When the first movie of John Wick hit the screens in 2014, thriller fans were taken by a pleasant surprise. This movie starring Keanu Reeves is nothing like mindless action movies that only satisfy bloodthirst. Layered emotions with classic dialogues induces a certain adrenaline rush as well as pulls at a string that evokes sympathy.
John Wick, a retired assassin learns to love again when his dying wife leaves behind an adorable pup, Daisy. But as fate would want it, the dog is brutally murdered which pushes Wick off the edge. He seeks vengeance for the last thing that mattered to him and thus began the journey of John Wick and took the audience with him.
Director Chad Stahelski continued the journey of John Wick in Chapter 2 of John Wick which was released in 2017. The second part was a more solemn piece of work with the philosophy ‘more is always more’. It has a more intricate storyline and left the viewers thirsty for more of Wick’s life and actions.
The thirst was quenched in 2019 with the seemingly final part of John Wick, ‘Chapter 3 Parabellum’. From being the hitman to being wanted by another hitman, this series takes an interesting turn. With limited dialogue and magnificent action sequences, it kept the audience right at the edge of their seat.
Although the audience had braced themselves to bid adieu to the story of the assassin who gained their sympathy and support throughout the series, very unexpectedly director Chad Stahelski provided assurance for a part four because there was still somethings left to say about John Wick’s life.
Stahelski said, “There’s a couple of things. I like thematics. Obviously, you can see the influences of the old Westerns and the old Samurai films. All the Arthurian tales for chivalry and all that kind of stuff, back to that. We had a couple of overlapping thematics, and I stripped it down to the bare essentials. And there were two action sequences that we had really kind of conceived, but we just didn’t have room for them. So, we pulled them from the movie. And I’d like to think that 90 percent of what I pulled, there’s a place in John Wick 4 that I can definitely reinsert them.”
He added that some changes had to be brought to part 3 of the series in order to leave some strings untied for the possibility of part 4. In fact, some scenes in part four which are supposed to release in 2022 were scraped from the shootings of part 3 although he kept his mouth sealed regarding the particulars of the action sequence.
This artfully choreographed and directed action series has never failed to impress the audience with its storyline, emotions, and ample actions and we hope the same for part 4!
Mohona Bhattacharya
Banaras Hindu University
2nd Year, English Hons.
Varanasi, UP.
Mohona is an avid reader and an equality seeker. She takes a keen interest in painting and finds solace among books, coffee, nature, and dogs.
