John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum Review
Later this week John Wick Chapter 4 hits theaters that means we are in my last week of my review series. And that means today we are talking about John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum. How is this movie? How does it compare to the previous two movies? Those are the questions we are answering today, let’s get started!
The Good:
And as this is a John Wick movie you have to talk about the action. And wow…the action in this movie is fantastic. This is probably the best action of the entire franchise so far, where Chad Stahelski and his team nail it every single time but with this movie they took it to the next level. There are several sequences in this movie where I don’t know how they filmed it. I don’t know what techniques they used to film these sequences but they look fantastic. You get John Wick doing a motorcycle chase through the city while he’s battling ninjas with swords. I mean that’s so crazy, and it’s done in a way where you can see everything that is happening. Everything is shot with wide angels so you can see that Keanu Reeves is actually doing these fight scenes. And each sequence has something about it that makes you unique and different from the other ones. So no two sequences feel the same as you are watching them. Some action scenes have dogs being very involved with certain sequences. Horses get involved in the beginning of the movie. So no matter what action scene you are talking about it’s very exciting to watch. And another thing with the action, it’s more bloody. There are several more points in time where you wince with John Wick breaking a guy’s neck using a book. Or dogs biting people’s balls through-out the movie.
Another thing this movie gets right is that it just builds tension and the sense of urgency through-out the entire film. Where John Wick Chapter 2 ends with him on the run from almost everybody in New York City. And the first 25-30 minutes of this movie is John Wick trying to escape New York City. And you have a literal ticking clock in this movie that helps keep this sense of forward momentum through-out that sequence. But through-out the whole movie you have a ticking clock as John Wick goes off on this adventure. In a lot of ways this was the most exciting and the most thrilling of the John Wick movies.
And as I’ve said through-out this review series, these movies all have great world building in them. And with this movie, we get more of that. This movie expands the world of John Wick rather well. We learn about different fractions going on in this world. We learn about this group of ballerinas, and that part of the world is going to be very important. As it’s getting a spin off starring Ana de Armas and they started filming last fall. And this is very much a global movie, John Wick goes to different continents through-out the film. So it just makes the world feel a lot bigger.
Another positive here is that once again…the cast is fantastic. By this point in the franchise you get a bunch of people returning such as Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, and Lance Reddick and all of them are very solid in this movie. All of them know how to play these characters right and really well. Keanu Reeve is just one of the great action movie stars of all time. He’s so great in the action, and is just as great as John Wick himself. Ian McShane’s character is very involved with the plot of the movie. He’s more front and center, as opposed to the other times he was more of a side character. And then you get the additions of Halle Berry, Mark Dacascos, Anjelica Huston, and Asia Kate Dillion. And all of them I thought were nice additions to the movie that added something about them that stood out to me.
Finally, I thought this movie did a nice job of setting up John Wick Chapter 4. It ends on a cliffhanger that makes you want to see the next chapter in this franchise. And I know some people didn’t like where they ended the movie because it felt unsatisfying. I thought it was satisfying enough for this movie. And I didn’t mind the ending all that much, it left plenty of room open for more movies in this franchise.
The Bad:
The big thing here is that about half way through the movie, John Wick gets a new suit. And that new suit is bullet proof. And in this type of movie, I don’t think having a bulletproof suit is the direction to take things. I think having a bulletproof suit takes away some of the tenseness of the action. And when they are doing a grounded street level and brutal action movie, I don’t think having a bulletproof suit is a good idea. It’s not a big issue but it is something that I noticed and bothered while watching the film.
Another issue with this movie is that the middle act of the movie drags a good bit. The first act is basically John Wick trying to escape New York City. And in the middle act is when he meets Halle Berry’s character and that kind of stuff dragged for me. Basically I think the first act is pretty great, some of the best stuff of the franchise. And then the third act has some very cool action and is exciting. And while the middle act has some cool action, that was the weakest act in my mind.
Final Thoughts: John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum is another very solid addition to the franchise. And for me, this is one of the better ones. I loved the action, this is the best action of the franchise in my mind. The movie also has great tension, world building, cast, and set-up for future movies. So I know several people view this as one of the weak points for the franchise, so I dig this movie. I think this is a very good movie.
The Score: 8.8/10 (B+)
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