Movie review : John Wick 3 – Parabellum

After gunning down a member of the High Table — the shadowy international assassin’s guild — legendary hit man John Wick finds himself stripped of the organization’s protective services. Now stuck with a $14 million bounty on his head, Wick must fight his way through the streets of New York as he becomes the target of the world’s most ruthless killers

Pros

• The action scenes were beautifully choreographed.
• Excellent performance by Keanu Reeves.

Cons

• If you have not watched the first two John Wick movies you will be lost in this one , as not much of the back story is explained.

Favorite Quotes

Charon: What do you need?

John Wick: Guns. Lots of guns.

The Director: All of this for what, because of a puppy?

John Wick: It wasn’t just a puppy.

Conclusion

John Wick 3 – Parabellum is an intense action extravaganza , but as expertly executed as the action is, watching two-plus hours of mayhem without any actual dramatic stakes, or nuance, or any emotion at all, save bloodlust, leaves one feeling unfulfilled at the end. As exhilarating as the action scenes may be, one will eventually get numb to them. Other than John Wick himself, we know nothing about the various characters he battles with , therefore there is no sense of pain , fear , desire ,triumph. It means nothing to loss any of those characters , no consequences are ever felt. Its basically like a video game in which you are to kill as many mindless henchmen as possible in the most impressive way you can.

Granted there are some moments when somewhat of a story is being developed as we get to see more of the criminal underworld. But it is overshadowed by the seemingly endless action.

When compared to the first two John Wick movies , Parabellum is more ambitious and over the top with its action , but lacks tremendously story wise.

Rating

2 out of 5

BY KAPA KAUMBA