The John Wick Thread

[The Dark Knight]

It looks like it's going to get even wackier. I hope it stands up to the quality of the movies....or at least, gets close.

In any case I don't see it as a threat to the four movies. It's only three episodes and set way before them. Even if I don't like the show it's disconnected enough from John's arc. But it still looks pretty good, and Gibson is sure to make it worthwhile.

[Silver Nemesis]

Here's our first look at Gibson as Cormac.

[Silver Nemesis]

[Silver Nemesis]

[thecolorsblend]

Finally watched JW4.

I don't really have any major criticisms. If I had to nitpick, I'd say it's a bit on the long side and some of the CG effects weren't entirely convincing (for example the dog). But these really are minor points. It's a very satisfying film that lived up to my expectations. This is one of the best action movie sagas of the modern age. I'm looking forward to seeing The Continental.

I agree with all of your post. But this part especially.

The closest I can come to criticizing JW4 is the runtime. It never needed to be this long. But apparently, the movie was intended to be Wick's swan song. Whether or not it actually is doesn't seem very clear at the moment. Still, IF this is his farewell tour, then I suppose I can overlook the movie's occasional self-indulgence.

As you say, the franchise doesn't take itself too seriously. But it also doesn't outright laugh at itself either. It strikes a pretty unique (and entertaining) balance of humorous moments vs. action fest moments. On that basis, being able to maintain that balance over a nearly three hour runtime is quite the achievement. Not just any filmmaking team would be able to do that.

The spinoffs don't appeal to me much. Maybe they will at some point. But I enjoy John's story and that's all I particularly want from this series. But I might check out the spinoff shows and movies at some point.

I hope future directors take inspiration from Wick's emphasis on practical stunts and effects when possible.

As to the Daredevil stuff, it's nice to know that I wasn't the only one who picked up on that. I truly thought I was just imagining things until I read your post.

[Silver Nemesis]

I'm still not sold on the idea of John Wick 5. The fact the first four films are so consistently good, and that they ended the saga on a high note, makes me wish they'd just leave it. I'm happy with the four movies we got.

Regarding the spinoffs, I watched the first episode of The Continental when it was released last year. It didn't grip me enough to watch the remaining two episodes, though I've heard the show picks up as it goes along. The main problem for me is that it introduces lots of new characters – too many, really – and throws us into the action without giving us a reason to care about anything that's happening. Compare that with the first John Wick movie, which instantly hooks the audience's sympathies by showing John lose his wife and suffer the injustice of being beaten, robbed and having his dog killed. Beginning his story on such a tragic and intimate note immediately arouses pathos and gets us on John's side. We want to see him get revenge.

By contrast, The Continental throws us into the action with characters we've never seen before, and there's no comparable dramatic hook to make us care. The action is impressive and it has a stylish look and high-quality production values similar to the main films, but the writing and storyline aren't as compelling. The only characters I felt invested in were Winston and Charon, and only then because I knew them from the movies. But the consensus seems to be that the show picks up in episode 2, so I might go back and finish it.

Did anyone watch the whole series? If so, is it worth persevering with?