John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum Review

 (A version of this article originally appeared on kernelnow.com / mynewslike.com)

John Wick the man needs no introduction. John Wick the film series needs no introduction. If asked, you could probably describe both like this: John Wick is a badass. John Wick is the world’s greatest assassin. If John Wick decides you’re going to die, then you’re without question going to die. So now that we’re all caught up on who John Wick is, in his third film it’s apparently time to learn a little more about where John Wick has come from.

That is, in large part, what Parabellum seeks to achieve. The trailer will tell you all you need to know about the plot – John Wick broke the rules of the elite bounty hunter game, and now every contract killer in the world is on his tail. Whilst the film never deviates far from that storyline, it does seek to fill in a little of his mystique. That mystique is obviously a large part of Wick’s appeal – just like the man who plays him, Keanu Reeves. However, when you come out of this latest bloody instalment, you will do so better educated on the parts of Wick’s backstory that aren’t just killing people. Perhaps we never needed to know more than that; yet, we’re treated to just enough of his origin that he’s still firmly “the Baba Yaga”.

Death rides a horse
(source: Lionsgate)

A large function of these expositional scenes is to break up an intense flow of action that rolls from opening titles through to end credits. An orgy of violence and combat, it’s a wonder the constant spurts of blood and snapping of bones never overwhelms. Parabellum picks up at the instant Chapter 2 finished, and neither the character nor the audience are given time to catch their breath. Sprinting through New York City in an opening act that doesn’t pause for a second (even when he’s receiving medical aid), John calls in what favours he can to temporarily escape. When he does return, he just as suddenly leaps back into the action; of particular note among his dozens of duels is what may actually be one of the greatest motorcycle chases ever committed to cinema.

Being that he is renowned for his real-life pureness of spirit, Reeves is able to hold back so successfully that his penchant for killing is a tour-de-force of skill and not merely an all-consuming projection of masculinity. This is complimented by the strength of the supporting fighters all around him, in particular fellow executioner/dog-lover Sofia (Halle Berry) who guides him through a Moroccan side-street battle royale. She is every bit his equal as the two dispatch wave after wave of mercenaries, and never once in their physical struggles do the two require the help of the other.

Here's aiming at you, Wick
(source: Lionsgate)

Reeves’s films also have a reputation for being inclusive; the fact that they have long been this way perhaps why he languished in the movie shadows for many years. Parabellum once again embraces the idea of inclusion, with the non-binary Asia Kate Dillon delivering just and dispassionate verdicts on the violence all around them. Cecep Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian, the Indonesian battlemasters from The Raid, are also a joy to watch in their fight with Wick, who is subject to an unfamiliar physical vulnerability throughout.

Of course, you do have to embrace the brutality of this film in order to fully enjoy it. Even to his most adoring fan, John Wick and his franchise are ridiculous. There’s no way one man could do as much as he does – or has done – and survive to do it all again. The brutal dances he engages in are reminiscent of martial arts exploitation films that died out for a reason, and the dialogue is at its best when kept minimal. These killers communicate best with their weapons, their bodies and their grunts; though director Chad Stahelski and his screenplay team never succumb to outright oneliners, every sentence so seeks power and intrigue that the line between cool and corny falters. What’s more, after the sudden novelty and scope of that opening act is over, the multi-person fight scenes have a tendency to scramble their way to each one’s “final boss”.

"I'd say the odds are about even"
(source: Lionsgate)

If you can get past that – and you really should – then John Wick is exactly as advertised. There’s a gap in the market for the all-guns-blazing overpowered protagonist, and it’s a gap so small these days that one character can fill it. John Wick and the cult of Keanu Reeves is that character. It’s beautifully shot, it sounds outrageous and it threatens to smash through the canvas of the cinema. See it on as obnoxious a screen as you can find, because John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum might be the most excellent adventure you happen across all year.