Review: John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
He's baaack! Picking up right where John Wick: Chapter 2 left off, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum finds our hero on the run with less than an hour before the excommunicado takes effect, resulting in a $14 million "open contract" which every assassin in New York is salivating to claim.
Not that anyone, including the filmmakers, is waiting until the clock strikes six to get to the bloodletting. Wick is approached by Ernest (Serbian basketball player Boban Marjanovic), a giant who might be descended from Jaws, one of Bond's most popular henchmen, and who is not about to let being in the hallowed grounds of the New York Public Library stop him from getting his hands on Wick. Wick does away with him with a book as his main weapon, then moves on to one of the highlights of the film: a showdown in an antiques store where Wick and various assassins smash into cabinets, grab weapons, and throw them at one another in a sequence that can best be described as a game of human darts done at breakneck speed and with deadly accuracy. This is soon followed by a sequence at a stable where Wick enlists the horses to perform some kung fu before he rides one out with motorcyclists hot on his trail. Everything is breathlessly, breathtakingly, ridiculously amazing and the film hasn't even cleared the twenty minute mark.
Though its emotional stakes have diminished since the original film, the one thing that's never lagged is the high level of the franchise's action sequences, which are arguably second to none. The violence is twinkling, visceral with sparks of dark wit, and impeccably crafted. Practically every action sequence is a feat of craftsmanship - if nothing else, one has to admire the intricacy and the demanding nature of the choreography, but stuntman turned director Chad Stahelski and screenwriters Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams expertly weave in some wonderful comic grace notes, the most memorable of which come courtesy of Mark Dacascos and Raid stars Cecep Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian. The trio often break their villainously cool facades to fanboy over the legendary John Wick, and these moments of levity add a wonderful contrast to the impossibly brutal beating they administer to Wick in the all-glass administrative offices of the Continental Hotel.
The franchise finds time to do some world-building, taking audiences to Morocco where Wick calls in a favour from Sofia (Halle Berry), an ex-assassin now running the Continental Hotel in Morocco and owner of a pair of vicious German shepherds. Like most people from his past, including Anjelica Huston's Director, Sofia is reluctant to incur the wrath of the High Table. Yet one of the continuing delights of the John Wick films has always been the manner in which such amoral characters adhere to a code. They may have no compunction in getting the killing done, but they stick to their word and repay past debts. On the other hand, as Wick has realised, once the rules are broken, there are consequences to be had.
As ever, Keanu Reeves anchors the whole affair with his minimalistic but incredibly soulful acting style. John Wick, arguably more than any other role, has utilised Reeves' persona to sublime perfection.
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Written by: Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Halle Berry, Mark Dacascos, Laurence Fishburne, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, Saïd Taghmaoui, Jason Mantzoukas, Yayan Ruhian, Cecep Arif Rahman
