How to Watch: In theaters now.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon
Director: Chad Stahelksi
Rating: R
Release Date: 04/16/2019
Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
Style: Action, Martial Arts
Overview
John Wick 3 -Parabellum picks up where the previous films left off. Wick is “excommunicado” and he has one hour before a 14-million-dollar bounty is placed on his head. John Wick travels across the world to find his escape while taking on every assassin serving the high table. While Wick is struggling to survive, the high table sends their adjudicator to see that all of Wick’s previous associates see proper punishment for his actions.
Story Review: 9.8/10
The story of John Wick trying to survive while escaping the high table is nothing complicated. It is the characters that make the story so good. Characters like Winston played by Ian McShane and the Bowery King played by Laurence Fishburne play their roles perfectly. Even the concierge played by Lance Reddick is having a blast with his role. Winston and the Bowery King are strong characters who wield great power, but they must decide whether to bow to the high table or stand firm in their decisions. The movie does what the previous film did by perfectly using characters and locales previously established and expanding the world with locations, weapons, and characters. The introduction of Halle Berry’s Sofia tells of a dramatic backstory between her and Wick. New characters like Anjelica Huston’s Director expose a home where children are bred to be assassins. Everything new serves a purpose.
The world is expanding. The bigger it gets, the more danger comes out of the shadows. In the first film, as manager of the Continental, Winston felt like a powerful man. Seeing his superiors from the high table make their presence known makes him and other leaders feel like small fish in a big ocean. The John Wick series has been a fresh example of world-building since Jimmy asked John if he was working again. And they haven’t missed a step.
Martial Arts Review: 10/10
For the past few years, the John Wick franchise has represented Hollywood, proving American films can still deliver some of the best fight scenes put to film. The third film in the John Wick franchise takes the bar set by the previous two films and raises it. While all three films show Wick gunning down, stabbing, and flipping anyone who comes his way, John Wick 3 -Parabellum puts Wick on the ropes as new enemies come with different styles to contrast his own.
What New in the Action?
What makes the action so different this time around? Wick actually gets pushed to his limits this time. He doesn’t get a gun whenever he wants one and he doesn’t always have a knife. In addition to the lack of endless ammo, this film adds a few different fighting styles to contend against Wick’s Judo and BJJ.
As soon as the action kicks off Wick is faced with a group or Triads using Wushu. The group also contains Roger Yuan (Shanghai Noon, Walker Texas Ranger, Blindsided) and Tiger Chen (Man of Tai Chi, Triple Threat), this isn’t really important it was just very cool to see them there. The greatness of this fight comes from watching John Wick adapt to their style. This happens multiple times as he comes across assassins using Bushido and Karate as well as two men using Pencak Silat. Those two men were, of course, Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman, martial artists most known for their work in The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2.
The diversity of the fighters puts our hero assassin to the test. He doesn’t seem so unstoppable anymore but that’s okay. He has been cast out of their world so he is no longer in control of his surroundings. So it makes sense that he is now fighting more adversities. Watching Wick figure out how to beat these different styles is mesmerizing and beautiful. Thankfully the filmmakers understand how to precisely capture the story that each fight scene tells.
Conclusion-9.9/10
I have seen that some people were disappointed by the lack of gun action in this film and I don’t understand that perspective. Yes, there are really only two action scenes where Wick or Halle Berry’s Sofia gun down ungodly amounts of enemies, but those scenes go on for what feels like ten to fifteen minutes each. Those two scenes each add new elements to differentiate from the previous films. Those elements add fun and interesting stakes to those scenes. This movie was not about the guns. The focus diverted from a healthy and dangerous John Wick who struck fear in all who opposed him to a constantly limping man, struggling for resources, and whom everyone is out to kill.
From a story perspective, he shouldn’t have an endless supply of weaponry anymore. The fight is being brought to him harder than ever before. The choreography is visceral and incredible. The fights are shot by filmmakers who know how to give the audience the fight scenes they deserve. Everyone from the choreographers, the main cast, and the stunt team give their all to ensure that these fight scenes surpass everything that came before. They succeed on every level, delivering a film that keeps us rooting for Wick and his confidants. The film expands the world we’ve all fallen for already. Director Chad Stahelski keeps our eyes glued open to some of the best martial arts seen in American cinema.
What did you think of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum? Did it surpass the first two or fall short?
If you enjoyed this review check me out on Youtube.com at Martial Arts Film Freak where you can see me nerd out over John Wick 3 – Parabellum in my video review.
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Just seen it and liked it a lot! The movie is exactly what you expect it to be. Fights are great, dogs are pretty awesome and the horses are showing off some martial arts skills too 😉