Many people are shocked to find out I have never seen any of the John Wick movies. The first one came out in 2014 and as I’m not the biggest fan of strong violence and wasn’t a critic then I didn’t watch it. Then by the time I was reviewing films as a professional critic it was 2019 and the 3rd movie was coming out. It’s overwhelming to catch up on so many movies so I just never watched them. Now for this blind spot series I have seen the first movie from 2014.

I think the biggest asset you can take away from John Wick (2014) is the old adage to keep it simple stupid. Action movies these days have often gotten increasingly convoluted with AI, staring at screens and other mumbo-jumbo. This makes something like John Wick appealing. It’s a simple revenge story where a hitman is on a rampage after his wife is killed as well as their beloved puppy. We don’t get deep inside John or learn much about who he is or what he wants out of life. His motivations are simple, pure and easy to understand.

The one thing did surprise me, however, is how much of the movie takes place at night or in dimly lit night clubs. This is no doubt due to the small budget of 20-30 million as dark scenes camouflage a lot of flaws. For the most part this works with the overall aesthetic as John Wick is the hitman in black with a gun but it did negate some of the wow power of these scenes for me at least.

You could also feel the budget in the cheap stock footage they use for the transitions of New York City but all that doesn’t matter because John is a compelling character and has a simple yet satisfying arc. I mean they killed his beloved dog! Who can’t root for such a man?

7 out of 10

If you enjoy my writing please support me on patreon and you will get some great perks along the way!  I cannot do it all on my own. Please take a look at the patreon here.