John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Director: Chad Stahelski
Writer: Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, Marc Abrams
Sequel to: John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Tobias Segal, Anjelica Huston, Saïd Taghmaoui
Seen on: 3.6.2019

Plot:
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is in deep, deep trouble. He has been ousted from the society of assassins, forfeiting any protection they can offer. Instead there is a bounty on his head, and everybody from the assassin’s guild is after him to cash in on it. He has had a very small grace perios before the hunt starts, but his only real chance is to get out of the city and disappear.

I have been a huge fan of the first two installments of this series, and the third one manages to continue with it in the same high quality, making me itching for Chapter 4 (presumably the last one).

There are two qualities about the series that are absolutely outstanding. One is the elaborate world-building that gets even more intricate and a lot bigger here. Not all aspects really work when blown up to the level that Chapter 3 blows them up to, but I can absolutely live with that because the film still manages to entertain and be coherent about it.

The second one are the fight scenes that are simply a thing of beauty. Wonderfully lit, creatively choreographed, and simply beautiful camerawork – they have it all. They always come up with new things and it’s astounding. This time, the inclusion of animals (I want an animal army in Chapter 4, please) and the showdown in the more or less see-through room with a lot of reflecting surfaces. Just wow.

I also enjoyed the new characters, above all the Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon), but also Zero (Marm Dacascos) who was actually really funny. To be fair, though, pretty much everyone is a very distinct character and Keanu Reeves is still the best choice for playing the protagonist here.

In short, despite my really high expectations, I was incredibly content with this Chapter in the story. I hope Chapter 4 will be just as good, and I hope that they know to quit while they’re ahead. Either way, I will be there for it.

Summarizing: awesomeness.