John Wick is one of the most celebrated action movies of the past decade, yet – 10 years on – some aspects of the movie hold up better than others.
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On release in 2014, John Wick was understandably hailed as a game-changer for the action genre. The combination of Keanu Reeves’ brooding antihero and stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski’s work behind the camera was a winning formula that kick-started one of the most successful genre franchises of the past decade. In one swoop, John Wick introduced a complex mythology, created an action icon, and set trends that lesser imitators would try and fail to replicate. Rewatching the movie 10 years later, however, it becomes clear that John Wick has its flaws.
While there’s no denying that the movie revitalized a flagging genre, some aspects of John Wick hold up better than others. Whether it’s story elements that don’t quite stand up to scrutiny or characters who fall flat, the movie is an elegant but imperfect mid-budget success story. The success of future John Wick movies has undoubtedly cemented the original’s status as an action gem, with the franchise’s enduring legacy highlighting the first film’s successful blueprint. But, taken in isolation, there are some home truths about John Wick that even die-hard fans must acknowledge.
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With 10 years of hindsight, it’s difficult to picture the action landscape of 2014. The success of John Wick and its sequels has completely transformed the genre, placing greater emphasis on expertly choreographed set-pieces and stylized action. However, even though John Wick was the catalyst for this revolution, the sad truth is that the first movie is actually the weakest in the series.
Movie
Rotten Tomatoes Score
Box Office
John Wick
86%
$86 million
John Wick: Chapter 2
89%
$174.3 million
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
89%
$327.7 million
John Wick: Chapter 4
94%
$440.1 million
A comparison of critical analysis reveals that John Wick has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score – sitting at a still-impressive 86%. This is reflected in the movie’s box office, netting just $86 million compared to the huge success of later films. It also tells a much more linear, less ambitious story – only teasing the aspects of the franchise’s universe that make the following movies so beguiling. This is not to say John Wick is a failure – it would not have started such an enduring franchise if it was actively bad. Nevertheless, compared to the mouthwatering sequels, John Wick is a pleasantly tasty first course.
9It Takes Longer Than You Think For The Action To Start
Understandably, the unique selling point of John Wick as a movie and a franchise is its action. Certainly, John Wick has its share of explosive set pieces – the nightclub sequence proving to be a particular highlight. However, it’s easy to forget that it takes quite some time for the action to start in earnest.
It’s a full 25 minutes before John takes a sledgehammer to his basement floor, finally reentering the world he swore to leave behind. It’s true that this delay helps to establish his character and builds suspense for the audience. However, it’s also a little frustrating given the real point of the movie is the carnage to come, rather than the extended build-up.
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Given what happens to him and how he is persuaded to reenter the seedy world of Continental life, it’s easy to forget that John Wick is not a traditional hero. At his core, the character remains a hired hitman who for years was at the beck and call of some of the most nefarious people in the criminal underworld. Although he kills many of them throughout the movie, his motivations are fundamentally selfish. As a result, he is not the charismatic protagonist many fans fondly remember.
He also appears substantially more unhinged in this movie than in later entries. When he confronts Viggo after being momentarily captured, he becomes a genuinely terrifying figure, pledging that the mobster can either hand over his son or “die screaming alongside him“. This moment is a stark reminder that in the world of John Wick, everyone has darkness in them.
7The John Wick Franchise Wasted Willem Dafoe
As the John Wick series continues, the movies increasingly rely on the strength of their supporting casts. Ian MacShane’s Winston, Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King, and Donnie Yen’s Caine are all iconic, helping the story expand with every new entry. However, while the franchise has demonstrated an ability to let such high-profile performers shine, one star who is somewhat let down by the material is Willem Dafoe.
In John Wick, Dafoe plays Marcus – an expert sniper and old friend of John. While later acquaintances, such as Halle Berry’s Sofia, are given proper backstories and character development, Marcus simply shows up as a deus ex machina plot device to save John when the situation gets out of hand. He is then tortured to death by Viggo to abruptly end any chance of a growing role in the franchise, wasting a character and actor who could have augmented subsequent movies.
6John Should Never Have Lost His Car And Dog
As all four John Wick movies have made abundantly clear, John Wick is very good at killing people. Not only is Baba Yaga capable of implementing all sorts of unusual tools in his wanton dance of destruction, but he is shown to be nearly invulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. His ability to take on multiple attackers at once demonstrates that he is highly trained and extremely capable in almost any situation.
Given his razor-sharp senses and ability to anticipate and avoid attacks with ease, it is surprising that Iosef and his crew of thugs are able to beat John so comprehensively in the movie’s opening act. Clearly, John is taken by surprise. However, given his copious skills, it is inconceivable that he wouldn’t be able to sense something was wrong. He might have been rusty following years of inactivity, but his prowess throughout the rest of the movie makes John Wick‘s initial attack seem fairly unbelievable.
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Like many beloved action heroes, John Wick has never been the most loquacious protagonist. In stark contrast to the quippy stars of yesteryear, Wick’s responses are decidedly monotonous – amplifying Keanu Reeves’ natural strengths as an actor in much the same way as The Terminator used a perfectly-cast Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, after 10 years and three sequels, it’s clear from a John Wick rewatch that he’s actually at his most communicative in the first movie, to the character’s detriment.
Despite being the shortest movie in the series, Reeves speaks 484 words in John Wick – the second-most in the franchise. Aside from the aforementioned “I’m back” speech, much of his limited dialogue is used to provide context and texture to his character. Yet compared to the economy of later movies (John Wick 4 contains just 384 words), he is unusually chatty. Ironically, this actually makes him seem less aloof, calculating, and cold, while the rest of the series demonstrates that talking just gets in the way of his true skill set.
4Mrs Perkins Is A Poor Supporting Villain
As important as the rich supporting characters that populate the continental are the John Wick series’ villains. While the main antagonists are usually the most verbose and flamboyant characters in the movie (see Santino D’Antonio and Zero), more minor villains can be just as memorable with less material to work with. A perfect example is Ruby Rose’s Ares – Santino’s mute enforcer.
…breaking Continental rules is one of the most serious offences it’s possible to commit, yet Perkins does it almost without a second thought
The wealth of great supporting villains throughout the series unfortunately highlights the shortcomings of Adrianne Palicki’s Mrs. Perkins. Not only is she one of John Wick‘s least memorable characters, but her motivations throughout the movie raise serious questions. As subsequent Wick movies establish, breaking Continental rules is one of the most serious offenses it’s possible to commit, yet Perkins does it almost without a second thought. Not only is the character one of the franchise’s weakest villains, but her arc seems inconsistent with the rest of the series.
3The Final Fight Is A Let-Down
John Wick is correctly recognized as one of the most innovative action movies ever, with its so-called “gun-fu” fight sequences genuinely breathtaking. Hand-to-hand combat feels consistently visceral, while John Wick’s skills allow him to dispatch multiple enemies with ease in many elaborate ways. Given this, there’s no denying that Wick’s final fight with Viggo feels somewhat anticlimactic.
After spending the best part of two hours dispatching dozens of trained henchmen, watching John Wick struggle to punch an old Russian man in the rain is inevitably not the crescendo the rest of the action deserves. It’s also dubious that he would struggle to beat Viggo, given how easily he overcomes other, presumably better-trained opponents throughout the film. Later movies strengthen this argument, with Parabellum seeing Wick triumph in a two-on-one against some of the best fighters in the business. His last Viggo battle is therefore not just a damp squib, but inconsistent with the rest of the franchise.
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The true secret of John Wick‘s success is in its intricate and multi-faceted world-building. While John’s revenge arc was the emotional heart of the story, the peek into the world of the Continental is what allowed the movie to begin a franchise – one that now includes several Wick-less spinoffs. However, while the world continues to be filled out, The Continental’s presentation in John Wick feels tantalizingly incomplete.
In many ways, this approach is deliberate. Characters like Winston and Charon are given just enough detail to pull the audience in, while the Continental itself is certainly a believable setting for a clandestine society of assassins. Yet there’s no doubt that all the extra detail provided by the sequels not only builds the world of John Wick, but retrospectively makes the original movie’s version of the hotel feel increasingly insubstantial. The franchise was certainly right to keep exploring the Continental, but an inevitable consequence is that John Wick‘s version is a sketch instead of the full picture.
1John Wick Kills Less People Than You Remember
John Wick is one of the most accomplished and bloodthirsty killers in movie history. Amazingly, the total kill count for the John Wick series sits at 439 – an impressive tally by any measure. Despite this overall statistic, however, it’s clear on reflection that John Wick hadn’t really hit his stride in the first movie.
Movie
Total Kills
John Wick
77
John Wick: Chapter 2
128
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
94
John Wick: Chapter 4
140
Compared to later figures, John’s John Wick kill count sits at a fairly measly 77. This makes it by far the lowest number of kills for any movie in the series. In some ways, this is unsurprising. It makes sense for the action to increasingly ramp up as the franchise develops, culminating in John Wick4‘s nearly three-hour bloodbath. Nevertheless, it’s easy to forget after the action of the sequels that John Wick itself is not as deadly as the other movies.
