In 2014, a trailer was released for a gratuitously violent action film starring a stoic 90s action star who is out for revenge. Sitting in the theater, I laughed as Neo grew out his hair, said some catchy one-liners, and performed more and more outrageously impossible action stunts. Five years later, Keanu Reeves has played arguably his most fitting role for the third time. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is more brutal, more interesting, and more outlandishly fun than its predecessors in what may can now be argued as one of the best action series of all time.
Parabellum starts where Chapter 2 leaves off, with John Wick on the run after breaking the cardinal rule of the Continental Hotel, no business conducted on hotel grounds. After murdering a member of the mysterious High Table at the New York Continental, hotel manager Winston (Ian McShane) gives John an hour before an excommunicado brings every single assassin in New York City out to kill him.
Once the $14 million bounty goes out on Mr. Wick’s head, the action kicks into full swing with Keanu Reeves using everything at his disposal (including an amazing book-wielding opening fight) to dispatch those looking to cash in. This includes a laser-focused Asia Kate Dillon as the Adjudicator, the judge and jury seeking to dole out the High Table’s justice with her chosen executioner, Mark Dacascus’ sushi assassin (a.k.a The Iron Chef Chairman) Zero. The vicious first act uses knives, horses, motorcycles, guns, and books to remind us how consistent the series has been in delivering stunning action set pieces. Chapter 3 ups the violence to levels that will hardly keep audiences in their seats as Keanu carries out one beautifully brutal kill after another. You feel the weight of every stab, shot, and punch for minutes on end, and yet the action is so creative that you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for the next stunt. Not since The Raid has a film left you exhausted at the end of every fight (coincidentally, the movie brilliantly casts The Raid's Cecep Rahman and Yayan Ruhian to fight John in the film's most intense action scene).
Director Chad Stahelski's third trip to this world has showcased his mastery of intertwining minimalistic story with grandiose action. He delivers an easily navigated linear plot designed to take John from one gorgeously backdropped, exquisitely choreographed fight scene to the next. The point A to point B simplicity allows the movie to take a break from the destruction just long enough to delve deeper into the rich history of rules and order that governs John’s world of assassins. Each new location peels back another layer of John’s past, including a trip to Morocco that introduces Halle Berry’s Sofia (a woman reluctantly repaying John a debt) in a 10-minute masterclass of action showcasing Berry and two extremely well trained German Shepherds dispatching death with as much precision as the titular character. This is one of Berry’s best turns in a long time, seamlessly fitting into this rich world rife with exploration due to the John Wick team’s conviction and familiarity in delivering simple motivations and astonishing action.
Keanu was born to play the man of little words and much ass-kicking. The Continental’s management of Ian McShane and Lance Reddick (Charon) combine to overwhelm the screen with their presence. Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King is bombastic and brazen. These actors know their characters so well that when Berry, Dillon, and Dacascos are introduced, it adds another dimension to the world instead of overcrowding it. Dacascos in particular brings an amazing amount of subtle levity to lighten the heavy action just at the right moments. Each new character strengthens the ensemble to continue to build out the world into something you can’t wait to return to again and again.
In the hands of another team, John Wick could easily devolve into mindless B-movie violence. But Stahelski, Reeves, have delivered a rare best outing in the third entry of a franchise. John Wick: Chapter 3 is a smart, intense action spectacular that lives deep in the rules of the world in which they have created. I am giving Parabellum 9/10 Keanu Reeves Theodore “Ted” Logan “Whoa’s”.