I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the first John Wick film (9 stars) and quickly after saw John Wick 2 (7 stars.) Imagine my delight when I saw the third movie in the franchise was coming to theaters!
What made the first one better was the originality. The second one however, was still fun. So what about the third? Over-the-top comes to mind. (yes, that is Wick having a shootout with motorcycles while riding a horse in traffic)
I am not saying the franchise completely jumped the shark, I am just saying that there was nothing fresh about it. And that may be why it was the biggest money-maker of the franchise. I think like me, many people were caught off-guard with the first one and even remembered the second fondly. Most of those people who paid all that money to see the third installment did it without seeing it – so it really can’t be because it was so good. The previous two are what sold tickets to this one.
I won’t spoil it other than to say John Wick kills a lot of people in a frenetic style and with deadly accuracy. When you do see it, if you haven’t already, you will notice some things that even seem out of the reach of Baba Yaga himself.
Yeah, they stretched it. Yeah, they made it more frenetic. Yeah, the tossed in a slightly deeper story than the others. Yeah, they brought in other actors eager to be a part of a successful franchise. Yeah, it wasn’t as good as the other two…. but you know what? It delivered what the bulk of the John Wick audience wanted.
I will likely see a 4th film in the series if it comes out (which is clearly foreshadowed) but I will expect much less of the next one.
by Chris Doelle
RATING 6 out of 10 
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