I just saw John Wick (the movie) (because I had to!) (because, well, he -- John Wick -- is a dear friend of mine). This movie was way better than it had any right to be. I went in expecting a schlocky action movie, and yes, it is an action movie with a very thin and straightforward plot. And Keanu Reeves. Yet, it is, as I noted, far better than it had any right to be. The framing and pacing for the movie is very well done. The color choices -- color choices! -- in the background create vibrant and stark scenes. The fight choreography did something that usually only science fiction movies do: showed me something new and unexpected. Plus, it actually teased at having some themes and motifs! The boogeyman, the devil sent to kill the wicked, the unstoppable evil hand of God (or perhaps the angel of death) -- even unto assaulting the corruption of the Church and throwing the moneylenders out of the temple. Skirting with the notion of God creating suffering in order to motivate the destruction of evil. And it was basically a Vampire game, too! Everyone is a criminal or a killer in a tight society where they all know one another, moving among unsuspecting mortals who dont know of the true nature of the monsters in their midst. Sacred ground where you do no violence, upon pain of death brought upon yourself. Trade in occulted currency because the money of the mundane world has no value. The constant reminder that once you are in, you can never get out, no matter how much you want to -- even mortal love cannot save you because it, too, will wither and die. The price of how low you will go in order to destroy your enemies. The cost of clinging to your Humanity. The principal, John Wick, is probably so named because he is the Wick[ed] man, who has tried to turn from his life of wickedness, but returns with a vengeance when his attempt at a normal life is shattered. John? Probably chosen because it is such a common, ordinary name that it gives a sense of anonymity, contrasted by the fact that he is not anonymous at all; he is legendary. Ill be getting that one on disk when it comes out.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 07:36:59 +0000
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