John Wick - Chapter 3: Parabellum

“Would you help set the mood for our new guest?”

Filmology Rating: 3 out of 4

You know what this is. It has Keanu Reeves and he's the best at what he does. This film borderlines a western by the plot being that many bounty hunters/assassins are chasing after a wanted man with a rather hefty bounty.

This may be one of the best action franchises around today. What this film does very well is offer many 'weapons of opportunity' action scenes such as a knife throwing fight, a book fight, a horse chase, a revolver shootout, or a belt fight. It's apparent the writers wrote the film around action set pieces. But the action cannot be praised enough for the wide shots and long takes while letting the actors show their impressive choreography. One action scene in particular involves the usage of dogs attacking bad guys alongside John and Halle Berry's character, which I can imagine is borderline impossible to get these dogs to perform on long-unbroken takes. It really was something we've never seen before.

There is also a little physical comedy in the film as well. More than likely being a reference to Buster Keaton.

The film also looks fantastic and lives up to the second film technically with great sound design.
The film also references many great films of the past like "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and "The Matrix." The reference to "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" was the most amusing.
Now, it's fair to say this is one of the best action films since "MI: 6" or "Mad Max: Fury Road", however, that is speaking from an action perspective. The paper-thin plot is what really drags the film down.

There really isn't any plot other than John Wick trying to survive and it leads to plenty of spectacle. However, what this fill lacked was any pathos that made us care for John Wick. There is also an entire second act that is committed to John making a choice which ends up becoming reversed several scenes later.

The other aspect that has irritated me is that John Wick really is invincible at this point. Every film continually gets bigger and bigger. What concerns me is John Wick losing its charm by becoming too bloated and turning into "Mission Impossible."

Rating: See It

-Nolan