October 4, 2014 -- This is an ultraviolent action film about a bereaved assassin on a deadly quest for revenge. John Wick (played by Keanu Reeves of “The Matrix” films) is a former mob hit man whose wife has just died (from a lingering illness, cancer, presumably). His wife's last gift for him is a dog to keep him company after she's gone. Thieves, led by the spoiled son of a local Russian mafia boss, break into John Wick's house, beat him up, kill his dog and steal his car, a vintage Mustang.

Their first sign of trouble is when the thieves take the car to a chop shop to get new plates and registration for it. The chop shop owner, Aurelio (played by John Leguizamo of “Ride Along”) recognizes the car and refuses to help them. When Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) objects, Aurelio punches Tarasov and orders the whole group to leave. Tarasov's Russian mobster father, Viggo (Michael Nyqvist of “Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol”) calls Aurelio and asks him why he struck his son. Aurelio tells Tarasov that his son stole the car from John Wick and killed Wick's dog in the process and that is why he told the boy and his friends to get lost. Tarasov says, “Oh,” and hangs up. Aurelio is the least of his worries. Now, he has to deal with John Wick.

Tarasov calls Wick to see if he can smooth things over. He can't. This means war. The war quickly escalates and the pile of bodies grows higher and higher as the film goes on (there is an interesting, very businesslike, body cleanup crew that disposes of some of the bodies). More than most action films, it depicts an alternate reality of a criminal underworld which coexists with our own, much like the world of magic in Harry Potter which coexists unseen by the Muggle world.

In this alternate reality, a cop shows up at Wick's house on a noise disturbance call after Wick has disposed of 12 home invaders sent to kill him by Tarasov. The cop sees the body of one mobster on the floor. The cop's reaction to this scene is not what you would expect, at least not in a normal, modern U.S. city. Then there is the fancy hotel catering to criminals that Wick checks into. This hotel guarantees the privacy and safety of its guests, and there are deadly consequences for those who break the rules.

This is a straightforward action film with a simple plot. The basic plot is similar to that of “The Road to Perdition,” but without the additional emotional complexity of the earlier film. It doesn't really require much acting, but Keanu Reeves does show a considerable emotional arc. There is at least a hint of complexity in his character, unlike most of the other characters in the film. There are hints of a back story between Wick and other characters in the film, particularly with the sharpshooter Marcus (Willem Dafoe of “Spider-Man,” but none of this is fleshed out.

This film is slickly done, the pace is quick, the acting is good and the action scenes are well staged and executed. Except for one character, however (a guy who appears to be Tarasov's chief bodyguard) most of the mobsters killed by Wick in this war are just lambs to the slaughter who are no match for him, so there is no believable threat to Wick most of the time. The film's ending is not in line with the rest of it, and not as foreshadowed in the film's opening scene. Instead, it appears calculated to accommodate a series of sequels, even a possible franchise. I anticipated more plot twists, but they did not happen. This is a well made action film, but I think it has been overrated by many. It rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2014 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .