John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

This review may contain spoilers!

Despite a clunky third act the third John Wick film continues to prove that this action series is one of the best we've had in years. I would give John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum a 7.5/10.

John Wick: Chapter 3 picks up right where Chapter 2 left off, with Wick running for his life after being declared excommunicado by Winston and the High Table. This feature sees Wick struggling to find a way to remove the hit upon him while keeping one step ahead of the many assassins who are after him. What I like about the John Wick films is the universe they build up and explore; this dark criminal world that has many different families and entities within it who are all subject to the mysterious High Table. The rules and laws that assassins and other criminal contractors must abide and work alongside are fascinating and it's a great journey to have travelled from just the mythos behind Wick in the first film to the much richer environment we are seeing unfold now. This entire film being motivated by the excommunicado and seeing a man on the run from this massive criminal entity is nothing short of intimidating and will have you hooked from the very start. Each of these films has given us a glimpse around a certain idea or theme, often they play over between one another too. The first John Wick dealt with consequences of actions and in turn saw Wick brought back into the dark, Chapter Two dealt with rules and the Law in which we see Wick bound by his obligations to the High Table; in this third Chapter the focus is around fealty and submission which is fascinating to see. The strength of the High Table comes into full light and characters who seems incredibly impressive are cowed by those they must serve. The John Wick films have some of the most consistent action sequences and stunt choreography of any current action series; I really enjoy how creative they get and how each feature has at least one scene where the stunt team surpasses the last film. The cinematography is so precise and fluid that it plays absolutely hand in hand with the stunts, visually you get some masterful shots and I'm always entranced by what I am seeing. The editing keeps the flow going, precise cuts exactly as needed and I enjoy the graphic way subtitles are brought into the feature. The score is charged with energy and will have you right on the edge of your seat throughout, yet it isn't merely adrenaline fuel with some melancholy scenes having a very moving backing track.

Keanu Reeves, who played John Wick, is a natural at playing this incredible lead by this point; Reeves is a natural warrior who is bound by his personal code of honour and fuelled by this intense inner rage throughout. Ian McShane, who played Winston, has an interesting paternal bond with Reeves throughout this film that is great to see portrayed by these two; McShane's sophisticated and eloquent delivery tends to up the drama of these films with some incredible lines. Lance Reddick, who played Charon, has been given so much more to do this film and I'm really glad; Reddick is incredibly charismatic as the hotel concierge and his stoic loyalty to the place and people he serves get some great moments to shine. Anjelica Huston, who played The Director, is a real taskmaster of a crime boss and one of the best new characters in this film; Huston holds a power over Reeves' Wick that speaks to his history and makes her quite fascinating to watch. Jerome Flynn, who played Berrada, is another new crime boss who really stands out in this film; Flynn plays up a character who is all charm yet capable of turning violent at the slightest whim. Randall Duk Kim, who played the Doctor, really lends a lot to the beginning of Act One; Kim's role is a very generous one who chooses to receive rather harsh consequences for his good actions.

However, the best performance came from Halle Berry, who played Sofia. I haven't seen a knockout performance like this from Berry in a long time and from the moment she enters the film her character steals the show in the best way possible. This is a hard-edged woman who would like nothing better than to be removed from her bond to Reeves' Wick, yet she can't escape being endearingly indebted to him. It is a complex relationship that the pair balance rather well. Berry is carrying around a lot of pain from her past in this feature and it makes you really feel for the role, it's a very powerful mirror of what happened to John Wick at the start of Chapter Two I felt. As Sofia, Berry is cocky and tough as nails, this is a warrior who can keep pace with Wick and then some. Plus I loved her fight sequence with her two dogs, I've never seen animal stuntwork that good in a film.

John Wick: Chapter Three suffers from an issue that the second film struggled with too, chiefly balancing out the length of a fight sequence. I enjoy action and I love watching it play out on the big screen but there has to be room to breathe between fight sequences and eventually a fight has to come to a reasonable conclusion. If you have one five to ten minute fight sequence immediately followed by another then you start to lose the investment of your audience because they start feeling like they're watching repetitive content. The final act to this film is a major example to this as there's a significant amount of action with minimal room for narrative. Choosing to have Winston betray John felt like a callous mood that grated against some of the big themes they'd been trying to deliver in the past few films and the big sequel pitch right at the end was a cheap choice.

Laurence Fishburne, who played the Bowery King, has taken to going quite over the top in his performance with this role; the mania this character seems to exhibit doesn't really seem to come from anywhere and makes you feel like Fishburne doesn't really care for this role too much. Mark Dacascos, who played Zero, was a rather underwhelming choice for the main antagonist of this feature; the fanboy persona this character seems to adopt for John Wick about halfway through the film really loses a lot of credibility the character had. Asia Kate Dillon, who played The Adjudicator, is a very bland role that takes a monotonous tone throughout the feature; Dillon is incapable of crafting a role that has the same eloquent edge as McShane or the intimidating presence of Huston and thus falls flat. Said Taghmaoui, who played The Elder, was a very underwhelming choice to be the man above the High Table; this character lacks gravitas and doesn't really feel like he wields any significant power. Jason Mantzoukas, who played the Tick Tock Man, is squarely a comedic actor who doesn't really fit well into a John Wick film; Mantzoukas energetic and wild presence just feels offset by the gritty nature of these films. Cecep Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian, who played Shinobi 1 and Shinobi 2 respectively, might deliver some of the best stunt choreography you'll see but thei whole scene was a serious drag in the third act, the way these characters who are motivated to kill John Wick seem more interested in bantering with him and giving him multiple chances to take them out really takes you out of the seriousness of the film.