# What Genre is John Wick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417 "2020-01-14T17:20:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/1 "2020-01-14T17:20:09Z")
I watched John Wick 3 yesterday and I know it sounds weird but the story it most reminded me of is Harry Potter of all things. The way there is a secret world right under our noses with intricate rules and laws. It makes the movies feel to me like Fantasy moreso than just a standard Action Drama like, say Die Hard. So I think it could be argued it’s a Fantasy film. What Genre would you say it is? ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/2 "2020-01-14T17:25:09Z")
You saw what happened to him at the end, right? This is DEFINITELY a fantasy movie. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/3 "2020-01-14T17:28:01Z")
Revenge Porn ? ETA - At least the first one. Does the OP want all the genre for all John Wick movies as a whole (Thread Title), or just JW3 (OP)? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/4 "2020-01-14T18:00:21Z")
It’s a musical. I mean, it’s an action film, but it also has a lot in common with classic Hollywood musicals like _Singin’ in the Rain_. It’s set in a world similar to our own but not exactly like it, one where people spontaneously break into beautifully choreographed, athletically amazing dance/fight scenes for ridiculous reasons that make perfect sense in context. There’s a plot, yes, but it’s really just an excuse to string the sequences together. Anything can happen - and probably will. Also, Keanu Reeves is the Gene Kelly of shooting people in the face. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/5 "2020-01-14T18:09:15Z")
It’s a “Shoot 'em up”. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/6 "2020-01-14T19:09:27Z")
number 1: John against the bad guys who wronged him. number 2: John against all the bad guys. number 3: John against the world. I re-watched JW2 the other day. In a pivitol scene he has to kill the pretty lady because of the damn code of gangsters. She chooses to kill herself. Then in the end he breaks the code anyway, in the worst possible way, by killing the bad guy right in the Deadwood Hotel bar in front of Al Swearengen. What the fuck, John? If you are going to break the freakin code why not save the lady, get some lovin, kill her freaking brother and at least have a chance at something other then every bad guy in the world trying to kill you. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/7 "2020-01-14T19:45:01Z")
They’re definitely action movies with a subgenre being a shoot 'em up. Sure, there are fantasy elements, and they’re the heaviest in the third one, but that doesn’t shift the genre or even nudge it into “fantasy action” or some hybrid category. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/8 "2020-01-14T20:28:36Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > They’re definitely action movies with a subgenre being a shoot 'em up. Sure, there are fantasy elements, and they’re the heaviest in the third one, but that doesn’t shift the genre or even nudge it into “fantasy action” or some hybrid category. I’ve only seen the first one, but I’d have to agree. While the notion of this vast criminal underworld and associated code of ethics is definitely fantastic, it’s not actual “fantasy” in that at least in the first one, there’s no supernatural/magical aspect to it. And it’s not even really alternate reality type stuff, in that it’s firmly IN our reality, but a little-seen version of it. Which isn’t new; plenty of movies have used the whole “hidden underworld” trope before, where they’d have you believe that you can just put out feelers and round up a highly experienced and professional criminal crew to pull off a jewel heist, or bank robbery, or what have you, when in reality, “The Ladykillers” probably has it a little more like reality. What makes the version in “John Wick” different is that it’s so formalized- there’s a whole infrastructure set up at the Continental to allow interactions, etc… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/9 "2020-01-14T21:13:40Z")
The formalism of it has a lot in common with \*[wuxia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia#Jianghu)\*stories of the \*jianghu \*. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/10 "2020-01-14T21:26:59Z")
The “heroic outlaw” trope has always had fantastic elements, dating back to Robin Hood. From pirate fiction to mafia fiction, the notion that gangsters have their own laws and ethics is not entirely untrue, but the reality rarely resembles the fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/11 "2020-01-14T21:27:28Z")
> [@bump](#): > > While the notion of this vast criminal underworld and associated code of ethics is definitely fantastic, it’s not actual “fantasy” in that at least in the first one, there’s no supernatural/magical aspect to it. And it’s not even really alternate reality type stuff, in that it’s firmly IN our reality, but a little-seen version of it. The fantastical element is how this very violent world exists quite separately from any sort of law-abiding society. Like you never see any police response to the events, and in the third movie for one, some of that seems to be happening in the open. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/12 "2020-01-14T22:05:59Z")
There also is the semi-magical suit/armor he wears. It looks and moves like a normal jacket yet is bullet proof. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/13 "2020-01-14T22:37:09Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It’s a “Shoot 'em up”. Yes. And if you’ve seen the movie called _Shoot Em Up_ you’d see a similarly exaggerated approach to action. I agree, definitely a shoot 'em up. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/14 "2020-01-14T22:48:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The fantastical element is how this very violent world exists quite separately from any sort of law-abiding society. Like you never see any police response to the events, and in the third movie for one, some of that seems to be happening in the open. Also, there are no innocent victims. Every single human being hurt in any of the films is a willing participant in the criminal underground - and the single innocent _non_-human killed is the catalyst for the entire story. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/15 "2020-01-15T15:21:00Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The fantastical element is how this very violent world exists quite separately from any sort of law-abiding society. Like you never see any police response to the events, and in the third movie for one, some of that seems to be happening in the open. Sure, but it’s not supernatural, at least not in the first movie. And it’s just a variation on the spy movie trope that there’s this whole espionage/spying/special ops world simmering just below the surface of what everyone knows, and people get shot, beat up, stuff gets destroyed spectacularly, etc… and it’s all covered up and we (the general public) are none the wiser. And all this stuff is going down right in front of our noses and we never know. John Wick wasn’t any different- it was just that instead of the CIA/FSB/MI6 providing safehouses, oversight, gadgetry, the Continental took a lot of that role. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/16 "2020-01-15T17:17:27Z")
I think John Wick is a Martial Arts film. But, with guns. The loner on a quest of redemption and revenge is a classic martial arts tale. Plus the outrageous many against one fight scenes. Definitely a martial arts film. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/17 "2020-01-15T18:17:57Z")
> [@tullsterx](#): > > I think John Wick is a Martial Arts film. But, with guns. > > The loner on a quest of redemption and revenge is a classic martial arts tale. > > Plus the outrageous many against one fight scenes. Definitely a martial arts film. Agreed. They even call it “Gun-Fu” in the bonus materials. There’s also “Car-Fu”, and “Horse-Fu”. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/18 "2020-01-15T18:57:04Z")
> [@Jumpbass](#): > > Agreed. They even call it “Gun-Fu” in the bonus materials. There’s also “Car-Fu”, and “Horse-Fu”. How does it rate on the three B’s? ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/19 "2020-01-15T21:40:06Z")
It’s a live action comic book. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417/20 "2020-01-15T22:28:32Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > How does it rate on the three B’s? I don’t know what that is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-genre-is-john-wick/846417.md?page=2)