As mentioned what lore there is that would be relevant to the chapter is implicitly referred to in each one but is not indispensable. The series is in the end a LOT of action fanservice, enjoy the stylish carnage.
And yes some aspects the worldbuild do look like a deliberate dig at the way modern audiences want, well, a workdbuild, to know what’s the background “canon” or to see onscreen something that was just referred to in passing to make a point (e.g. the pencil)
See also Shoot ‘Em Up starring Clive Owen. It is completely aware that it’s a ridiculous action film and just goes with it.
And who is being assassinated? Can I hire one to kill my daughter’s sleazy boyfriend? Can he hire one to kill me? Or is it only “special people”?
“Today in the news, the president of Outer Fuckistan, the chief financial secretary of Great Britain, and the US sec of State were all assassinated. And no one saw a thing! No arrests are expected. Now on to the weather…”
And as for viewers that will watch 15K people get shot in the head, but the mere idea that a dog might die will keep you from watching, well, that’s unbalanced.
Spoiler alert: the dog does not die in real life.
The only thing that’s going on is “ridiculous over-the-top carnage”.
The rest is dressing.
I should point out that much of the gunplay is accurate. Keanu is very experienced with shooting, handling, and reloading the various weapons used. He also does many of the physical stunts himself.
Unlike many/most action films, the weapons do not have unlimited magazines. The shots to the head are actually needed to assure a mook/henchman is actually no longer a threat. The trope of a single bullet dropping the bad guy is just that - untrue. A person may go down from shock but death happens much later. Real people can and do recover to continue the fight until perishing a few minutes later - therefore, the head shot.
Live-action Bugs Bunny with guns… and Monica Bellucci in a high-slit leather skirt and a corset that is half a size too small for her. Paul Giamatti as the scenery-chewing villain. Fantastic movie, highly recommended.
This film series was my introduction to “gun-fu” and I love it. I’m a big fan of action choreography but I had never seen it done with guns before. Super cool! A lot of very high caliber choreography talent is working on these films, so in that aspect, I consider them great art.
And I love that he does his own stunts. You couldn’t have asked for a better person to carry an action franchise.
That’s the thing.
In terms of crime films you have a couple levels:
Traditional mobster movies like the works of Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Casino) or the Godfather films or Sopranos that are based on true stories or are mostly true to life. We’re taken into this secretive world of the Mafia where they live by their own rules but still need to maintain a facade of legitimacy and respectability.
Stylistic crime movies like the works of Tarantino (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction), Guy Richie (Snatch, The Gentlemen), Luc Besson (The Transporter, Leon), movies like Smokin’ Aces or Shoot Em Up where you are starting to get into these fantastic characters and sophisticated crime networks with specialized services and logistics and whatnot. But they still operate in a world where they need to stay hidden from regular civilians and legitimate police and FBI.
And then you have The World of John Wick which is just at this completely bonkers level where I can’t even consider it “underground” in any meaningful way. There is nothing subtle or “underground” when the High Table “deconsecrates” The Continental by sending in wave after wave of tactical squads in body armor and then later demolishes it.
Kill Bill is pretty John Wicky.
Good observation! I also love Kill Bill.
It would be if every third person that The Bride encounters is somehow tied to their criminal network. Not just O-Rens Yakuza family. Half the hospital where she was laid up would be assassins! Most of the soccer mom’s in Vernita Green’s neighborhood would either be married to assassins, if not assassins themselves! The strip club where Budd worked would mostly be frequented by assassins and it would be highly likely that the club itself would be a Ballerina-esq facility for training women to be deadly assassin stripers.
Think how many scenes in the Joh Wick movies involve an entire public square or venue full of assassins! Even if it was staged, it still means the High Table has to somehow orchestrate shutting down some public space and fill it full of assassins!
Well, you understand why there are so many assassins: because John Wick kills 15K every couple days.
I know cracked.com is but a shadow of its former self, but it occasionally has an entertaining or amusing article still. I saw this cracked article and thought of this thread.
By some counts, John Wicked killed over 430 people over the course of 4 movies.
I believe that those few weeks are roughly equivalent to the US Military’s deadliest year in the Afghanistan War and more than the worst mass shooting in the US by an order of magnitude.
That’s a lot of CGI. Once I realized that all of the muzzle flashes and blood are VFX I have a hard time looking at anything else.