With all the BRZRKR comics I’ve been reading lately, and the absolute gush I did about The Matrix back in 2024, it seems like this blog is becoming quite the fan of Keanu Reeves . . . and I see nothing wrong with that.

Wanting to keep the theme going, I thought I’d do another movie since, after all, that’s what he’s mostly known for. But what to choose? Maybe something more modern?

Keanu seems to be showing up in everything these days, but I think probably his biggest part in recent years has got to be John Wick. This series has already blown through four installments to date, a TV series (The Continental), and is expecting an Ana de Armas led spinoff (Ballerina) in 2025 (I’m reading a John Wick 5 is also likely).

With so much happening in the world of this character RIGHT NOW, it shocked me to realize that his first adventure released just over ten years ago in 2014, making it a contemporary of Jackalope Wives, Red Rising, and The Pyramid (none of which I had actually read/seen during 2014 lol).

In any case, John Wick DID make an impression on me in 2014 as probably the coolest action movie I’d seen that year. No bullet time here. And I don’t think any slow motion either. All the fights in John Wick are taken at speed, with the combatants moving in fluid yet strategic motions to gain the upper hand. Apparently, the portmanteau “gun fu” has been around since the Hong Kong action cinema of the 80s, but it seems significant that I’d never heard the term until people were talking about the fights in John Wick.

Viewing the movie now (in 2025), I hate to admit that its veneer has worn slightly with the passage of time. The special effects, stunts, and choreography are still top notch, and I’m sure there are plenty of other blogs out there which can describe this movie’s feats in those areas in much greater detail, and better track their significance to the overall art of filmmaking. However, on this blog, I don’t really have the background needed to interrogate such topics, and generally have to stick to expressing just what I feel while reading/watching/playing.

And this time around, I was still dazzled by all the fights, but also had my eyes peeled for a bit more.

I didn’t really find much else though. John Wick is not particularly deep or philosophical with most of the heavy thematic lift coming from the constant warnings by the other characters of the simple moral assertion that being an assassin is wrong, and a sorta of vague belief in karmic retribution (John and the main antagonist are fated to hurt each other because of all the hurt they brought to others).

In terms of noir and action thrillers — this movie is often cited as Neo-Noir — it probably isn’t the most actively misogynistic movie out there, but it is still steeped in those traditions and carries them forward — whether intentionally or not — through the character of Ms. Perkins. She’s pretty much the only female character in the film (there is also a female bartender with a few lines) other than John’s wife who is already dead before the film starts.

From her introduction in the lobby of The Continental, we’re made to assume she’s kinda just there to be looked at (not off to a great start) but then she ends up taking on a larger role as a minor villain. I’m not quite sure what to make of the fact that John does not actually kill her, but she still ends up dead by the end of the film.

It may also be worth noting that like 90% of the male characters in the film are also dead at the end, so part of me wants to believe it’s just that everybody dies in this movie, but I can’t quite get there.

Looking at the sum of these “major” roles — John’s dead wife, and Ms. Perkins — it almost feels like the movie is attempting to sidestep the more problematic issues with its plot, and just not quite getting there. John’s wife seems to be the easiest example of this, almost like the writers were thinking:

“Oh if his wife dying sends Wick on a rampage, we’re Fridging women, but if his wife is ALREADY dead, and the PUPPY DYING sends him on the rampage we’re in the clear.”

Unfortunately, if we stop to think about this for more than just a second, we’ll realize it’s still just the same old problems.

Give ‘John Wick’ a Watch?

Despite the critiques above, the film is still quite entertaining for its action sequences alone, and I’d argue still manages a kind of iconic status in our larger society sheerly through this single aspect. But if you’re looking for something a little more transcendent, you won’t find it here.

That’s all I have for this week. What are everyone’s thoughts on this recent (ish) classic? Are you excited to delve into further chapters of the John Wick saga? How do you think the series will try to address some its critiques with an Ana de Armas led chapter in 2025? What’s your favorite ‘gun fu’ movie?

Leave your thoughts in the comments! Looking forward to discussing this one!

Until next time!