Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
Ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.
John Wick rejuvenated the action genre with its meticulously choreographed gun-fu, a distinctive neon-noir aesthetic, and a surprisingly rich world-building mythology around the Continental and the High Table. The cinematography is exceptional — long takes, clean framing, and a commitment to visible stunt work that set a new benchmark. The premise is deceptively simple but the execution is singular and unmistakable. Acting is solid with Reeves finding the right stoic register, but supporting roles are somewhat thin. The plot is intentionally lean (revenge thriller by numbers at its core), and the ending, while satisfying, doesn't transcend the genre. Novelty is genuinely high not for reinventing story beats but for crafting an utterly distinctive cinematic voice that spawned a wave of imitators.