(“Pretty good fight!” exclaims Zero as he and John are slumped side by side, battered and bruised and broken.)
Mark Dacascos turns in scene-stealing work as Zero, who is a sushi chef, the leader of a ninja army and Wick’s most formidable foe (GOOD resume) - but also one of his biggest fans. The ever-stunning Halle Berry kills it as Sofia, who runs the Casablanca branch of the Continental, owes John a debt of gratitude and is the owner of the aforementioned Malinois, who will do anything for her.Īsia Kate Dillon (“Billions”) is perfectly cast as The Adjudicator, who enforces the rules of the High Table with robotic-like efficiency while looking Met Gala-level fashion-forward in boots and a dangling earring, and ever-present gloves - carried but never worn. Ian McShane and Lance Reddick return as the keepers of the Continental Hotel castle. Reeves’ old “Matrix” running mate Laurence Fishburne is back as the Bowery King, who also realizes he’ll be facing dire consequences for helping his old friend. The shifting color palettes to the ingenious use of mirrors and reflective glass, to the mournful and beautiful and nearly constant rainfall straight out of “Blade Runner.”Īnjelica Huston is magisterial as The Director, a ballet instructor (among other things) who lends a hand to John even as she asks, “All of this for what, a puppy?” (His reply is priceless.) Thanks to director Stahelski (a martial arts expert who was Reeves’ stunt double in the “Matrix” movies) and the great Danish cinematographer Dan Laustsen (“The Shape of Water,” “Crimson Peak”), this is one of the most visually arresting films of the year, from Let the globe-trotting and the blood-spilling begin. There’s a $14 million bounty on John’s head - and any member who offers John assistance is subject to instant and injurious retribution. Membership revoked! John has been declared “Ex Communicando,” meaning he has lost all privileges and protections within the secret, international society of assassins. In “John Wick 2,” our man violated the rules of the Continental Hotel in New York City, which is kind of like a SoHo House for assassins - a classy, upscale safe haven. Here’s what you need to know if you’re new to the game.
#DOG IN JOHN WICK 2 MOVIE SERIES#
This is basically a series of impressively staged, increasingly elaborate, over-the-top, wink-at-the-audience fight sequences - interspersed with ludicrous, B-movie exposition scenes in which the A-list cast members manage to keep straight faces while exchanging various coins and medallions with various meanings, and speaking in Shakespearean tones about the intricate set of rules involving a union of international assassins and their board of directors, known as the High Table, and don’t even get me started about certain rogue elements that believe the true power is held by those working UNDER the table, and I swear I’m not making up any of this.
The third installment of the ultraviolent, operatic, blood-soaked and wonderfully askew “John Wick” franchise is the most outlandish, the most ambitious and maybe the most entertaining chapter to date.
Not since Sansa Stark literally fed the evil Ramsay Bolton to his own dogs in “Game of Thrones” have we seen such doggone justice. In “John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum,” the story of the executed beagle pup has become part of John’s legend (hey, John Legend should do a song about that!) and is referenced more than once.Īs we saw at the end of “John Wick 2,” our antihero now has a new canine companion (an adorable and loyal rescue pitbull) - but the dogs that really have their day in “Chapter 3” are the Malinois sidekicks to Halle Berry’s Sofia. Not to minimize the stylish and creative imaginative directing flair by Chad Stahelski and the classic deadpan performance by Keanu Reeves in the title role, but when that idiot thug murdered grieving widower John Wick’s pup in the first film back in 2014, THAT’s what provided John with a raison d’etre, and that’s what placed us firmly in John’s corner and actively rooting for him to exact his revenge. The puppy was the launching point for the “John Wick” movies to come out of nowhere and become one of the best action-thriller franchises of this decade.
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