Jeri
Jacquin
Coming to
theatres this Friday from director Chad Stahelski and Lionsgate Is the next
installment on the journey of JOHN WICK: Chapter 3 - Parabellum.
Wick
(Keanu Reeves) is still on the run especially now since it has been declared
that he is 'excommunicado' for killing a man at the Continental - major
boo-boo. Basically it means that all the dogs are off their leashes with a W$14
million dollar bounty and no rest anytime soon for him.
Those he
has relied on now tread carefully because the Table has sent The Adjudicator
(Asia Kate Dillon) to punish anyone who has helped Wick to this point. Her
first task is to sentence Winston (Ian McShane), Bowery King (Laurence
Fishburne) and The Director (Angelica Huston).
Wick
knows he has only one chance, to find The Elder (Said Taghmaoul) to ask how he
can make this all stop. The one person who can make the meeting happen is
Sophia (Halle Berry
Making a
deal with the devil, as it were, Wick returns to The Continental where an all
out war is declared.
Reeves as
Wick has most definitely made sure no one else could possible take his place.
He is still broody, still soft spoken and can still give a killer glare that
gives nothing away. Oh, and one more thing, he can still make my heart
flip-flop in that funny exciting way. What he also does is bring sympathy to a
character we should all probably be afraid of!
McShane
returns as Winston, the manager of The Continental who has a flare for words,
for the finer things in life and has an elegant way of letting who ever know
that he is going no where. His affinity for Wick is obvious but there is also a
sneakiness about him that makes me give him side eye constantly. Well done!
Fishburne
as the Bowery King is a rougher version of Winston running his bowery as he
sees fit. He regrets nothing and is always looking at the bigger picture - that
is his saving grace. Fishburne still has it and Wick should be glad he does.
Huston as
The Director knows that even though there is an excommunicado order, there is
one thing higher than that even if The Table doesn't want to acknowledge it. I
just love when Huston plays roles like this because she is a tough broad and I
love it.
Dacascos
as Zero, aka the Iron Chef Chairman, is fantastic! From the moment his
character hits the screen to the very last frame he brings martial arts and
twisted humor to the film. Taghmaoul as The Elder brings his own brand of
justice and a plan for Wick to stop all the madness.
A serious
shout out to Dillion as The Adjudicator and let me tell you why. I have NEVER
heard outcries throughout a film when one character shows up on a screen. I'll
admit I was one of them yelling at the screen toward this cold hearted
character who felt she was above everything and untouchable. When a room full
of people react the same way to a character then listen because 1,000 people
can't be wrong!
Thumbs up
to Yayan Ruhian as Mad Dog, Cecep Arif Rahman as The Assassin and Man of Tai
Chi as Tiger Hu Chen for taking on the Baba Yaga with admiration and humor and,
of course, sweeping martial arts moves and guts for taking on the boogeyman!
Other
cast include Jerome Flynn as Berrada, Randall Duk Kim as Doctor, Margaret Daley
as Operator, Tobias Segal as Earl, Obin Lord Taylor as Administrator, Susan
Blommaert as Librarian, Jason Mantzoukas as Tick Tock Man, Sergio Delavicci as
Ruska Roma, and Boban Marjanovic as Ernest.
Lets be
honest here, anyone who loves the JOHN WICK franchise won't need me to say
anything to convince them to see the film. But let’s pretend there are those
who haven't seen any of the films or even know who John Wick is, wait, what?
Sorry,
had to shake off that thought because seriously it is almost incomprehensible
to the Keanu Reeves warm and fuzzy side of my brain. Moving onward!
From the
first five seconds of the film until the last five seconds of the film I think
blinking didn't much happen for me. There is little downtime and since John
Wick doesn't get any, then WE don't get any either. This is a ride we take with
him and the filmmaker made damn sure we are exhausted by the end - or are we?
Audience
participation in films can go between being a good or irritating thing. Let me
tell you in the case of JOHN WICK it is almost an involuntary reflex. The
gasps, the shock, the wicked (pardon the semi-pun) humor, the action, the
story, the cinematography that are happening on screen create the shouting at
the screen from the audience.
During
this screening I heard shouting, applause, cheering, guttural reactions of
groaning, hostility, actual hissing and a theatre full of people rooting for a
different kind of super-hero. I can not even count how many times The
Adjudicator was a target of audience wanna-be verbal assassins. People in front
of me were jumping, the gentleman beside me was constantly fist pumping with a
'yesssssssssssss' and comments behind me ranged from 'they don't know who
they're dealing with' to 'ouch - that's gonna leave a mark'.
We were
in unison with cheering, applause and groans which makes JOHN WICK: Chapter 3 -
Parabellum a group experience. This is the reason we go to the movies (at least
a lot of us anyway), to be transported, entertained and walk out of the theatre
alive and full of conversation that is going to last for days.
Personally,
I was completely exhausted not even realizing how much this film was slowly
draining me. Yes, yes, I realize it is Reeves and the cast who worked their
collective asses off to bring the story to the screen so let it be known that
they drained every bit of everything out of this viewer.
That
being said it should also be stated that I may be personally exhausted but
after spending two glorious hours in the dark with John Wick aka Keanu Reeves,
I'd gladly do it again, and again….and again.
In the
end - if you want peace then prepare for war!
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