John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum - Review Thread

Generally when it comes to action movie franchises, we're discussing the likes of Mission: Impossible, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Rambo, and a slew of others in regards to what offers the best in pure popcorn entertainment. But most if not all of these franchises, save for Mission: Impossible, see diminishing returns after their first entry, generally because the sequels fail to bring anything new to the action formula and feel that hammering the audience with bigger spectacle will make up for a lack of narrative creativity. This has also resulted in the protagonists taking large leaps in their abilities as well to match the absurd action taking place around them. John McClane in Die Hard compared to Live Free or Die Hard is a ridiculous jump into being completely implausible, and John Rambo goes from a Vietnam veteran looking to survive to the human equivalent of a Terminator in the horrid sequel to First Blood. And yet the John Wick franchise is guilty of both of these things in its sequels yet somehow works incredibly well. The ante keeps going up, John Wick stops short of being Neo only because he can't stop bullets (or can he?), and the plot itself works but will never be accused of being a think piece in any way. These movies should be on the same level as your run-of-the-mill Jason Statham entry, but there's an incredible consistency in tone, style, and world building with all three John Wick films that has ascended the franchise to being the best action movie series ever. John Wick has always and will always be an unstoppable badass. John Wick has always and will always be immersed in the same world of assassins that he tried to break away from in the first film. John Wick films have had a penchant for absurdly entertaining action scenes that don't rely on awful CGI or implausible scenarios (bear with me on that one) in order to thrill its audience. Surely this formula should be delivering diminishing returns the third time around. And yet not only has director Chad Stahelski found a formula that works and has stuck to it, but has continued to shock and entertain while remaining grafted to the world of John Wick. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is not only another worthy entry to this extremely entertaining series, but has cemented John Wick as the best action franchise ever. You read that right.

The film picks up immediately where its predecessor left off with John Wick (Keanu Reeves) finding himself in hot water (is he ever not in hot water?) for killing a person while within the confines of the neutral Continental hotel. Naturally, he is deemed ex-communicado and as a result has the largest bounty in the world on his head for doing so. We are instantly thrust into danger with John, as the film intercuts between him fleeing through New York City and the tattooed army of switchboard operators announcing his bounty to the world like an illegal racetrack operation. John is able to make his way to The Director (Anjelica Huston) who grants him safe passage to Casablanca, where he reunites with Sofia (Halle Berry) and has to fight his way through hordes of enemies just so he can enjoy a little peace and quiet. Meanwhile, a representative of The High Table, the The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon), is on a mission of her own to remove all perceived allies of John Wick from the picture, including Continental manager Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne). This isn't a plot with twists and turns, nor a bunch of red herring alliances and double crosses. It doesn't have much in the way of complexity going for it at all, but by that same token it doesn't bog itself down with obvious cliches that plague most of the genre's flicks. Sometimes it's best when a film doesn't try to be smarter than it is, and the John Wick franchise is an example of this succeeding.

Clearly what's truly set this franchise apart as the premiere action series are the dazzlingly choreographed action sequences, and Chapter 3 is certainly in no short supply of these. My particular favorite comes early in the film and takes the metaphor of bull in a China shop to hilarious extremes where John Wick keeps breaking the glass housing antique knives and uses them to dispatch some goons. True to John Wick form, the sequence is brutal, over-the-top yet oddly grounded within the basis of this assassin world as being believable, and funny as hell. Other highlights include an incredibly put together motorcycle chase, a legitimate sword fight, and dogs finally getting their sweet revenge on some deserved victims. There's just something so refreshing in our annoying CGI cinematic world about an action franchise that favors practical work instead. It harkens back to the "good ole days" of actually directing big action pieces and not just leaving it to green screens and computers to do the work for them. And it pays off. Every time. Yes, at times the constant barrage of action can teeter on the repetitive spectrum, and some sequences are certainly more well devised than others. But in our current climate where absurd CGI-fests rule the action market, it's not hard to understand why so many people revere the John Wick franchise the way they do. Parabellum ups the ante, and does so without losing the audience in the process. No small feat for the second sequel in a pure action movie franchise.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is by no means a game changer, or a particularly innovative film outside of its wonderful action sequences. I enjoy the world it's created, with its silly rules and seemingly endless amount of people that are employed as full-time assassins, and to an extent I believe in it fully, but it's not without its holes and contrivances. Also John's team-up with Sofia just feels like an excuse to get the dogs involved in one of the more repetitive action sequences of the film, evidenced by her departure shortly after never to return or have much of an impact on anything at all narrative wise. I would've liked to have seen more of this Russian underworld that John is able to seek passage through and who he learned his skills from rather than his excursion into Casablanca, which doesn't pack the wallop that the New York scenes do. But for me these decisions are fairly easy to shrug off because of how incredibly entertaining this package is once again, and when examining the film within the confines of genre, that's more than good enough for me. This isn't a tale of morality or corruption or power. There are no existentialist ideas swirling around about individualism or fulfillment. It's an action film that's made with passionate execution, relying on creating moments that draw the audience in as opposed to turning us off with ugly CGI and ludicrous leaps of faith for the character. Let's enjoy this franchise while it lasts, because there very well may not be another one like it.

8/10