John Wick
has become one of the most simplistically threatening names in pop culture, a character who carries astounding amounts of mystery about him as the audience rarely actually sees him in his former profession as a hitman. The John Wick movies electrified the action genre with their straightforward but powerful plots of revenge and debts called in, stylish action, and fascinatingly suave criminal underworld. Carrying it all is Keanu Reeves as the understated, ᴅᴇᴀᴅly тιтle character, constantly seeking some kind of redemption after the death of his wife.
John Wick, of course, kicks off with the very memorable synopsis that put off many people initially, of the main character going on a quest for revenge after a gang kills his dog. However, the opening sequence of John’s painstaking grief is interrupted by the chilling reveal of who he was before his marriage, and how even the most dangerous crime lords view him. The moment says a lot about how good John was at his job, which the audience does see as he takes down literal armies single-handedly, but still perhaps not exactly like who he was back then.
The Real John Wick Only Appeared In The Second Movie
Chapter 2 Is The Only Time John Wick Acts As A Hitman
The “real” John Wick only appears in the second movie, if we think of him as the renowned hitman. This is the only time that John acts as a proper hitman throughout the main timeline of the seriesm when Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) comes to collect a debt and requires that John kill his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini). It’s not how John supposedly used to operate, being formally paid for his kills, but it is the only time in the series that he takes on a hit for transactional reasons and at the behest of someone else.
The rest of the time, John is largely pursuing a personal vendetta. He at first wants to kill Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) to avenge Daisy’s death, going to startling lengths to do so. John Wick: Chapter 2 acts as a transitional phase in the plot, which uses the D’Antonio storyline to get John to a point where he is in even more trouble with his criminal colleagues. After that, John is always trying to escape or fight back against the Continental system and the High Table after having broken one of their rules for personal reasons.
The Version Of John Wick We Love Most Is The Guy Getting Revenge, Not The Mercenary
Everyone Loves A Good Revenge Story
However, the hitman isn’t the version of John Wick that we love; it’s the highly skilled fighter going on the very relatable mission of avenging a beloved pet. While John Wick takes this premise to an extreme that makes it both resonant for people who vow that they would kill for their pets and ultimately, greater than the sum of its parts, it can also be distilled into the classic revenge storyline that is always popular. After Chapter 2, which generally isn’t considered the best John Wick movie, the series regrounds itself by sending John on a new mission for justice.
For as familiar as John Wick is, there are still necessary scenes of John being questioned about what he hopes to achieve.
Everyone loves a good revenge story — the best revenge movies of all time are razor-sharp and to the point: When the world fails the main character, they are resourceful and determined enough to enact their own justice. It renders a vicious satisfaction for the audience, while often lending itself well to fantastic combat scenes as well as some more loaded moments of questioning exactly how far this character is willing to go. For as familiar as John Wick is, there are still necessary scenes of John being questioned about what he hopes to achieve.
Who Is John Wick, Really?
Depends On Who You Ask
Winston (Ian McShane) sums up this question in John Wicked: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, asking John who it is he wants to be. Essentially, his options are his old hitman self or the content, peaceful man who was happiest with his wife. Labeling him as the hitman, the avenger, or the loving husband reduces it when he is all three, all facets of his character that are interacting with each other. However, it is safe to say that the criminal underworld of this series thinks of John Wick mainly as “Baba Yaga.”
As for us — the audience, first and foremost, likely think of John as a hardened survivor whose unparalleled skills are best shown by his revenge missions, because this is when he is going against the system and taking down hordes of other skilled fighters. However, in the end, this is all in the service of finding peace and reuniting with his wife, or at least being able to live a life without violence and remember her. John Wick works because it features a captivating plot full of action, but it also implicitly asks who this man really is.
John Wick
- Created by
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Derek Kolstad
- First Film
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John Wick
- Latest Film
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John Wick: Chapter 4
- Upcoming Films
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Ballerina
- First TV Show
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The Continental
Summary
“John Wick” is a neo-noir action-thriller franchise centered around a retired hitman who returns to the criminal underworld to seek vengeance. Known for its intense and stylistic action sequences, the franchise has redefined modern action cinema with its choreographed gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, and intricate world-building. The series explores themes of loyalty, honor, and survival in a secret society of ᴀssᴀssins.
