ONE OF THE BIGGEST MOVIE FRANCHISES IS THAT OF JOHN WICK.
IT DIDN'T START THAT WAY. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO START SMALL. EVEN DIRECTORS OF THE FIRST FILM, CHAD STAHELSKI AND DAVID LEITCH, THOUGHT THE FIRST WOULD BE THE LAST ,BUT OF COURSE, THEY WERE WRONG. THE STUDIO WANTED MORE BECAUSE RELATIVE TO ITS BUDGET , IT MADE A LOT OF MONEY. LATER, STAHELSKI WOULD MAN CHAPTERS 2 AND 3 BY HIMSELF AND LEITCH MOVED ON TO HOBBS AND SHAW SUCCESS.
STAHELSKI STARTED AS A STUNTMAN. I EVEN READ SOMEWHERE THAT HE ACTUALLY STARTED SCHOOL AS A MED STUDENT. HOWEVER, HIS ABILITY IN MARTIAL ARTS, LED TO STUNT WORK, INCLUDING THE REPLACEMENT FOR VARIOUS SCENES IN THE CROW WHEN BRANDON LEE WAS ACCIDENTALLY KILLED AND OF COURSE, KEANU'S STUNT DOUBLE IN THE MATRIX TRILOGY. THEN THAT LED TO LEADING 2ND UNIT DIRECTION AND THEN DIRECTOR AND EXECUTIVE ABOARD THE WICK MOVIES AND OTHER RELATED VENTURES. HE SEEMS TO BE A SMOOTH BUSINESSMAN.
BUT LET US NOT FORGET THE CENTRAL FIGURE, JOHN WICK HIMSELF, MR. KEANU REEVES. MR. REEVES HAS A COMBINATION OF VULNERABILITY, TENACITY, AND STEEL THAT HE CAN SHOW IN HIS FACE. HE HAS HONED HIS SKILLS WELL AND IT HAS MADE HIM A SUCCESSFUL ACTOR. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS ABOUT HIM. THERE;S ANOTHER LAYER. I THINK IT IS THAT HE SEEMS SO MYSTERIOUS. YOU DON'T REALLY HEAR ABOUT HIM IN THE TABLOIDS. HE IS SEEMINGLY QUIET AND PENSIVE, SEXY IN REAL LIFE, YET HIS MOVIE ROLES SHOWCASE WELL, I GUESS, HIGHLY EXTROVERTED PEOPLE?!
NOW, THE STORY, THAT IS THE MYSTERY. IT HAS A LOT OF ACTION, BUT LITTLE DIALOGUE AND YET YOU GET IT. YOU GET WHAT THE PEOPLE ARE FEELING AND HOW EACH ACTION BUILDS THE STORY. A LOT OF WOMEN LIKE THESE MOVIES. I THINK IF YOU SAW IN THE FIRST MOVIE: HOW MUCH THE CHARACTER LOVED HIS WIFE AND WHAT THE DOG MEANT TO HIM, AND HOW HIS LIFE SEEMS SO TRAGIC, YOU FEEL FOR HIM. THE STORY LED TO A PLACE THAT HE COULD NOT CONTROL. MOVIE NUMBER ONE DIDN'T HAVE TO GO TO NUMBER 2, BUT OTHER PLAYERS WERE INVOLVED, NOT JUST THE JOHN WICK CHARACTER. HE IS A VICTIM OF HIS PAST.
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANY OF THESE MOVIES, PLEASE DO. THEY ARE ODDLY COMPELLING. IF YOU HAVE, WATCH THEM AGAIN FROM THE BEGINNING. I WAS COMPELLED ENOUGH BY THE LAST STORY TO WRITE MY OWN VERSION OF THE NEXT ONE. I REALLY THINK THESE MOVIES ARE COOL!
