Benz Eye View: John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Pros: 

1.) If you have seen the previous John Wick films, you know what to expect for this movie: fantastic action.  There are no poor choreography, no terrible cinematography, and no awful action moments; this movie continues its well-choreographed and well-shot fights that any action films wish they can do (Avengers: Endgame does not count considering that they used special effects instead of actual live fights).  There is a slight exception in one action scene that I do have a problem (which I will get to in the cons), but fans of John Wick will not be disappointed to see that the action scenes have gotten dull at all.  

2.) The movie explores the assassin world for a bit.  In fact, while it is brief, it actually explores John Wick’s origins.  While the movie still focuses on John Wick’s run from other assassins since the events of John Wick: Chapter 2, it is cool to learn more how this movie’s world works considering how complex the rules the assassins are.  Nice way to show more of these origins.

3.) I got to give credit to the sound team, because they know how to make each gun shot, knife stab, glass break, and many more sound painful.  The best example is in the first few fight scenes that highlight what I mentioned (especially the knife fight scene).  If the sound team are good enough to make you wince on each strike, they succeeded.

 

Cons: 

1.) There is one action scene that occurs in the midpoint that I believe went on a little too long.  For one thing, John Wick and his friend, Sofia faces a horde of guards in a building, and how many they killed is pretty ridiculous.  You may argue that John Wick facing guards on his own with barely any damage is ridiculous enough, but this action scene is pushing it.  I like how they used the dogs, but this fight ends up being a little bland, and it could have done a little more with it.

2.) The story is the weakest of the John Wick movies in my opinion.  I see where they are going with this: John Wick is pushed further into the assassin world despite leaving it when he met his wife, and he may end up becoming something he never wanted to after five years of retirement.  It reminds me of Michael Corleone from The Godfather, but this one has its issues.  I was starting to get a little tired of John trying to move on from his wife, and I missed the emotional conflict from the first film.  In fact, I kind of wished to learn more about Sofia, but as soon as she gets interesting, she leaves.  I kind of wished the story has to end at some point…

3.) …Speaking of endings, I do not like how the movie ended.  I am not saying it is a terrible ending, it is a decent one.  I am just not a fan of for two reasons: Sequel…Baiting.  If it was not for the fact that I was a little tired of the story, I would not mind this as much (you probably would not mind much as I do), but unless if the story gets better in the next one, the only reason I would actually care about the events of the next film is the action.  Once again, this is my opinion on the ending, and generally speaking, it is not bad.  I am just not a fan of it.

 

Overall: 

The John Wick films are great additions to the action genre.  The actions are stupendous, its world is intriguing, and Keanu Reeves has proven to be a great action star with how he worked so hard with all his training.

However, I will admit that the new addition is a slight downgrade in certain areas.  One to two action scenes were a slight drag, the story was getting boring, and the ending kind of bothered me.  I am willing to watch another John Wick film if they keep improving the action and story, but as for this movie, it can use some improvements here or there.  If you are a John Wick fan, I doubt you would be disappointed, but I wish they fixed some of the flaws I noticed.

7/10