John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum: Film Review
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Asia Kate Dillon, Anjelica HustonDirector: Chad Stahelski
Keanu's back picking up his besuited assassin John Wick just moments after the end of John Wick 2, where he was declared excommunicado and a multi-million dollar bounty placed on his head.
With everyone apparently after him, Wick has to try and clear his name, and set the record straight as he deals with the consequences to his actions...
For the first half of the film, John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum is a taut, inventive brawler that finds new ways to breathe life into the genre.
Its commitment to bone-crunching beat downs delivered with tightly choreographed almost balletic fights are visually and kinetically thrilling.
But when the film tries to incorporate a mystical and mysterious edge, striving to flesh out the nefarious High Table organisation, it wallows in its pomposity, much to the detriment of why Wick worked before - a man on the run, or a man desperate to get out. It meanders when it should be sleek, and goes for lazy gunplay in one elongated section, when stripped back offers more pleasure.
In fact the fleshing out of the universe is almost criminal, a wider context not needed within the framework of why these films work.
Add to that a need to throw in some comedy with potential assassins turning out to be fans of Wick and the film testers dangerously into unwarranted self-knowing, winking territory .
It’s fatal to the vibe that’s gone previously and does little to stop the script dipping into campy one liners and dialogue delivery.
Reeves however excels, his Wick looking beaten, fragile and trapped when needed- but reeves digs deep to allow Wick the physical and emotional heft to fight back.
John Wick: Chaper 3 - Parabellum isn’t a full disaster. It’s a film of two halves and those involved in future elements would be wise to step back, regroup and reassess why the series was working and to build on those foundations, and stick to the basics, rather than trying to flesh it all out.
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