from the High Table.
Parabellum is a bit larger in scope than the previous outing, but what really makes it a success is how utterly intense it is. Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman himself and the director of the John Wick movies, creates some of the most exciting fight scenes in cinematic history. Being the ultimate assassin he is, John goes about killing in all sorts of ways, using knives, swords, and even horses to kill his enemies, and that requires master direction to deter the fighting from getting stale. The writing of Derek Kolstad (John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2), who is also a former stuntman, helps Chad and Keanu come up with all the thrilling fight scenes. This time around there are motorcycle samurais, highly trained attack dogs, and high-speed horse chases, oh my!
The John Wick movies also work so well due to the excellent music composed by Tyler Bates (John Wick Series, Atomic Blonde) and Joel J. Richard (John Wick Series, Triple Threat). As the movies continue to evolve, so does the musical score, which is gritty and intense. Bates brings the dark guitar sounds from his time of touring with Marilyn Manson which, in combination with the electronic score, combine to make one of the more memorable movie compositions in recent history. Excommunicado, Tick Tock Mr. Wick, and Winter at the Continental really stand out as interesting twists from the music these two composers have already created in John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2.
John Wick: Parabellum is a rare example of a sequel which is better than its’ predecessor. In fact, the entire series just seems to be getting better and better as the movies continue to come out. Keanu Reeves perfectly embodies John Wick and since Parabellum made more money than its’ predecessor in less than 10 days and John Wick: Chapter 4 has already been greenlit; it seems audiences will be able to see more John Wick for the foreseeable future. The only question is how will Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves keep raising the stakes? I’m sure it will be interesting to say the least.