The third film in the John Wick universe starts right where John Wick: Chapter 2 ended. The elite organisation of assassins to which John Wick belongs declares him persona non grata because he killed someone in an exclusive hotel that serves as the safehouse for killers. A bounty of 14 million dollars is placed on his head and he has to flee an army of trained professionals out to get his scalp.
The film moves from one exotic location to the other -- from Times Square to the Sahara and is lit permanently in neon, which lends a glitzy glow to the waltz of death we get to see.
The money shots of John Wick films are it's slickly choreographed Gun Fu fights, reminiscent of John Woo's films. Chad Stahelski, who directed the first two films, takes the action a notch higher in his third attempt. The fight in the New York Public Library is a delight to watch and so is the motorcycle chase sequence, which defies all laws of physics. The action set pieces involving killer dogs are nice too. And we have no words to describe the knife fight scene. Be prepared to see an almost superhuman like Keanu Reeves being half a second faster than his peers, racing from one headshot to the other, as a river of CGI blood flows by. He's not only faster, he's fitter than the rest as well, bouncing back unharmed from the kind of injuries which would mean some serious recovery time in the hospital for mere mortals.
The film is an attempt by director Chad Stahelski towards world building. We come across various characters from John Wick's past. Like his mentor, played by Anjelica Huston, who asks the most important question in the film -- “All this for what? For a puppy?”. Then there is the vivacious Halle Berry, an old acquaintance, who reluctantly joins his fight. She's no less a killing expert than Wick and they form an interesting pair. The new entrant who makes the most impact is Mark Dacascos. The crazy fight scene between him and Reeves is going to be talked about for a long, long time to come.
The film has so many plots and subplots that one loses track of them. The only reason you want to make sense of them is because of Keanu Reeves, who makes you believe there is more to his character than mindless action. You want to know who John Wick is and what are his emotional triggers. The actor has done the same earlier with The Matrix trilogy. People are still trying to figure out who Neo was. And we suspect that'll be the case here as well. Unlike The Matrix, which stopped at three, there are signs that the John Wick franchise is slated for at least another installment. So be prepared for another high octane race with death a couple of years down the line...
from filmfares http://bit.ly/2YADi4g
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