{"id":1103,"date":"2019-05-15T17:25:07","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T00:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/kksm\/?p=1103"},"modified":"2019-05-15T17:25:07","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T00:25:07","slug":"movie-review-john-wick-parabellum-reviewed-by-jake-hardison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/kksm\/movie-review-john-wick-parabellum-reviewed-by-jake-hardison\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: “John Wick: Parabellum” (Reviewed by Jake Hardison)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"John-Wick-3-Parabellum-French-Poster\"I have a confession to make. This is really hard for me, but I think it needs to be said. After all, it\u2019s 2019. Things are different. And even though I know I\u2019ll get a lot of hate for this, I think it\u2019s time for me to just come out and say it.<\/p>\n

I like action movies. There, I said it. Hopefully my mom will still hug me and my dad can look me in the eye.\u00a0But part of the reason I say this is because of Keanu Reeves and the\u00a0John Wick\u00a0franchise. This series has done so much for the genre, but above all else,\u00a0John Wickhas made action movies cool again. A straightforward revenge-thriller, the first movie was an honest and pure gift to fans of the genre, and furthermore a much need revitalization of the genre itself. For starters,\u00a0John Wick<\/i>\u00a0gave fans a hero that embodied what made action icons like\u00a0Indiana Jones\u00a0or\u00a0James Bond\u00a0so likeable; a smart, calculating character who is the best at what he does and has a reputation that you believe, even if too epic to be true. Subsequently, the rest of what this film contributed to the genre simultaneously set the John Wick character right up there with the aforementioned greats. Ground-breaking fight choreography, intricate world building, and a seamless combination of clean and sleek with gritty and brutal visuals put together what cause somewhat of a renaissance for action; a reform from the\u00a0Die Hard<\/i>s\u00a0and\u00a0Fast & Furious<\/i>\u2019s\u00a0that has already served as inspiration for much of what the genre has seen over the past five years, especially highly-skilled assassin flicks starring both men and women. In fact, Charlize Theron\u2019s\u00a0Atomic Blonde<\/i>\u00a0and Jennifer Garner\u2019s\u00a0Peppermint<\/i>\u00a0have been described as \u201cJohn Wick<\/i>\u00a0with a female lead,\u201d proving that the franchise is already a metric by which we talk about other action movies.<\/p>\n

The latest installment goes back to these crucial devices, and does so in a way that\u2019s outrageously fun from start to finish.\u00a0Parabellum<\/i>\u00a0contains some of the most brutal, but also some of the most impressive fight scenes that you\u2019ll see this year. Rather than frantically cutting between 12 different angles to produce a jarring sequence of hits, the fights are shown in fully framed, long, continuous shots that demand unbelievable choreography. This also makes it so that Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry are doing most of their own stunts, and in these performances you can see months of obvious hard work paying off. The fights are also some of the most creative in the series, with an endlessly entertaining combination of martial arts, guns, swords, knives, etc. as well creative integration of the environment into each battle. For this alone,\u00a0Parabellum<\/i>\u00a0is an absolute gift to action junkies everywhere.<\/p>\n

The beginning of the film sees our hero minutes after the events of\u00a0John Wick: Chapter 2<\/i>. The entire network of assassins that John belongs to has been made simultaneously aware of John\u2019s excommunication from their brotherhood, and the subsequent bounty on his head which will go into effect in 1 hour. Some of the best moments in the movie occur in this first 40 minutes or so, \u00a0as\u00a0John\u00a0works his way through each wave of attempts on his life, which is now valued at $14 million.<\/p>\n

Without spoiling too much, the rest of\u00a0Parabellum<\/i>\u00a0follows John through his struggle against the High Table of assassins and his attempt to single out friend from foe. For a movie that dedicates an almost hilarious amount of time to its action sequences, every minute is earned by somehow being able to effortlessly tell an incredibly immersive and high-stakes story. Not only is the world-building intelligent and exciting, it\u2019s also unequivocally charming. There\u2019s something about an international underground network of professional contract killers following a strict set of agreed upon rules and procedures, and treating each other with an almost chivalrous level of respect, that just makes it impossible not to smile. This is ostensibly one of the film\u2019s running themes; the idea of why we agree upon follow rules and the consequences that come with breaking them. We also see continued symbolism mirroring that of the puppy that was killed in the first movie, what that means to\u00a0John\u00a0and his motivation to go back to the life he chose to leave. Furthermore, the film\u2019s title leads us to one of its major themes, taken from the Latin phrase, \u201cSi vis pacem, para bellum,\u201d meaning, \u201cIf you want peace, prepare for war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even at its most cliche, or admittedly its most cheesy,\u00a0Parabellum<\/i>\u00a0is a perfect consecration of\u00a0John Wick\u00a0as this generation\u2019s action icon, and more importantly, it\u2019s just so much f*ckin fun. Keanu Reeves is quite possibly the only actor who could make this character work, which is especially amazing given the quiet nature of his career in the few years before the start of this franchise, coming off the success of the Matrix franchise. But like the action genre, and like\u00a0John Wick\u00a0himself\u2026yeah, I\u2019m thinking he\u2019s back.<\/p>\n

\"j5qyyenodtscblefa6io\"<\/p>\n

Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a0May 17, 2019<\/p>\n

Cast:\u00a0<\/strong>Keanu Reeves<\/a>,\u00a0Halle Berry<\/a>,\u00a0Ian McShane<\/a><\/p>\n

Studios:\u00a0<\/strong>Summit Entertainment<\/a>,\u00a0Lionsgate<\/a><\/p>\n

Director:\u00a0<\/strong>Chad Stahelski<\/a><\/p>\n

Run Time:<\/strong>\u00a0103 minutes<\/p>\n

Official Website:\u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/www.JohnWick.movie<\/a><\/p>\n

Official Social Media Pages:<\/strong><\/p>\n