Ten years ago this month , John Wickhit theaters and gave Keanu Reeves a riposte for the ages . But it ’s easy to forget that the film was n’t a huge hit out of the logic gate . An $ 86 million worldwide take at the boxwood office is scarce memorable , even when deal the film ’s modest $ 20 million to $ 30 million budget . It have time for military action fans to latch on toJohn Wickwhen it had its post - theatrical release on home medium . But once they did , John Wickbecame the beginning of a franchise that is still going a decade subsequently .
To celebrate the 10th anniversary ofJohn Wick , we ’re looking back at the film itself and how it brought Witwatersrand ’ vocation back to life story after a long downward spiral following his stint inThe Matrixand its sequels .
John Wick revitalized Keanu Reeves’ career
Before we get into the plastic film itself , it ’s worth taking the time to commemorate that Keanu Reeves had lose a fortune of his whizz power in the industry . By 2014 , it had been over a decade since the third Matrix movie , The Matrix Revolutions , and Reeves had n’t had any comparable hits in that timeframe . reef still worked on a regular basis , butJohn Wickwasn’t a big - time major studio apartment spill . Everyone outside of the film assumed it would just be another low - budget activeness flick with a former whiz in the jumper cable .
Reeves also deserves credit for facilitate screenwriter Derek Kolstad reshape the character of John Wick to more closely line up with Reeves ’ on - covert persona . Excess dialogue was chop up , and the film relied on Reeves ’ face and body linguistic process to convey what he was pass through , rather than get him put forward the obvious out loud . That give out a long way toward piss the interview experience like they know John , because he seemed so exchangeable to Reeves .
The title character is immediately compelling
John starts in a very human place at the beginning of the film , and the audience meets him while he ’s aggrieve the death of his wife , Helen ( Bridget Moynahan ) . Before she died , Helen set up for John to be gifted with a pup he could take care of , and he accepted that hot dog into his heart . But in no time at all , Russian mobsters break into John ’s home , steal his car , and murder his pup before leaving him for deadened .
Unlike the immense absolute majority of moviegoers , John did n’t need to search embossment from the police force . As a former assassin , he recovered from his injuries and set out on a fucking route of revenge . Ironically , John ’s desire to revenge himself and his dog vibrate with moviegoer and proved to be more interesting than simply avenging his wife , as so many action heroes had done before .
The action is incredible
by from Reeves ’ performance as the title character , the freehanded hooking ofJohn Wickis its action . Former stuntmen Chad Stahelski and David Leitch co - directedJohn Wick , although only Stahelski was credit due to DGA rules . Regardless , Stahelski and Leitch make for an understanding of activity that the Michael Bay school of filmmaker lack . They did n’t rely on quick cuts or incomprehensible editing to convey legal action . Their focus was on longer takes and well - choreographed fights .
Even the gunplay ofJohn Wickfeatured stylized legal action that split up it from the films that come before it . OnceJohn Wickwas discovered by action sports fan , they embraced its unparalleled touch modality which were pushed even further in the sequels .
John Wick takes the time to create its own underworld
Compared to the films that came after it , John Wickis distinctly set in something that resembles our reality . This was longsighted before audiences learned about the High Table and the arcane rules of this world of assassins . Having said that , John Wicksets the table — so to speak — for all of those things by introducing The Continental hotel , which is an oasis for killers and criminals to drift freely without fear of force .
This moving-picture show also break that the currency of the underworld is n’t stringently Johnny Cash . Instead , it revolves around gold coin that are worth more than mere money , and they can buy access to The Continental among other services that ca n’t be de jure acquired .
The supporting cast gives great performances
There are two scenes in the film where case slap the taste out of the mouth of Iosef Tarasov ( Alfie Allen ) for being stupid enough to attack John Wick , steal his car , and shoot his dog . John Leguizamo ’s Aurelio does it , and he ’s soon come after by Iosef ’s forefather , Viggo Tarasov ( Michael Nyqvist ) . The reason why those scenes are so effective is that they set up the mythology of John Wick himself , as expressly laid out by Viggo . Without any flashbacks , the hearing get a line that John was one of the most feared assassins in the underworld . The support players hype up John for the audience before the picture shows what he ’s capable of doing .
Two of the other supporting characters , Winston ( Ian McShane ) and Charon ( Lance Reddick ) , were so memorable that they ’ve been in every sequel to date . McShane in special commands the concealment as Winston , and he adds a lot of relish to the movie . Willem Dafoe and Adrianne Palicki also have great turns as Marcus and Ms. Perkins , respectively . They helped flesh out this world and they gave Reeves intriguing characters to meet against .
It wasn’t intended to be a franchise
Three sequels andone TV miniserieslater — with a spinoff movie , Ballerina , to get — it ’s prosperous to bury thatJohn Wickwas a standalone pic . It did n’t end on a cliffhanger like the second and third films . Instead , John ’s account is finished when he last suffer his retaliation , as well as a new reason to keep on animation . That was John ’s happy finish .
Of course , onceJohn Wickbecame wildly successful in its home release , plans were run up for more movies and the rest , as they say , is history . Even thoughJohn Wick : Chapter 4went out of its manner to seemingly end the write up once and for all , there ’s still lecture about a potentialJohn taper : Chapter 5 . Sometimes , Hollywood just does n’t know how to let a enfranchisement go and wo n’t let characters achieve their conclusions . It ’s the kind of thinking that experience usThe Matrix Resurrections , another Reeves action enfranchisement that lose good deal of what made the movies before it so entertaining .
amazingly , John Wickisn’t presently on any of the major streaming services , but that should change as we get near toBallerina‘s discharge next year . And yes , Reeves has already filmed his cameo show for that movie .
Rent or buyJohn WickonPrime Video .
