John. Wick. Four.

[Ryujin]

The John Wick movies are perfect, in the sense that they do exactly what they are meant to do, and do it well.
They may not necessarily be great cinema, but they are awesome action movies, and they portray the essence of the characters and the feel of the setting nicely. I mean, seriously, how many shoot-em-up-kick-em-in-the-face action movies have ever made you care about the background elements of the film beyond just what was hung on the basic premise of the film to make it work, nevermind fascinated by the world-building of the setting they take place in?
Sometimes cities are characters in a film that takes place in that city, but an entire world?

And yet in the "John Wick" franchise there are elements of world building that I do find fascinating. The "coin" standard of payment. The shadow organizations. The rules of the game and punishment for failure to abide by them. The safe house hotels where no "business" is permitted to be conducted.

 

[MGibster]

I still have seen Wicks 1-3. Better get on it I guess.

 

[Rabulias]

I still have seen Wicks 1-3. Better get on it I guess.

Yes you will miss the subtleties and profound subtext grounding the series if you don't see the first three before watching the fourth! Seriously, there is a progression that is worth watching beyond the intense and entertaining action.

 

[Ryujin]

Yes you will miss the subtleties and profound subtext grounding the series if you don't see the first three before watching the fourth! Seriously, there is a progression that is worth watching beyond the intense and entertaining action.

It certainly would help understand the escalation, if you see the others first. It's sort of like a D&D campaign in which the adventure is always a dungeon crawl, but the monsters and NPCs rise in power.

 

[J.Quondam]

I watched John Wicks 1 - 3 in rapid succession this weekend: a six-hour festival of exquisitely choreographed death and destruction, during which I fear a single one of John Wick's bullets missed a target, penetrated the fourth wall, and inadvertently murdered my soul.

But still, it was worth it.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I watched John Wicks 1 - 3 in rapid succession this weekend: a six-hour festival of exquisitely choreographed death and destruction, during which I fear a single one of John Wick's bullets missed a target, penetrated the fourth wall, and inadvertently murdered my soul.

But still, it was worth it.

If I had one wish, it would be to have amnesia, solely so that I could watch the John Wicks again fresh.

It is like the most exquisite ballet, except instead of instead of executing a graceful pirouette on pointe, he gracefully executes all comers ... that's the point.

 

[Ryujin]

If I had one wish, it would be to have amnesia, solely so that I could watch the John Wicks again fresh.

It is like the most exquisite ballet, except instead of instead of executing a graceful pirouette on pointe, he gracefully executes all comers ... that's the point.

Just wait a while. I'm counting out my 60th year on the planet and if I wait a couple of months, it's always like seeing something again for the first time.

After "John Wick" I find that a rewatch of "Equilibrium" makes for a nice chaser.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

After "John Wick" I find that a rewatch of "Equilibrium" makes for a nice chaser.

I randomly happened upon Equilibrium a few years ago (pre-Pandemic) on one of the streaming sites (Netflix, maybe), and I couldn't believe how good it was.

Not the best movie ever, but it was genuinely a lot of fun and well done.

(I've been on a movie kick the last few days on Hulu, having seen both the Cronenbergs (David and Brandon) with Crimes of the Future and Possessor as well as the Predator prequel Prey, and I watched the new horror movie Barbarian this past weekend. All of them were good, but Crimes of the Future was probably the best, and a return to form for Cronenberg. Albeit ... not for the squeamish).

 

[J.Quondam]

It is like the most exquisite ballet, except instead of instead of executing a graceful pirouette on pointe, he gracefully executes all comers ... that's the point.

Heh, this reminds me that in the entire trio of movies so far, the thing that consistently makes me wince uncomfortably is backstage at Roma Ruska HQ, a ballerina rips off her toenail after merciless practice as John Wick walks by in the background.
It's the little details that count.

 

[Ryujin]

I randomly happened upon Equilibrium a few years ago (pre-Pandemic) on one of the streaming sites (Netflix, maybe), and I couldn't believe how good it was.

Not the best movie ever, but it was genuinely a lot of fun and well done.

(I've been on a movie kick the last few days on Hulu, having seen both the Cronenbergs (David and Brandon) with Crimes of the Future and Possessor as well as the Predator prequel Prey, and I watched the new horror movie Barbarian this past weekend. All of them were good, but Crimes of the Future was probably the best, and a return to form for Cronenberg. Albeit ... not for the squeamish).

I only found out about "Equilibrium" after it had made it's theatre release run and always regretted it. There are some scenes that would just play better on the big screen. Really good action movie.