As I sat down to write this, I planned on doing a full "Geeky Guy's Guide". But then I realized that basically every fan of the first two John Wick movies are definitely going to see this one. After all, John Wick may be the last true action hero. The only question is... should fans spend the time and money to see it in the theater or wait for DVD or Netflix?
I am still in awe of the first movie in the series. I had never seen such amazing action choreography before (or since). The use of close range gun fire, was truly groundbreaking. Although not even close to realistic or believable, it was simply amazing. Actually, perhaps the fact that it was so unbelievable is what made it so good. I am not a big fan of gore in movies. However, because the action was so ridiculously over-the-top, I never saw anything happening as being remotely possible. It was like watching a video game come to life.
The second best thing about the first two movies in the series, was the strange world building and character development. The creators managed to invent a rich underground world of assassins who lived by a very strict code. Each character seemed like a really interesting NPC (non-player character) in a rich video game. I spent nearly the entire first movies with a grin on my face. I was constantly entertained by the choreography, setting, or odd/sexy/funny/crazy/unique characters.
If you notice, I have never mentioned the story or the acting. That is because... who cares. The plots were merely vehicles for the action sequences fought in cool places between awesome characters.
Although John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is not as good as the first two, it still has most of the elements that made the first two movies so much fun. This movie picks up immediately after the conclusion of John Wick: Chapter 2 and I mean immediately. It is not a few days later. It is not a few hours later. It is a few minutes later. In fact he is still limping and bleeding the same way he was at the end of Chapter 2. I thought that was a very cool gimmick.
This meant there was absolutely nothing to set up. The action can start immediately. And I mean immediately... and it never, ever stops for more than five minutes. It is absolutely insane how many battle scenes there were. It was honestly like watching a video game and hitting the "X" button to skip all the cut scenes.
The only problem was that the creators clearly wanted to do something fresh. Therefore, instead of mainly relying on the remarkable fire arm choreography, there were far more hand to hand battles. Although they were cool, this meant more bone breaking and close up and detailed stabbings and slashing. There were actually some times I had to look away from the screen.
As a result, I did not enjoy it as much as the first two installments. But so what? I still got to see John Wick use a horse as a weapon, ride that horse while being chased by ninjas on motorcycles, and throw about 59 knives at people standing a few feet away from him. It was still incredible.
So... when should John Wick fans see this movie (assuming you haven't already). Should you wait for DVD or head out to the theater? I would say you should set your expectations a little lower and head out to the theater. This movie has almost nothing to do with plot and dialogue. It is about watching ridiculous fight scenes in really cool locations. Those look so much better on the big screen. If you haven't seen it yet, it is worth the time and money. It may not be as good as the original, but I guarantee you there will be several times you say, "Well I never saw that before."
By the way, "Parabellum" is Latin for "Prepare for war". If you do decide to see this, that is excellent advice.