John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum is the third film in the John Wick franchise which all started with Keanu Reeves getting revenge on the guys who killed his puppy, and stole his car.

In this film, after killing a crime lord on the grounds of the Continental Hotel (for assassins) in Chapter 2,  John Wick is on the run with a large bounty on his head and trying to find safety while fighting off just about every assassin from New York to Morocco. 

The first John Wick was a breath of fresh air for the action genre. It was original and entertaining, with amazingly choreographed action sequences, and it was a great comeback for Keanu Reeves. It also set up the intriguing concept of the Continental Hotel and an underground organization of assassins. Chapter 2 opted to go for the bigger kind of sequel that explores this underground world more, and chapter 3 really gets deep into its intricacies. 

Chapter 2 was entertaining, but it became a little silly when they built this assassin’s universe. Unfortunately with chapter 3, the silliness is dialed to a thousand, and it basically kills the movie. Some things are just better left as a mystery and, for me, the Continental is one of those things. In the first film, they allow you to wonder about the inner workings of this world and It feels more realistic. But in chapter 2, and especially chapter 3 the inner workings just become absurd and insanely far-fetched. The Continental and assassin world are run by “the High Table” headed by people named “the Director” and “The Adjudicator”. There are crime leaders known as “the Bowery King” and “The Tick-Tock Man”. Characters make blood oaths to do favors for other characters, and gold coins are used for currency between assassins. People are killed in plain sight in Grand Central Station and nobody bats an eye. 

John Wick walks through the desert until a Bedouin crime leader magically finds him. As this goes on, the film starts to become laughable. It takes itself so seriously that it’s hard for the viewer to take it seriously. The first film was basic in a good way. A man is out for revenge for the death of his puppy that his wife gave to him before she died. It was contained and it was on a small scale. But most importantly, there was emotion, because you cared for John wick. That’s something these sequels, and especially chapter 3, are lacking. Instead of furthering the character of John Wick, this silly universe is furthered. And besides that, it’s not special anymore when there’s an assassin on every street corner (not to mention that there’s not a single cop in this film and when every person and their great grandma is after John Wick.

The first 20 or so minutes of the film are enjoyable with some fun action sequences. The action is, once again, very well choreographed but towards the middle, for the first time, this franchise the action started to feel the same. There’s a particular scene in the second act where John Wick and his old friend Sofia (Halle Berry) are fighting henchman after henchman and it just goes on for so long. After a while it just feels like the same punches and kicks and then a gunshot and then punch, kick, gunshot all over again. But Keanu Reeves, as always, is awesome to watch. He does most of his own stunts and he’s great. It’s even fun just to hear him say “I’m gonna need guns…lots of guns”, or simply,  “yeah”. He’s a great action star and he knows how to carry a movie.

In the end it’s disappointing to see that in an age where franchises like Mission Impossible have shown that you can balance action and emotion that the john wick franchise has thrown emotion out the window in favor of a nonsensical story and action that is starting to become exhausting.