I haven’t watched Ballerina yet, but by all accounts it measures up—and as it’s a spin-off, I’ll judge it on its own when I get around to it. With that said, in a nutshell?
John Wick Chapter 1: The pinnacle of ‘realistic’ action. Just like Die Hard proved to the masses that you can have riveting cinematic action and not have the protagonist be a wall of invincible machismo, John Wick shows a man who’s only unrealistic in that he just doesn’t tire. ‘A man of determination and sheer fucking will.’
John Wick Chapter 2: Heightened action, bigger shootouts, and bordering on the collapse of disbelief’s suspension when Wick and his would-be killer have a silenced shootout in a dense crowd. As ridiculous as that scene was, it’s also my second favorite from the movie—with the first being Wick’s Rome shopping spree before the main event.
John Wick Parabellum: In action films, a powerhouse; in John Wick movies, I’d say the weakest. The action is top notch, but the High Table feels unduly powerful—and Zero plus his henchmen come across as overly fanboyish in moments. However, Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King character was phenomenal, and Wick having to adapt to heavily armored foes felt like a great way to stress a one-man army who prefers pistols over most other weapons.
John Wick Chapter 4: Excellent action, and while the Marquis felt like a plot device more than an actual character, it helped to tone down the High Table’s direct influence. The top-down shootout scene was a visual delight (and as a fan of top-down shooters, it made me desire a game in the vein of John Wick all the more) and the expanded cast of notable assassins felt just as compelling as Wick himself. In particular, by the time Caine and Wick’s final moment happened I was seeing Caine as the hero. Most of all though, I’m impressed and truly grateful that the movie ended with John Wick’s death. It was a beautiful shot, reminiscent of a ‘happy’ version of Michael Corelone’s death in The Godfather Part III and a fitting end for a man who deserved nothing else.
The post-credits sequence has me hopeful that the news of a spin-off with Caine (and presumably Akira) will happen, and Mr. Nobody seems primed for some kind of production. The Wickiverse (god help me if that’s an actual term that’s caught on) is certainly ripe for new blood, and while I hope Keanu Reeves makes many more flicks—action or no—I’m even more hopeful that executives don’t make John Wick come back. Even prequels; it’s rare we get a film franchise that actually will allow itself the grace of an end. I was expecting Wick to walk up to his own grave, and when he didn’t I couldn’t help but smile. An end! An actual end that wasn’t forced or trite. Frankly, that’s become my favorite part of the John Wick movies post-Chapter 1.
Overall, Chapter 1 is probably my favorite—while the spectacle of the subsequent films is phenomenal, the stylized barely-but-still-realistic nature was, and on rewatch still is my personal pinnacle of action. Besides, that club shootout to Kaleida’s ‘Blink’ will never get old. The specific shot where Wick stabs the bald henchman under the chin, quiet as he could make it with the song’s refrain ‘your love’ playing? Excellence, man. That sequence might even be my favorite movie shootout, or at least tied with Kingsman’s church scene.
