The Matrix, The Matrix, The Matrix. John Wick re-unites Keanu Reeves, Daniel Berhardht, Randall Duk Kim along with the directors Chad Stehelski and David Leitch, all of whom had some role to play with the Matrix trilogy. This is interesting because the movie’s story is no where near what the Matrix’s is, nor are the action sequences, but there is an usual feel to it, as if it was Matrix-y-ish. Some of the scenes have a greenish colour to them, reminding us of the Matrix, there is also a scene in which a hand fight takes place in the rain, reminiscent of the Agent Smith vs Neo final battle sequence. Or it could just be that whenever I see Keanu Reeves in a movie, I think of him as the iconic, Neo, The One.
I’m a fan of Keanu Reeves, I think he can act, but what can you do when you’ve already played the role of your life? Has Keanu Reeves played the ultimate role, in the Matrix? Some may be inclined to think so, others like me are keen to see how much this man can really push himself in an acting capacity. There are moments of intensity in the film, but his performance is nowhere near oscar consideration, unfortunately. Did he give it his all? Turns out that about 90% of the stunts performed in the movie, were done by ‘Neo’, thats awesome, considering the nature of this film, its mainly concerned with action, if you didn’t know.
If you’re interested in an aesthetically pleasing appetiser, this movie is that, nothing more. It is photogenic, and the action sequences look great, but ultimately it tries to be a touch deeper than most action movies, but it fails, you want to feel for John Wick, but instead of presenting him a touch vulnerable, he is the exact opposite, nobody is stopping John Wick, he is a ‘legend’, except he is real, and he will win. You might find yourself smiling every now and then, but your deeper emotions won’t be tapped.
Credit must be given to the directors of this film, their story is inspirational, they both started in the film industry as stunt men, one of them was a stunt double for Keanu Reeves in the Matrix movies, and after a while, they were able to form a company that would go on to do stunts for a large number of action movies. This is their directional debut, and for a first go, its good work. It must be rewarding for them to have come so far in the film industry, it will be interesting to see what else they have to offer.
I love this image of John Wick and his dog, again this film has some great stills, worth watching if only for that!
Good watch, but not nourishing enough.
TRIVIA COOKIE: Total kills, 119.
I must add this final remark. Think is the name of the song played in one of the scenes, its a beautiful song, performed by Kaleida, listen to it with the bass up!
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