Do people actually like John Wick?

I think it's mainly how the antagonist paints Wick as the grim reaper of gangsters as you joyfully anticipate how badly that shit heel Theon Greyjoy gets his.

My knowledge of John Wick comes from his character being DLC in Payday 2. That's legit all I know of it.

Yeah, it is terrific. And I'm the kind of person who hates most modern action movies. They're far too formulaic, and John Wick does its own thing, reveling in it's very unique brand of silliness.

Also, loook at the puuuppy.

I went to see John Wick without knowing anything about it. I got to see a really good action movie about a who sets out for revenge because shitheels killed his dog.

Yes. I was interested in it when the first one came out but didn't see it in theaters. Picked it up on Blu Ray when it came out and upon watching regretted not seeing it on the big screen. It is such a fun, action packed ride that wastes no time getting to the good stuff. It's pure awesome. This was long before Dan got on the train but I'm glad he did and I'm glad that got more people on the train.

I'll be seeing Chapter 2 on V-day with my lady and we are excited!!

I'm not the biggest fan of it. It's got good (not great) action scenes, but the characters, plot, world, basically everything is just the most generic imagining of "cool assassins doing cool assassin stuff" possible. It feels like the sort of thing someone who grew up making stick figure gunfights in Flash would make if they broke into the movie business.

John Wick is up there with the 2 Raid movies and Dredd when it comes to the best action movies of the last 10 to 15 years. It's fun watching him get revenge against Theon Greyjoy, who is a total shit head, for killing his dog and I thought the secret world of assassins was fucking ridiculous and awesome. It's good stuff.

It's a great action movie. If you go in thinking it's more than that you'll be disappointed. But if you want to watch a movie where Keanu kills a lot of people in awesome ways... 5 stars.

The meat of the plot is so so, but John Wick's motivation for getting back into the game, the way all the characters talk about Wick, and above all else the way the action is shot made it one of the best action films in [i]years[/i]. More than anything, it's the blunt force violence Wick uses that I've never seen in a movie before, even highly technical films from Asian directors/production houses. It's the first action movie I've seen where headshots were such a focal point of any one character's repertoire, let alone the protagonist; it was an action movie that both let you know your hero definitely did just kill every man in that room but it also wasn't full of bloodlust about it. Its violence wasn't pornographic or cartoonish, it was just a world class assassin making his enemies dead. I felt it was a real achievement for action cinema, especially western action, and I felt that way when I saw it in theaters.

I am [i]so[/i] excited for John Wick 2.

The only big problem I saw with John Wick was the cg blood and muzzle flashes. I know its safer and cheaper than practical but that stuff still looks like junk. The Guest had the same issue.

When I think of Oldboy, Crank, Taken, Kickass, I don't know how many more movies I could think of given the time.

John Wick is sorley lacking.

I was pretty excited to watch it based on Dan reaction but it did nothing for me at all.

I thought it was pretty good for a simple, cut-and-dry, little-special-effects, classic take on action movies. It's simple fun.

3 - 4 stars.

I enjoyed the hell out of it and will be seeing the sequel in theaters. The action's wonderfully choreographed and I like the comic book-y world they created. This along with the Raid films are my top action flicks of the last 10 years.

It's okay. I would probably give a 3.5. It's not bad, but it wasn't spectacular in any way. It was just a well-made, violent action revenge movie. The competition of films somewhat similar to it doesn't compare, like Taken or Jack Reacher. If you compare it to Dredd, I much appreciated Dredd over John Wick simply because I'm a Judge Dredd fan, so there's a bit of bias. Dredd was a film that looked terrible from a trailer perspective but turned out to be great when I finally say it. I think what people liked about John Wick, which Taken and Jack Reacher don't have is simply down to the style.

For me it harkened back to the good ole days of Hong Kong shoot'em ups, Hard Boiled and the like. Simple plot, one dimensional characters, and gun violence. It's definitely not a thinkin' man's movie by any means but there are there are enough little details sprinkled into the background to keep things interesting. The assassin's guild, the weird hotel, the gold coins, Willem Dafoe's motivations, that kinda thing. I watched it again recently to refresh my memory before the sequel drops, it holds up. Watching Keanu double tap people in the chest and follow up with one in the dome for 2 hours was enough for me.

I didn't love it as much as everyone else either but I didn't hate it. The dog was cute and there were some good action scenes. I think it's one of those films you can't expect too much from, it's a good watch but don't expect it to change your life.

Enjoyable

I thought it was pretty boring. It's just a lot of stylish killing and everything else about is pretty shallow and ridiculous. I feel like much of the reaction to the movie is a result of the paucity of R-rated action movies for the past couple of decades. When you're hungry, everything tastes better.

It's one of a small handful of movies over the past few years that I have wanted to watch more than once. Yeah, I think it's pretty great.

The scene where he is tied up and explains exactly why he is doing what he is doing, is the finest acting i have ever seen from keanu.

That film was just a good time to me, it was like what shoot em up wanted to be without even trying.

Not sure if the sequel will have the same charm, but i enjoyed every absurd second of the first one.

5 out of 5!

I watched the first one with a couple of friends. We loved it, it was our kind of movie, but we also have pretty low standards for movies.

Saw it well before the Dan hype and immediately got the appeal. But don't take MY word for it, Honest Trailers actually does a superb job nailing what makes it great (especially comparing it to other modern action offerings)

"I went in expecting well choreographed shootouts but basically all he does is blow heads off at point blank range."

The directors of the movie are both Hollywood stunt men who created their own style of "gun fu" based on Brazilian and Japanese Jiu Jitsu, Tactical 3-Gun, and standing Judo.. so yes, most of the gun kills come at point blank range because it's meant to basically be a modern kung-fu revenge action movie with guns.

Combine that with their approach to real actual stunt-work, practical effects, and a directorial style that actually shows the action unfold rather than relying on cheap tricks like quick cuts or shakey-cam, and it's something of a rarity in modern action movies.

Maybe I saw a different film because I thought it was stylish and thrilling.

3/5 for me. I'm an action movie fan and I think it's an overrated movie. I think most action movies are so bad these days one solid one can come along and blow people away I guess. I have felt the same way about some other modern action movies, like Dredd.

To its credit, I think it does a lot of smart things that make for good action movies and most modern action movies don't get right, but I just don't think it's really that great otherwise. The action itself is not near classic action movies for me.

Great movie but them constantly singing Russian lullabies is cringeworthy. (I speak Russian). Same as if a bunch of hardcore badass American gangsters would sing twinkle twinkle little star.

I thought it was boring. 1) They tried way too hard to paint john wick as a bad ass, and it comes off forced. 2) The action feels choreographed in a bad way. For a character to come off as badass, the filmmakers have to take a much more measured approach. Look at films like Drive and No Country for Old Men which --comparatively-- have very little action, but have characters that feel tangibly dangerous (the driver and chigurh).

I watched it right after that podcast where Dan talked it up. It's alright. He overhyped it.

3/5

There are a lot of opinions that I don't agree with but can completely understand. Thinking John Wick is anything less than a 4/5 is an opinion that I don't understand at all.

I half assedly watched it when it first came out on blu ray and came away unimpressed. Again, I didn't give the movie my full attention but I was kind of surprised to hear people talking it up. Maybe I'll watch it again and give it another chance.

The fight choreography is good and there isn't any shaky cam, making it unique in this era of Hollywood. It's really not hard to understand: It's stylized but not absurdly so like a Zac Snyder movie. It has an interesting mythology without the mythology turning into droll exposition to create unwarranted importance to the events and the dialogue and acting are succinct and well done. And thankfully manages to find the right mix of drama and levity while maintaining tonal consistency.

It is a really good example of how to do a revenge action flick.

Keanu Reeves smashes a concrete floor with a sledgehammer, digs out a case full of pistols and gold mobster coins and then murders everyone who wronged him directly in the face. Then it turns into Hotline Miami for about 8 minutes.

If this doesn't do anything for someone I just don't wanna know em', man. I just don't wanna know em'.

Me and two friends went in completely blind and saw it the weekend it came out in theaters. It blew my god damn mind. I've seen it at least six times since then and I only love it more with each watch. I put it up there with The Raid 1&2 as one of the finest action films of the last decade.

I thought John Wick was boring. It just moved from scene to scene, demonstrating 'action' I've seen a million times before, to service a pretty paper thin revenge tale. Yes, its fantasy, and its characters and world is comic book like, but I just found it derivative.

I saw John Wick before it was mentioned by Dan on Giantbomb as well and it is one of my favorite action films from the past 5 years or so. Dredd, Mad Max: Fury Road and John Wick. That is the trilogy of awesome modern American action movies for me. If you need someone to articulate why the movie is cool after you've already seen it, I don't know what I can do for you.

It's not on the level of The Rock, The Matrix, Die Hard type of action movie, but I like it because it had a dead simple plot that they followed through on. Guy kills my dog, fuck that guy I'm going to kill him and everyone, he kills him and everyone. Done.

I enjoyed the interesting mix of jiu jistu and guns, I wrestled in high school and practice bjj, and I get that those are hard things to make look as cool as Kung Fu in movies, but I think they nailed it here.

They also built an interesting little world of assassins that I dug, everyone asking Wick if was working again was funny, and the hotel/the cleaners/the gold everyone used/the rules of engagement were neat, and the sledgehammer scene was awesome.

The more I think about it the more I say to myself, "Yeah, that movie was just fun."

I think John Wick is okay-ish but I really don't understand the love.

Mad Max : Fury Road seems to be a way better action movie to me, and that one is actually funny. While the pitch of John Wick is fun with the dog and all, the movie itself felt self serious in tone.

On the other hand, The Raid 2 has better choreography in my mind (though it's more about hand to hand combat). It's an exhausting movie and I'd understand people thinking it's overlong though.

For me those two are the best action movies of the last few years and John Wick doesn't compare at all.

I really liked the film. It's a 4/5. Really cool action and I love how everyone talks about John Wick. Also an underrated aspect of the movie is world building. I want to know more about the Continental.

Loved it. The action style is really refreshing. No shaky cam and plays out in sort of discrete beats, so you really follow what's happening.

Also there is something so liberating when the plot is so ridiculous you can just turn your brain off and enjoy the action.

Movie is dope as fuck, and an excellent metric to determine if someone has good taste in action films. However, I do not have high hopes for the sequel.

I saw it for the first time a couple days ago. I knew nothing about it going in.

It is my favorite action movie style plot, where there is some bad guy who messes with "so the wrong guy" and the entire movie is a revenge on whoever that bad guy is. I totally loved it. You know, when the bad guy is just doing his badguy stuff but this time the victim is someone who completely outclasses him in competence. It is a well worn storyline, but man this one did it very very well, about as well as I have seen [but I would love to see more of these storyline types, any recommendations?]

My only complaint was they had a Bond-esque Him getting captured instead of just killing him, and getting saved at the last moment by some random dude there. If he gets captured that can work, but the way it was set up just didn't work for me [It would work if it was like he let himself get captured and he wasn't ever really under their control, but the way it happened didn't work so much for me, he seemed above getting captured and this movie my suspension of disbelief on "why don't they just kill John Wick right now" didn't trigger. Other than that I totally loved it. I have to say I also left the end of the movie wanting to see more about the world and character, without them making some cliffhanger, as it actually wrapped up quite well.

I didn't get the hype. Didn't even like it as much as Jack Reacher (which is incredibly paint-by-numbers). Nothing against those who like it, but it just didn't excite me.

Plot is meh, but action is great.

I was thinking about why the fight choreography looks so good, and I think it comes down to conservation of movement. We're overloaded with exaggerated martial arts fighting in movies these days with characters hopping around like squirrels on crack. In a real fight, big exaggerated movement wastes energy and isn't likely to be successful since it's easy to see coming. Keanu's fighting in John Wick is simple, direct, and each blow (or shot) is designed to disable as quickly as possible. Of course it's still unrealistic, but it manages to look more real than most movie fighting.

This is a pretty succinct summary of my issues with the film. You could really sum up almost all of the movie's issues with "they tried too hard to make it badass".

I loved it. There are better action movies out there, but John Wick has style to it that just made it a fun movie. I really just love how everybody built up John as a guy you don't want to mess with. You can say that it's forced, but I loved how they established that he was a force you shouldn't mess with, mainly the scene where the mob boss calls up the mechanic and immediately forgives the ordeal when he hears what his son did.

4/5 for me. Dog dying in the beginning is an immediate star loss.

I've watched it probably 10 times. They knew exactly what they were making.

I dog dies in it so 0 stars.

Love it.

I haven't ever seen it but all the trailers do not appeal to me