John Wick (4½ Stars)

It's compulsory re-watch time. "John Wick 3" will be in the cinemas soon, so I want to watch the first two parts again to prepare myself. In the case of some sequels it's essential for me to re-watch the first parts, because I might have forgotten important details that explain the new film. That's not the case with the John Wick films. I've watched them often enough to have them imprinted on my mind.

John Wick, the character, is presented as living in a world that exists in parallel to our own. It's a world populated by highly skilled assassins who live by a noble code of honour. Sometimes they're hired to kill one another, but they respect one another, and they can share a drink before facing one another like medieval knights. The Continental Hotel in New York is a safe house. Nobody is allowed to kill other guests on the premises. In fact, it's customary to check into the hotel before starting a job. If you're seen in the hotel the others know that you're "working", which is the euphemism for killing.

Even if payment is made for a job in US dollars, the parallel world has its own currency. Anyone who successfully carries out a contract is given gold coins, usually one coin for each kill. These coins can be used for paying others for lesser jobs, for instance disposing of corpses. The coins are also used to pay for hotel rooms in the Continental.

At the beginning of the film we see that John Wick has a huge stash of gold coins. This doesn't just mean that he's rich, it means that he's killed a lot of people in his career.

That doesn't mean that the assassins of the parallel world can't kill for free. That's the plot of the first film. The son of a Russian mafia boss – a man for whom John previously carried out many contracts – steals John's car and kills his dog. This sets John off on a path of revenge. The collateral damage is high.

This is a film tailor made for Keanu Reeves. He doesn't have to show emotion, he just has to kill, kill, kill. If Arnold Schwarzenegger can do it, so can Keanu.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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