John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Review

John Wick 3  - Killing spree ends here

Remember "Baba-Yaga"? Yes, the man who killed men in a bar with a pencil. John Wick has come a long way since he started going on a killing spree. This year's release of John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum, our hero has gone conventional. In the film, gangsters greet him with open arms and bottles of wine, and rivals compete for the multimillion-dollar bounty on his head. One fellow assassin confesses what a thrill it is to fight him, before charging at him with a sword. That is the level of fandom within the franchise itself, the man is a killing machine and the appreciations comes in all around from the audience and the characters too. The stone-cold killer in a bespoke bulletproof suit is back — and if you thought John Wick was good with a pencil, you should see what he can do with a book of Russian folklore in the stacks of the New York Public Library.

"John Wick 3" picks up moments after "John Wick 2" ended, with a $14 million bounty on our man John's head, and everyone in Manhattan after him because they need the money to buy more high-end assassin threads. All three Wicks have been directed by Chad Stahelski who himself is a stuntman who collaborated with Reeves for the Matrix films) and written by Derek Kolstad. The first two movies were heavily invested in setting up the explicit rules of a world of honorable assassins who hunt their prey in the city streets but respect the boundaries when they enter that damned hotel. Parabellum is intent on questioning the foundations of this bizarre society, setting its leaders against Wick and suggesting that they, not he, are the real problem, and that perhaps the rules need to change.

Excommunicated from the secret society, and with a heavy bounty on his head, Wick becomes a beacon for every high-kicking clown in Manhattan who owns a gun or a knife - which turns out to be quite a lot of people.  The film opens with two of the craziest fight sequences, its well-toned action choreography. stunt work, proving that he is grown quite skilled in martial arts. The first takes place in the New York Public Library where Reeves uses a hardback book as a weapon in every way imaginable, cracking skulls, smashing mouths and breaking necks. The next features Reeves shattering glass cabinets to retrieve a series of knives, as he and his foes hurl throwing knives at each other with such precision aim that the crowd will roar. From there, we get Reeves slapping horses on their behinds so they kick the baddies, then riding a horse underneath the elevated train tracks of Brooklyn for a high-speed shootout. After these first three action sequences, you'll have newfound respect for director Chad Stahelski, who started as a Hollywood stunt man. He uses his experience to choreograph the fights, so you can follow the action with storyboard clarity rather than rapid shaky-cam blurs.

John Wick 3 has certainly lost the element of surprise that the first part had, followed by the rawness in the second. However, for the movie's grit and Keanu's sheer martial art skills, the film is a desirable watch keeping in mind to expand the Wick universe if need be.

Verdict: If you are a fan of live action, John Wick 3 is sure to entertain you in heaps.