Every "John Wick" Movie, Reviewed Briefly

Spoilers for every film in the series of guns, dogs, more guns, headshots, lots of guns, brutal hand-to-hand combat, and did I mention guns?

John Wick (2014)

This film almost didn't get made, and barely got into theaters—Keanu Reeves had to pay for some of the movie out of his own pocket. But when it's an action movie directed by a pair of stuntmen, and headed by an actor who can do his own action incredibly well, you know it's going to be simple, direct, and punchy. John Wick tells the story of a man so adept at killing, he can do little else. When his only hold on normal life is taken from him, he snaps. The Boogeyman is out there and he's coming for you. The action, cinematography, and music are top-notch, and make this feel like a far more expensive film than it is.

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

Chapter 2 is a step-up from the first movie, both in production value and in the action itself. The plot is also a wonderful piece of writing, streamlined yet full of intrigue and complexity. Keanu also got much better with guns for this one, going from "competent and experienced" to "absolutely freaking lethal" under the guidance of Teran Butler. Epic shootouts, desperate man-versus-man struggles, and a full fight scene using a car as a weapon cement this film as one of the best action flicks, or, heck, movies in general, I've ever seen. In my opinion this is also the most realistic of the series, save for a ridiculous scene where John and another assassin shoot at each other with suppressors in a crowded train station and no one notices.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

Wick is now on the run, and the entire might of the criminal underworld of our planet is coming for him. With increasing intensity, our hero must evade and eliminate dozens of assassins out for his blood with guns, knives, swords, bare hands, horses, and a sturdy library book.

Plotwise I think Parabellum is not quite as good as the second film, but the action is even better, making this possibly my favorite of the first three. It's a bit more farfetched, featuring fights on horseback and a ninja faceoff in a glass house, but those things are awesome. It also sports perhaps the best knife fight I've ever seen in a film.

John Wick: Chapter 4

After falling off the roof of the Continental at the end of the third film, Wick has spent an unspecified time recovering under the care of the New York underground ring. He continues his all-out war on the High Table organization before challenging the Marquis de Gramont to single combat in a final gambit for his freedom.

Unfortunately, if he doesn't show up on time for the duel, he'll be executed, so it's awfully inconvenient when dozens of goons, after the steadily increasing bounty on his head, keep trying to kill him on his way there. Not to be deterred, he absolutely massacres wave after wave of assassins amid traffic, back alleys, and an apartment under remodel, where Wick blasts his attackers with a flame-spewing semiautomatic shotgun to the tune of various amazing songs (including two from the club scene in the first movie).