Review: Reeves makes comeback in ‘John Wick’
Keanu Reeves is back and in a very big way. Where has he been, you ask? Well, over the past four years he has been involved in such films as “Generation Um…,” “Man of Tia Chi” and “47 Ronin” which did terrible at the box office and I can honestly say I fell asleep halfway through. “John Wick” is finally the action film audience members have deserved from Reeves since his time with the “Matrix” franchise.
The film follows John Wick (Reeves) after his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan) passes away. As one final gift for Wick, Helen leaves him a puppy named Daisy so that he has something for which he can express his love. One night shortly after receiving the puppy, a group of men break into Wick’s home in an attempt to steal his mint ’69 Mustang. During the invasion, one of the men kills Daisy.
One of the men who stole the car, Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen), is the son of gang lord Viggo (Michael Nyqvist), for whom Wick used to be a hit man. Viggo meets up with his son and tells him what a foolish thing he has done and that when Wick was working for him they used to call him the boogeyman. This wasn’t because he scared people, but because he is the man you send to kill the boogeyman. The film follows Wick as he seeks revenge for the killing of his dog (that’s right, a man goes on a killing spree over the death of a dog: one of the best plot ideas ever), raising things from his past he thought he had buried once he married Helen.
The film also co-stars talent like Willem Dafoe and Adrianne Palicki, who you may recognize from “G.I. Joe” as well as her role in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” as Mockingbird.
One of the best aspects of this film were the action sequences with Reeves. He is a man who knows how to shoot a gun and almost every shot he fires hits a target. In particular the first action sequence in his home is an amazing use of space that sets Reeves’ character as an exceptional marksman as well as an amazing hand-to-hand fighter.
Another interesting aspect of the film was the introduction of a hotel in New York that caters exclusively to professional hit men and women. To get into the underground club of the hotel, you literally have to pay a golden coin.
The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously and is able to get a few laughs out of the audience as well. Overall I’d give the movie a solid A and, as a moviegoer, I am happy to see Reeves back in a solid action film. I can only hope that we may see more movies like this from him in the future.
— Jay Wolin majors in communications and started writing film reviews for Utah Statesman this semester. He loves football, movies and comic books. Send questions or comments to jacob_wolin@yahoo.com.