What makes “john wick” work so well? By Amery Atinon (G11) The movie franchise “John Wick” has been described by critics as one of the best action films ever produced. The experience of seeing Keanu Reeves’s character, the eponymous assassin, in violent action scenes against people who have wronged him is simply unmatched by anything else. On the surface, however, it seems that nothing really separates “John Wick” from the thousands of other mindless action films. It is very clear, though, that Chad Stahelski, Keanu’s former stunt double, and David Leitch, the directors of all three installments, have done something very well in creating their masterpiece. Through its subtle worldbuilding, mysterious characters, and expertly done fight scenes, ‘John Wick’ became a franchise rivalling the greatest movies ever made. This review does not contain spoilers.
Worldbuilding Without Words Typical stories create their worlds by having a character who is the stand-in for the audience or through flashbacks. “John Wick” does both, but strays far from other films in its subtlety. An “audience surrogate” is a character in the film who experiences events that give the viewer context behind what the story is truly about. In the original “Star Wars” trilogy, Luke Skywalker’s point of view in the story gives the audience clues about George Lucas’ envisioned world. His adventures show the power struggle between the Rebels and the Empire.
In ‘John Wick,’ the Boogeyman himself, John Wick, acts as the audience surrogate. Despite this, he does not speak to the audience to explain exposition; his actions, such as giving a police officer a gold coin as hush money, show that he is part of a system where respected “criminals” are allowed impunity. The franchise is a prime example of “Show, don’t tell,” due to its effective low-key way of telling a story. More than worldbuilding, the “John Wick” series is able to create subtle, yet interesting, exposition. Over the entire three movies, there is only one major flashback which involves John and his wife. Right before his wife died of a terminal illness, she arranged a dog to be given to John Wick as somewhat of a surrogate of her. When, as a major plot point for the first film, Russian gangsters murder that dog, viewers would remember the flashbacks, making the action of the villains a lot more impactful and gives a motivation for John Wick’s actions throughout the rest of the film.
As a heavy neo-noir film akin to “Sin City,” the creators of “John Wick” must have realized the importance of worldbuilding without words.
Simple, Yet Memorable, Characters The franchise’s characters are not exactly complex. A lot of them can be summed up in a single thought or idea, yet this simplicity can also create some of the most memorable characters. The secondary villain of the first movie is Iosef Tarasov, played by Alfie Allen. His entire character can be summarized as a rich mobster kid. He is the one who killed John Wick’s dog over a minor dispute. Given the popularity of dogs, killing one, especially in today’s society, is a despicable and outrageous move. This simple act is pretty jarring to the viewer, which helps the viewer remember Tarasov more vividly.
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