Review: John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum

Picking up immediately from “Chapter 2”, uber-efficient underworld assassin John Wick (an unflappable Keanu Reeves) is branded ‘excommunicado’ for committing murder on Continental grounds. He’s forced to go on the run from all manner of killers wanting to collect the pricey bounty on his head, and with precious few contacts willing to break rules and provide him sanctuary. Long-time friend and associate Winston (Ian McShane, who only gets better with age) for instance, only gave him a 2 hour head-start before executing the excommunication order. Laurence Fishburne and Lance Reddick also return as the Bowery King and the Continental’s concierge, respectively. New to the game here are a rogue’s gallery of eccentric underworld figures; Asia Kate Dillon is the icy and impatient ‘Adjudicator’ who suspects Winston, the Bowery King, and Wick’s Belarusian mentor (Anjelica Huston’s ‘The Director’) of bending the rules for Wick’s benefit. Mark Dacascos is chief villain Zero, a deadly sushi chef who has a whole team of ninja assassins, and whose services are enlisted by The Adjudicator. He’s also kind of a loopy admirer of Wick’s, and seemingly can’t wait for the opportunity to throw down with Wick. At one point Wick ventures to Casablanca to enlist the aid of a former acquaintance named Sofia (Halle Berry) who has a pack of vicious dogs and a very disagreeable disposition towards Wick’s re-emergence in her life. Also in Casablanca are underworld eccentrics The Elder (Said Taghmaoui) and unhelpful mobster Berrada (Jerome Flynn, of “Game of Thrones”).

 

The highlight of the “John Wick” franchise, this sometimes hilarious, kick-arse 2019 film from director Chad Stahelski (the director of the first two films) is the film I wish the bloated “Raid 2” had been. I liked the first two films quite a bit, but Stahelski and his cast and crew have outdone themselves big-time here. In fact, Reeves and former stunt man Stahelski as a director-star combo remind me a bit of Scott Adkins and Isaac Florentine on the first two “Undisputed” sequels in terms of their ability to best frame and orchestrate the action scenes. I was actually a bit worried, given I wasn’t sure the series needed a film that was even longer than the first two, let alone that it features four credited writers, and Halle ‘Hit and Miss’ Berry in the cast.

 

From the very first moment, the lighting and cinematography by Dan Laustsen (“Brotherhood of the Wolf”, “Crimson Peak”) is stellar. It’s a very colourful film in both look and character. I really like the worldview of this series, it’s quirky and colourful without being so overdone and outlandish that it feels like it takes place on an alien planet. I can’t say the film quite manages to properly fit in all of its many quirky underworld characters, as Laurence Fishburne is probably a little underused and although fun, I don’t think Robin Lord Taylor’s pierced and tattooed administrator needs to be here. I also must admit the very mannered and wooden Asia Kate Dillon didn’t do much for me as the bitchy Eva Green-wannabe ‘Adjudicator’. The film already has a enough villainy, and Dillon is just irritating. Otherwise though, I really do like visiting the characters and strange vigilante underworld here. Hell, underused or not Mr. Fishburne has presence that is frankly unequalled, and Ian McShane is always great value (in a larger role). I was also glad to see Said Taghmaoui, a French-born actor to Moroccan parents hanging out in the Casablanca desert, because the Moroccan stretch of the film was seemingly lacking in…er…Moroccan people.

 

Early on we get a very funny fight in a library with a Richard Kiel-type that does not display proper library etiquette, and will freak out bibliophiles the world over. Humour and quirkiness really do help here, given how ridiculous – and how violent – this stuff is. I mean, you have to laugh at Wick getting all stabby at a bunch of Asian thugs and hearing all those squishy sounds…it’s violent yes, but also a weird mixture of cool and absurdly funny at the same time. It’s merciless and brutal, but darkly funny. Speaking of absurd, there’s an hilarious horse vs. motorbikes chase as well. When Anjelica Huston of all people turns up as a Belarusian ballet director and underworld figure who informs the audience that John Wick is actually of Belarusian stock himself, you know this ain’t shootin’ straight exactly. It’s a lark. I know some will say Huston deserves better than something like this, but her character also runs a judo school, so I was too busy having a kick-arse time to care that Anjelica Huston was turning up in vigilante movie sequels. Besides, the woman has undeniable presence, and is every bit as imposing as some of the men here. Also helping here is that the plot dictates Wick be on the run from moment one, giving the film a pulse and a sense of urgency throughout. We assume Wick will be fine because he’s a seemingly unkillable, highly efficient assassin, but keeping things on the move is pretty important for an action movie, especially one that’s around two hours in length. “The Raid 2” felt every bit a drawn-out 2 hour film, whereas this one moves so quick so frequently that you don’t have time to look at your watch (Shut up, some people still wear watches surely…) If the library scene isn’t ricockulous enough for you, we also get a marvellous bit where Wick crash tackles two people on separate motorbikes, bashes one with their own helmet, and then just throws it at the other.

 

I was a bit worried when I saw Halle Berry’s name attached to this film, as I think she’s a very uneven actress. I shouldn’t have worried, as the action genre is more to her strengths than anything else, really. Yeah, there’s “Catwoman” and “Swordfish”, but she was a decent enough Bond Girl, and here she gives her best performance in an action movie to date. I’m not overly keen on the treatment of dogs in these films, but at least this one has the dogs dishing out a lot of the violence themselves and they make for nastily funny action movie sidekicks. Our main villain here is played by martial-arts actor and American “Iron Chef” host Mark Dacascos, a most underrated actor in my opinion. Wasted playing a dopey part on a reality TV cooking show for several years, he has never been given his due by Hollywood (although he did marry Madeline from “The Wonder Years”, the lucky bastard!), never finding that breakout action role. In my view he’s good enough to have deserved such a vehicle, much like Scott Adkins should’ve been a star by now. “Drive” (not the Ryan Gosling film) and “Crying Freeman” should’ve done the trick for Dacascos, but not enough people saw them. He doesn’t disappoint here, giving a sometimes quite batty performance as a man who both admires and wants to defeat Wick. Oh, and his front? As a sushi chef, of course. Clever. His army of ninja-like assassins (“The Raid” co-star/choreographer Yayan Ruhian among them) deliver truly outstanding stabby-kick-y stuff, along with Dacascos himself. They are extremely efficient and proficient like Wick, which you know is going to lead to one heck of a showdown at the finale. And what a finale. What layers of action it has. Starting with a kind of “Assault on Precinct 13” or “Rio Bravo” vibe, we then move to an even more enjoyable “Enter the Dragon”-esque set piece in a room full of glass panels. It’s outstanding as Wick takes on Dacascos and his henchmen, where the talented (yet diminutive) Yayan Ruhian finally gets to show off a bit. It’s not a lot, but he certainly gets more to do than in “The Force Awakens”, that’s for damn sure. The final boss fight has you realising that “Game of Death” was likely the inspiration for the finale, and Dacascos proves to be the series’ best villain and gives his best showing ever.

 

This sort of over-the-top, unkillable action hero stuff isn’t easy to pull off, and won’t be to all tastes. However, for me Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves are 3-0, and this one’s the best yet. We get an obvious set up for a fourth film. I’m not sure we need any more of these films, but given how good they’ve all been, I’d much rather see another one of these than another “Matrix” movie to be honest. Wildly entertaining from start until finish. The screenplay is by Derek Kolstad (the first two films), Shay Hatten (a debutant), Chris Collins (a writer-producer for “Sons of Anarchy”), and Marc Abrams (a writer-producer for TV like “The Bernie Mac Show” and “Entourage”).

 

Rating: B