JOHN WICK: Predictable bullet spray fest!

It’s a film that makes no pretences about what it wants to offer. It’s right there in your face, it’s loud, it’s clear and it’s fast. But does that necessarily mean it’s good? John Wick falls into that category of highly predictable revenge flicks where the protagonist keeps shooting, and shoting and shooting until there is no one left to kill. The only way to save such a movie is with good characterization and some imagination in the confrontations and styling. John Wick succeeds in this to an extent.

John Wick has a past! He wants to get rid of it, but it won’t let him go. As a character says in the latter part of the film, ‘we are all cursed’! His past catches up with him in the most unlikeliest of manners, and then we are introduced to the real John Wick. He is the guy who can send a shiver down the spine of the mob boss, his name can make big time gangsters skip a heartbeat, blah blah blah. It is the sort of thing that is called ‘build up’ in Tamil films. It is cheesy, it is a guilty pleasure (because they are building up Keeanu Reevs), and it is a bit of fun. Really, it is just an ‘intro song’ short of being a typical entry for a Tamil hero.

As mentioned before, there is nothing really unpredictable about the plot. You know the protagonist will eventually have his revenge, you know everyone will be shot down. The only surprises come somewhere in the middle when some characters  turn foes or friends out of the blue. The other thing that manages to keep you mildly interested in the proceedings is the way they don’t let you forget how deadly John Wick is. The keep injecting small doses of ‘build up’ here and there so that you don’t forget. And to confess, it is quite neatly done. The block letter sized ‘subtitles’ for some Russian dialogues which talk about The Boogeyman and stuff are interesting just because they are not something we get to see usually. And importantly, the dialogues are fun at many points, and even the peripheral characters are stylishly set up, like the ‘catch and release’ guy who is eventually ‘found by housekeeping’. The most interesting part comes after you think the film has actually ended. The protagonist has had his revenge, so what else is left? Well, there is a bit extra left in the script and that is the only part you don’t see coming. All other parts, you can see like a truck with its headlights on.

What makes John Wick likeable or bearable is that the momentum is never lost. The action is razor sharp, the fisticuffs look very real, and the gunfights are deft. The only time you can harp about the action is the confrontation in the ‘safe house’. That was to easy, even for John Wick! But its pardonable, because Keeanu Reeves is good at this sort of thing. The makerrs, I beleive, briefly toyed with the idea of making a 'noir', but realized that they neede to be slower, darker and more deliberate. They chose the easier, fun way.

Highly predictable, but mildly enjoyable!

2/5