Ballerina (5 Stars)

This is a film that's grown on me. I gave it five stars from its first viewing, but I've always added "it's not as good as the John Wick films". Now I'm not so sure. "Ballerina" is different to the John Wick films, but it's just as good, in its own way. John Wick himself was always a master assassin, from the first film onwards, but Eve Macarro is a new recruit to the Ruska Roma, who needs to be trained from the ground up. She's like "Nikita", or more like "Red Sparrow". 

"Ballerina" doesn’t so much expand the John Wick mythology as refract it; a side-step rather than a leap forward, yet one that reveals new textures within a world that had, by "John Wick Chapter 4", begun to feel almost sealed.

Set against the familiar framework established in John Wick and elaborated through "John Wick Chapter 2" and "John Wick Chapter 3", the film’s most immediate contribution is perspective. Where those entries centred on John Wick as both participant and anomaly, Ballerina shifts the focus to an initiate; someone shaped by the system from the outset rather than dragged back into it. This alone alters the tone. The mythology is no longer something glimpsed from the outside or resisted from within; it becomes an environment, almost a culture, that produces its own agents.

The Ruska Roma, previously a striking but secondary presence, moves into the foreground. What had once seemed like a stylistic flourish, ballerinas trained alongside assassins, now reads as a fully realised institution with its own internal logic. The film leans into the idea that artistry and violence are not merely juxtaposed, but intertwined. Discipline, repetition and performance become the connective tissue between dance and killing, suggesting that the mythology’s rituals are not confined to coins and markers, but embedded in the very bodies of its practitioners.

This emphasis on training and transformation adds a layer that the earlier films only hinted at. In the mainline series, assassins simply are; their skills are presented as faits accomplis. Ballerina asks how such figures are made. The answer is not comforting. The mythology expands to include systems of control that feel less like honour codes and more like indoctrination. The world of assassins, once alluring in its elegance, acquires a harder edge; its beauty is revealed as something constructed through coercion.

At the same time, the film subtly recalibrates the role of institutions like the The Continental. In the earlier films, the Continental functioned as a neutral sanctuary, a space where rules imposed order on chaos. Here, its neutrality feels more ambiguous. Seen from the perspective of someone raised within the system, it is less a refuge than a checkpoint; one node in a network that monitors, regulates and ultimately constrains. The mythology becomes less romantic, more systemic.

Crucially, "Ballerina" resists the temptation to over-escalate. After the globe-spanning, rule-bending climax of "John Wick Chapter 4", it would have been easy to introduce an even higher authority or a deeper layer of conspiracy. Instead, the film narrows its focus. The High Table remains distant, almost irrelevant; what matters are the local structures, the immediate relationships and the personal costs of participation. This contraction paradoxically enriches the mythology. By showing how the system operates on the ground, it makes the larger hierarchy feel more credible.

There is, however, a tension at the heart of this approach. By explaining how assassins are trained, by detailing the mechanisms that produce them, the film inevitably demystifies aspects of the world that were once left to the imagination. The danger, as in "John Wick Chapter 3", is that myth hardens into procedure. The more we see, the less we wonder.

Yet "Ballerina" mitigates this by shifting the emotional centre. The mythology is no longer primarily about rules; it is about identity. What does it mean to belong to this world if you never had a choice? Can its codes be internalised without being questioned? In this sense, the film doesn’t just add lore; it interrogates the cost of that lore on those who live inside it.

In the end, "Ballerina" functions as a kind of echo within the larger saga. It doesn’t reshape the mythology in the way the sequels did, nor does it attempt to conclude it. Instead, it deepens it laterally, filling in the spaces between what we already know. The result is a world that feels less like a series of elegant rules and more like a lived-in system; one that creates its own adherents, and perhaps its own victims.

It’s a quieter form of expansion, but a meaningful one. If the John Wick films built a myth, Ballerina shows how that myth is sustained; not by legends like John Wick, but by the countless figures shaped in its image.

Success Rate:  - 0.4

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John Wick 4 (5 Stars)

"John Wick Chapter 4" feels like the moment the series finally confronts the weight of its own mythology; not by expanding it further, but by testing whether it can be broken.

Across "John Wick" and "John Wick Chapter 2", the assassin world evolved from suggestion into structure; by "John Wick Chapter 3", it had hardened into something close to dogma, enforced by the High Table with near-religious authority. "Chapter 4" takes the next logical step; it treats that system not as an unchangeable fact, but as a construct that can be challenged, manipulated and, ultimately, outplayed.

What's striking is how the film reframes the mythology through ritual. The duel that forms the climax is not just a plot device; it's an ancient mechanism embedded within the rules of the High Table itself. After three films of escalation, the idea that everything can be resolved through something so formal, so archaic, almost feels like a loophole in the system. The mythology turns inward, revealing that its rigidity contains the seeds of its own undoing.

This is where John Wick changes most significantly. In earlier films, he was defined by his relationship to the rules; first as a legend outside them, then as a man bound by them, and finally as someone hunted by them. Here, he becomes a strategist within the mythology. He doesn't just fight the system; he learns how to use its language against itself. The coins, the markers, the codes of conduct; these are no longer constraints, but tools.

At the same time, "Chapter 4" subtly demystifies the High Table without ever fully exposing it. Its representatives, particularly the Marquis, suggest that power within this world is not purely ancient or divine, but also political, contingent and, crucially, vulnerable to ego. The mythology shifts from something monolithic to something inhabited by individuals who can make mistakes. That shift matters; it brings the series back from abstraction towards something human, even as it maintains its operatic scale.

Yet the film resists the temptation to over-explain. After the relative over-articulation of "John Wick Chapter 3", this instalment pares back exposition and lets ritual, geography and action carry the meaning. The journey through Osaka, Berlin and Paris suggests a world that is vast but coherent, bound by shared customs rather than explicit rules. The mythology regains some of its mystery, not by shrinking, but by becoming less verbal.

The question of whether John Wick can still be alive sits at the centre of this approach. On a literal level, the film presents his death with a degree of finality; the wounds, the exhaustion, the quiet acceptance. But the staging is deliberately ambiguous. We see a grave, but no body; we hear eulogies, but no confirmation. In a series so concerned with codes and appearances, that absence feels intentional.

More importantly, the mythology itself provides a possible answer. This is a world where identity is fluid, where names carry weight and can be shed or reclaimed. John Wick has already died once, retreating into legend before being drawn back. Within a system that runs on ritual and perception, death does not have to be purely physical; it can be symbolic, a way of exiting the game.

There is also the practical dimension. The High Table operates on recognition and enforcement; if it believes Wick is dead, its pursuit ends. In that sense, death becomes a strategic disappearance, a final exploitation of the rules he has spent four films learning to navigate. The mythology allows for that possibility because it values order over truth; what matters is not whether Wick lives, but whether the system believes he does not.

Still, the film walks a careful line. To insist too strongly on his survival would undercut the thematic resolution; Wick's arc has always been about escape, and death is the only absolute escape the series can offer without contradiction. By leaving the question open, "Chapter 4" preserves both possibilities; the man may be gone, but the legend, as always, endures.

In the end, "John Wick Chapter 4" doesn't just conclude the mythology; it reflects on it. What began as a whisper of a hidden world has become a fully realised system, then a prison, and finally something that can be transcended. Whether John Wick is alive or dead almost becomes secondary. The real question is whether he has finally stepped outside the mythology that defined him; and for the first time, the answer might be Yes.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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John Wick 3 (5 Stars)

"John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" pushes the mythology of the series to its most overtly operatic extreme; where "John Wick" hinted at a hidden order and "John Wick: Chapter 2" mapped its structure, the third film tests its limits, asking what happens when a man openly defies it.

The key shift in "Parabellum" is that the mythology is no longer background texture; it becomes the narrative engine itself. The concept of excommunicado, introduced at the end of the previous film, transforms the assassin world into something closer to a totalitarian system. Once John Wick is cast out, every rule, every ritual, every institution we have seen before turns against him. The coins, the markers, the sanctuaries; all are rendered useless. What was once a structured society becomes a mechanism of pursuit.

This escalation brings the governing body, the High Table, into sharper focus. In earlier films it functioned as an abstract authority; here it begins to take on form through emissaries like the Adjudicator. The shift is significant. The mythology moves from suggestion to embodiment, from whispered power to visible enforcement. Yet the High Table remains deliberately opaque; its members are never shown, preserving a sense of distance that keeps it from becoming mundane. It still feels less like a boardroom and more like a pantheon.

One of the film’s most striking developments is its expansion into the past. Wick’s journey to the desert and his encounter with the Elder reframes the mythology in quasi-religious terms. Authority is no longer merely institutional; it is spiritual, almost metaphysical. The idea that allegiance can be sworn through acts of physical sacrifice suggests a belief system rather than a legal framework. This pushes the series further away from crime fiction and closer to myth; the assassin world now resembles a faith with its own rites and absolutions.

At the same time, "Parabellum" complicates the idea of neutrality that was so central to the earlier films. The Continental, once an inviolable sanctuary, becomes a battleground when its manager refuses to bow fully to the High Table’s demands. This is a crucial development. The rules are no longer stable; they can be bent, reinterpreted or outright broken depending on who holds power. The mythology, which once felt rigid and ancient, begins to show cracks.

However, this expansion comes with a certain loss of elegance. In "John Wick: Chapter 2", the pleasure lay in discovering the system; here, the film risks over-articulation. The more the mythology is explained, the less it retains the enigmatic quality that made it compelling. Characters speak more openly about rules, hierarchies and consequences, and the sense of a hidden world gives way to something more explicit, almost bureaucratic in its complexity.

Yet the film compensates by using this very complexity to redefine John Wick himself. If the first film made him a legend and the second bound him to a system, the third positions him as a potential disruptor of that system. His survival is no longer just a matter of skill; it becomes an act of resistance. The mythology, once something that elevated him, now seeks to erase him; and in opposing it, he begins to take on a different kind of mythic status.

The final act underscores this transformation. Alliances shift, loyalties fracture and the supposedly immutable order reveals itself to be contingent. The world of assassins is no longer simply a closed circuit of rules; it is a contested space, where power can be challenged, if not easily overturned.

In the end, "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" represents both the peak and the strain of the series’ myth-making. It expands the universe to its widest scope; geographically, philosophically and symbolically. But in doing so, it edges closer to demystification. The balance between suggestion and explanation begins to tilt.

Still, the achievement is undeniable. The trilogy evolves from a minimalist revenge tale into a fully realised mythos, one that blends ritual, violence and hierarchy into a coherent, if increasingly elaborate, world. "Parabellum" may reveal too much, but it also proves that the world of John Wick can sustain that revelation; and perhaps even survive its consequences.

The Continental hotel is an imposing building in the film. In real life the building used for external shots is the Beaver Building, on the corner of Beaver Street and Pearl Street, close to Wall Street. In actual fact there's a restaurant on the ground floor, and the upper floors are used for office space. It's 22 floors high, one of the smallest buildings in the vicinity. The buildings on either side are 37 and 42 floors high, respectively, while the buildings on Wall Street are 60 floors high or more.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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John Wick 2 (5 Stars)

"John Wick: Chapter 2" takes the sleek, stripped-down revenge framework of "John Wick" and expands it into something far more elaborate; not just a sequel, but a deepening of a strange, ritualised underworld that now feels almost mythic in scope.

In the first film, the mythology was tantalising but restrained. We glimpsed a hidden society of assassins governed by codes, currencies and neutral zones; The Continental stood out as a kind of sanctuary, its rules lending the violence a peculiar sense of order. John Wick himself was less a man than a whispered legend; "Baba Yaga" invoked in hushed tones, his past suggested rather than explained.

"Chapter 2" decisively pulls back the curtain. The sequel introduces the idea that this world is not merely a loose network, but a fully institutionalised hierarchy with global reach. The High Table – an unseen governing body – shifts the tone from crime thriller to something closer to dark fantasy; power is abstract, distant and absolute. This is no longer just about gangsters; it is about systems that feel ancient and unbreakable.

The expansion is most effective in its details. The gold coins, already present in the first film, are given greater texture as a kind of all-purpose currency that transcends national borders. Blood oaths, embodied in the "marker", introduce a feudal element; obligation is literal, sealed in blood and enforced with ritual gravity. These touches suggest a society bound less by law than by tradition, as though the assassins operate under a code older than modern civilisation.

Crucially, the film also widens the geographical scope. Rome becomes a stage for this underworld’s operations, with its own Continental branch and its own local customs. This decentralised yet unified structure reinforces the sense that John Wick’s world exists parallel to our own; invisible, but everywhere. The mythology grows not by exposition dumps, but by showing how the same rules manifest in different places.

Yet there is a trade-off. As the mythology expands, John Wick himself becomes slightly less mysterious. In the first film, his legend was defined by absence; here, the film risks over-defining him by embedding him more concretely within the system. His past is no longer just rumour; it becomes contractual, bureaucratic. The danger is that myth turns into lore, and lore into something almost procedural.

That said, the sequel cleverly uses this very expansion to trap its protagonist. By formalising the rules of the assassin world, Chapter 2 turns them into a mechanism of inevitability. Wick is no longer simply avenging a personal loss; he is ensnared in obligations he cannot escape. The climax, set within the mirrored halls of a modern art museum, feels like a visual metaphor for this shift; infinite reflections of a man who can no longer step outside the system that defines him.

In the end, "John Wick: Chapter 2" succeeds not just by raising the stakes, but by redefining them. The violence is still balletic and precise, but it now unfolds within a world that feels governed by mythic rules rather than mere narrative convenience. Where the first film hinted at a hidden order, the sequel reveals it; vast, intricate and ultimately inescapable.

It's a bold move. By expanding its mythology so aggressively, the film risks diluting the elegance of the original’s simplicity. Yet it also lays the foundation for a saga that can sustain itself beyond a single act of revenge. John Wick is no longer just a story; it is a world, and in "Chapter 2", that world finally takes shape.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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John Wick (5 Stars)

When John Wick arrived in 2014, it looked at first glance like a modest, even disposable action thriller. Keanu Reeves, long past his early-2000's peak, was starring in a revenge story triggered by the death of a dog; hardly the stuff of a major franchise launch. Yet the film did something quietly radical; it rethought how a modern action series could be built, not through escalating spectacle alone but through world-building, tone and physical credibility.

At its core, John Wick is disarmingly simple. A retired hitman is dragged back into violence when the last emotional connection to his late wife is brutally taken from him. The script understands that this simplicity is a strength. By stripping away subplots and moral hand-wringing, the film creates a clean emotional through-line that justifies the relentless action. Wick is not positioned as a hero in the traditional sense; he is a professional monster briefly unleashed, and the film never pretends otherwise.

What truly marks John Wick as the birth of a franchise, rather than a one-off revenge picture, is the way it sketches an entire criminal ecosystem without overexplaining it. The Continental Hotel, gold coins, blood oaths and whispered reputations are introduced as everyday facts of life. Characters speak of John Wick in hushed tones, as if he were a myth who happens to exist in the real world. This approach invites curiosity and rewards repeat viewing; it also leaves narrative space for expansion, sequels and spin-offs without feeling retrofitted.

Equally important is the action itself. Directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, both with stunt backgrounds, foreground choreography, geography and duration. Fights play out in longer takes than audiences had become used to, allowing Reeves' training in gun-fu and judo-inspired movement to read clearly on screen. The violence is stylised but legible, elegant but exhausting. In an era dominated by frantic editing, John Wick made clarity fashionable again, and its influence can be seen across action cinema in the years since.

As a franchise starter, the film is also notable for its restraint. It does not try to be bigger than it needs to be. The mythology is suggested, not dumped; the ending closes Wick's immediate arc while leaving his world intriguingly open. This balance is precisely why the series could grow bolder with each sequel without collapsing under its own weight.

In retrospect, John Wick feels less like the first chapter of a planned saga and more like a confident proof of concept that audiences embraced. Its success lies in understanding that franchises are not born from scale alone but from a distinctive identity. By combining a minimalist revenge story with rich, implicit world-building and a new standard for action choreography, John Wick did not just introduce a franchise; it redefined what one could look like.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Ballerina (5 Stars)

As far as I can recall, this is the first film I've watched twice in the cinema this year. It's worth it. Unfortunately, it looks as if it won't make a profit. The critics agree that it's a good film, and those who've watched it praise it, but somehow it can't tempt people into the cinema. Isn't the poster appealing? Isn't the trailer exciting? Or are people just sick of John Wick after four films and a mini-series? They don't know what they're missing. Or maybe they just want to wait till it arrives on streaming.

John Wick himself has a short appearance in the film. Two appearances, actually. The first is a brief cameo. The second is about ten minutes towards the end of the film. It's not necessary. I think these scenes were only added to tempt John Wick fans into the cinema, which obviously hasn't worked. With a small amount of rewriting he could have been removed without harming the film in any way.

Ballerina (5 Stars)

I expected this film to be brilliant, and I wasn't disappointed. Ana de Armas is splendid in the title role. She knows how to fight like a girl, which is enough to send the men running for cover.

Click here for a first music video.

Grimsby (4½ Stars)

I didn't know what film to watch with my son Benjamin today. A friend of his suggested "The Spy and his Brother". I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Then he told me it starred Sacha Baron Cohen, and it clicked. That's the German title of the film "Grimsby". I don't like film titles being changed in other countries, but in this case I can understand it. To an English person, the word Grimsby immediately conjures up an ugly town in northern England. To a German it's just a weird word that would send him running to Google.

Yes, the film is about a spy and his brother. Sebastian (Mark Strong) is a talented spy who works for MI6. His brother Nobby (Sacha Baron Cohen) is an uncouth layabout with eleven children. They meet after being separated for 28 years. Nobby wants to hold on to his brother, but Sebastian considers him an annoyance. The two brothers couldn't be more different, and the two actors play their roles to emphasise the differences. Sacha Baron Cohen is an eccentric comedian, as in every role he plays, whereas Mark Strong plays his role with deadly earnest, not even smiling.

And the film stars Rebel Wilson as Nobby's wife!

Watching it again today, I really wanted to give the film five stars. I couldn't. I was disgusted by the elephant sex scenes. I had a secluded upbringing. I never saw anything like that, and now I'm too old to get used to it. A typical male elephant has a 36 inch penis when erect. The very thought makes me shudder, without having to witness it close up.

Success Rate:  - 1.4

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John Wick 4 (5 Stars)

I watched this film two days ago, but I didn't write much because I was getting ready to go away for a weekend holiday. I took the Blu-ray with me because I wanted to watch it again. Now I'm not writing much because I'm away from home and have even less time. It's a terrific film, probably the best in the series. I say probably because it's difficult for me to make up my mind. Visually, it's in a class of its own. New York, Morocco, Osaka, Paris, Berlin. The action switches from country to country like a James Bond film.

Donnie Yen plays Caine, a blind assassin who's an old friend of John Wick. He enjoyed making the film so much that he's asked to return, either in a sequel or a spin-off. No decision has been made yet. I hope he's given a chance.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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John Wick 4 (5 Stars)

Farewell to Charon, as played by Lance Reddick. In "John Wick 4" he's executed in a senseless act by the Marquis de Gramont. A short while after making the film the actor himself died of a heart disease.

This is truly a wonderful film. I don't know why I only gave it a four star rating when I saw it in the cinema last year. The only thing negative is that I'm annoyed by Scott Adkins' bloated appearance. I barely recognise him. All I can say is that I'm glad he was killed, because it means I don't have to see him in a future sequel.

Or do I? John Wick was killed, but the fifth film in the series has already been announced. You can't keep a good man down.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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John Wick 3 (5 Stars)

In my opinion, "John Wick 3" is the best film in the series so far. The second film ended on a cliff-hanger. John was excommunicated for killing Santino D'Antonio in the Continental. "No business may be conducted on Continental grounds". That's one of the main rules in the shadowy parallel world of John Wick.

Rather than accepting his fate, John seeks an audience with the man who is above the High Table. He lives in the desert somewhere in Morocco. Couldn't a man with such wealth find a more comfortable place to live? John will be allowed back if he completes a task: he has to kill Winston, the manager of the Continental Hotel in New York. This is where John draws a line. He refuses to kill a friend.

The Continental has a few floors made of glass. At first I thought it was the same place as the museum in "John Wick 2". They certainly look similar. It's possible that the same film set was used after moving a few things around to make it look different. The set must have cost a lot of money, so it would have been a waste to throw it away after one film.

The glass room is the scene of the final battle against the warrior played by Mark Dacascos. In the film credits he's called Zero, but I didn't notice him being named in the film itself. He's an incredible fighter, with his bare hands and his swords. He's appeared in 60 films and 25 television series. Usually an abundance of television roles is a sign that a person's career is faltering. I'm not saying that television actors are less talented. But it's a fact that television series pay less money for more work.

Now I've rewatched the first three films, I can turn my attention to "John Wick 4". Soon.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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John Wick 2 (5 Stars)

"John Wick 2" is the film in which the series really takes off. It establishes the hidden world alongside our own. In the first film we saw the Continental and the gold coins, but here we see more of the details of the parallel world. There are undercover assassins all over New York (and presumably the rest of the world). The homeless people begging on the streets have guns hidden under their blankets. There's a High Table with 12 seats, people who act as rulers over this parallel world. Some of them are obviously crime lords, but are they all evil? It's still not certain. We also see the bizarre tattooed women who use rotary phoes and other retro technology.

As I mentioned in a previous review, there's a deleted scene in which John Wick has an audience with the Pope. This scene is an interesting as the film itself, and I regret that it isn't included. It shows that the Pope is part of the parallel world. The two men obviously know one another.

Is the final showdown in the museum's mirror exhibition meant as a homage to the hall of mirrors in "Enter the Dragon"?

This exhibition is more high tech. There are digital images on the walls.

The area is larger. There are several floors.

I was unsure about how to rate the first film, but there's no doubt in my mind that "John Wick 2" is a five star film.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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John Wick (4½ Stars)

I don't intend to write much about "John Wick" today, neither the character nor the film. I finally bought "John Wick 4" on Blu-ray last week, and I intend to watch the first three films again before I watch it. That's what a serious film fan does.

After giving "John Wick" a five star rating last time I watched it, I've downgraded it to four and a half stars this time. It's the weakest film in the series, though only slightly weaker. The emotional scenes at the beginning aren't convincing.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Kung Fu Panda 4 (5 Stars)

If I'm gauging his reaction correctly, this is the best film that Oliver's seen so far. He didn't laugh much, even though the film is a comedy, but he was shaking with excitement. It's a fast paced martial arts film that's perfect for young children.

There's so much going on that I felt like I needed a scorecard to keep up. What I mean is that there are so many characters running around and fighting. The basic plot is simple. Po the panda has reached the level of Dragon Warrior, but Master Shifu tells him that it's time for him to advance. He has to give up fighting and become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. He has to choose a successor, but the candidates are all so good that he can't decide. Before he makes a choice a village is destroyed by a new enemy, known only as the Chameleon. She's a shape shifter who's able to absorb the kung fu skills of anyone she fights. So Po has to fight as the dragon warrior for one last time.

I remember watching the first Kung Fu Panda film with my friend Pete in Birmingham. I don't remember exactly when it was, but it's not mentioned in my blog, so it must have been before I started writing in September 2010. Pete owned the film on video, and he was totally excited about it. Pete often invited me to his home for a meal, but we rarely watched films together, so it was a special occasion. (As far as I can remember, the only other films that we watched together were "Kill Bill Vol 2" and Peter Jackson's "King Kong").

I never watched the two sequels, so I need to catch up. For Oliver and for me. It seems like "Kung Fu Panda 4" is the final film in the series, so I'll wait for a four-film box set to be released.

Sexy Beast (4½ Stars)

Who's the sexy beast in the film title? Supposedly it's Gal Dove, a retired gangster played by Ray Winstone. He doesn't look very sexy in this picture. He's put his life of crime behind him. He says that he spent nine years of his life in prison, and he doesn't want to go back. He lives in a remote house in Spain with his wife, a former porn star. Unlike Buster Edwards and his wife, there are no regrets about moving to Spain. They love it. They love the hot weather, they love the food, and they don't miss British culture.

Gal's peace is disturbed by the arrival of Don Logan.

Don is played by Ben Kingsley in the role of his lifetime. He's a former associate of Gal who wants to hire him for a robbery. Gal insists that he's retired, but Don refuses to take No for an answer. They argue. They shout. Neither of them will back down. Something has to give.

The film has been called Tarantino-ish. I can see what they mean. It has distinct similarities with "Reservoir Dogs". The only real difference is the dream sequences. Quentin Tarantino doesn't do dreams.

This was the first film directed by Jonathan Glazer. It's astounding quality for a rookie in the film business. What was his inspiration? In itself, it's a minimalist film, and it's this minimalism that makes the film great. Apart from the dream sequences.

Success Rate:  + 0.4

John Wick 4 (4 Stars)

After the third John Wick film was made, the director Char Stahelski said there would be at least another two films. That was before the Corona pandemic. Everything was put on hold. The fourth film now seems to be the last film in the series. Keanu Reeves is getting older, and he can't carry on as an action hero forever.

At the end of the third film, John Wick's death was faked. That was the only way to free him from the domination of the High Table. He could have got away with this, but he makes the foolish decision to assassinate the unnamed leader of the High Table. When it's known that he's still alive, the High Table holds the Continental Hotel manager Winston responsible, and the hotel is destroyed.

This leads to an escalating spiral of revenge and counter-revenge.

As in the previous films, the lines between friend and foe are unclear. John has friends who're now compelled by duty to kill him.

It's an exciting action film, but the pacing is unusual. The film starts very fast. Then there's a long quiet passage in the middle. Then there's action again, but the final scene is calm, almost anti-climactic. I've rated it lower than the previous films, but I might change my mind after watching it again.

And there's an after-credits scene. Don't miss it!

John Wick 3 (5 Stars)

My readers should know me by now. After watching the first two John Wick films last month, it was obvious that I'd soon rewatch "John Wick 3". It's a beautiful film which leads us even deeper into the mythology of the John Wick universe. Maybe I should invent a name for it. The Wickiverse? In the second film we met the High Table, or at least some of its members. Now we see that there's a man who's above the High Table. He's a mysterious man who lives in a tent in the desert of Morocco. How more surreal could the Wickiverse possibly get?

Most of the scenes in "John Wick 3" take place in the dark and are underlit. That's my only slight criticism of the film. The scenes in the desert are beautifully bright.

Dogs have always played an important part in the John Wick films. In the first film there was a beagle called Daisy who was fridged early in the film. In the second film there's a pitbull called Dog, who also returns as a non-barking extra in the third film. In the third film Sofia, played by Halle Berry, has two Belgian Shepherd dogs as her fighting companions.

The fourth film was due to be released this year, but the filming has been delayed until next year because of the Coronavirus. That's sad. I'm anxious to see how John Wick's story continues.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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John Wick 2 (5 Stars)

Maybe I should change the title of this film. It was called "John Wick 2" when it was released in 2017, but its official name is now "John Wick Chapter 2". The first film has also been renamed "John Wick Chapter 1". 

Let's face it, Keanu Reeves has never been a great actor. It wasn't until "The Matrix" that a film was made that suited his cold performances. I thought that "The Matrix" would be the film he'd always be remembered for in his signature role as Neo. "The Matrix" is a better film, but I've changed my mind about Keanu Reeves. His signature role is John Wick, and that's how he'll always be remembered.

For some time I've been tempted to make an official kill count of the John Wick films. I've never got round to it. I don't have the patience to sit with my finger hovering over the pause button. Luckily, others have had the same idea and more patience. The kill count is supposedly:

John Wick Chapter 1: 77 kills

John Wick Chapter 2: 128 kills

John Wick Chapter 3: 94 kills

I'm not guaranteeing the numbers are correct. It's just what I've read. It's not easy to count the kills, because John always shoots his victims multiple times. He lives by two principles:

1) Never shoot someone once when two bullets are enough.

2) Never shoot someone twice when three bullets are enough.

I feel tempted to watch all three John Wick films back to back, but I don't want to delay my top 100 film countdown any more. I'll watch "John Wick 3" soon, I promise.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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John Wick (5 Stars)

John Wick is growing on me. I don't just mean the first film, I mean the whole franchise. It started off well in 2015, and each film is better than the one before. This is the sixth time I've watched "John Wick" (the first film), even though I've only given it a four and a half star rating in the past. Now I've finally upgraded it to a five star rating. Maybe in the past I was ashamed to give it a full five star rating because of the (seemingly) wooden character. Now I can see that Keanu Reeves' portrayal of the character is exactly as it should be. He's not capable of portraying emotions. Everyone knows that, but he doesn't need emotions for this role. It's like the role was written for him.

I haven't included any of the John Wick films in my top 100 films list. That's deliberate. However, the way the films are growing on me, it's possible that I'll change my mind at a future date. A future list – if I live that long – might see all three films in the top 30, maybe even the top 20.

The fourth film should have been released in May this year (2021), but it's been slowed down by the Coronavirus. The latest estimate is that it'll be released a year later in May 2022. I hope that will be possible. In difficult times like these we need more films, not less. It's unfortunate that films are having to go direct-to-streaming while cinemas are closed, but I'm hoping they'll still be made. The whole film industry is having to adjust itself to the new situation.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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John Wick 3 (5 Stars)

I need to keep myself under control. After watching "John Wick 3" this evening, my first thought was, "Wow, that film's so great, I should watch all three John Wick films again soon". Then I reminded myself that I already have more than a hundred films on my to-watch list, so it would be irrational to add another three films and push them to the top of the queue.

Yes, the film really is so good. The action is good, but what fascinates me even more is the mix of absurdly beautiful characters in the world inhabited by John Wick and his organisation.

Laurence Fishburne is the self-proclaimed King of the Bowery (an area in the centre of Manhattan). He communicates with his followers via messenger pigeons. It's the safest means of communication, he claims, because it can't be hacked.

Saïd Taghmaoui is the man who rules over the whole of John Wick's universe, the man who is above the High Table. The film's credits call him the Elder, with a capital E, but when he's called the elder in the film I have the impression it's not his name or even his title, it's just a word to show him respect, i.e. the elder with a small E.

The film's unnamed adjudicator is a bizarre character. Her appearance borders on asexuality. She looks just the way I imagine Miss Brunner in the Jerry Cornelius novels. She doesn't belong to the High Table itself, but she has a position of seniority and is allowed to make decisions on behalf of the High Table.

Overall, this is a film of breathtaking beauty. It's difficult to imagine anyone not liking it. Maybe some people would be squeamish about the excessive violence, but once you get over that problem, there's no reason not to like it.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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