|
John Wick (2014) - 7/10 has a lot going for it. Where it excells the most is in the world building. The characters already have a history. Its a lived in place with a rich baskstory and mythology and the best part is we dont get to know the details. Its implied. That makes for a good watch.
Thats easily the best thing the script offers. After that its a standard Gentleman Theif set up but in an assasin setting. Which im all for mind you. We take the Gentleman Theif and plop us into a world of Gentleman Thieves and top it off with our Hero being a hero in the Greek sense. Wick is without flaw. Never errs. But this is my first gripe. I like a greek hero. But Wick is only one until plot contrivances demand he isnt.
He never misses a shot. Until the plot needs him to. It makes these moments almost feel absurd. He's been completely perfect for 90 min but now he misses the one time we care if he hits or not. Doesnt ruin the picture but it is lazy writing.
As far as the action itself good action, or atleast action done well, demands expert cinematography. Im a cinematography fanatic so i always enjoy the chance to see good action. Wick is a mixed bag. Some of it is outstanding. Well framed well considered shots. Limited edits allowed the audience to understand space. The Gun-Fu specifically is fairly good.
However Wick does something that on paper is super interesting. it melds Gun-Fu with grappling. Gun-Jitsu if you will.This is where it falters. Its interesting and cool but since there's no way principle cast can do these things in 1 wide take itts filled with constant edits at every contact point so we can hide the stunt team.
This keeps the action from every being exceptional. And i think thats my primary take on the film.
Just south of exceptional.
Which still lands it in "quite good." It has tons of interesting ideas, especially in the minutia of the action but the execution juuuuuuust misses...like Wick missing a central character when the plot demands.
|