John Wick 3: Parabellum (2019)

Director: Chad Stahelski

Not sure why I didn't review this one when I first saw it in theaters last year, but oh well. This third "chapter" in the John Wick series continues to do what the previous two did - provide slick, exceptionally well-executed, intense action within a visually stunning setting dark mythology. Like it's predecessor, Chapter 2, this one was arguably a bit longer than necessary, but was overall good.

The previous movie ended with John Wick, assassin extraordinaire, being declared "Excommunicado" by the vast and rules-dominated system of criminals and professional killers, meaning that he is now hunted by hundreds of his fellow killers-for-hire. He is also without the benefit of any legitimate form of sanctuary - something which provided him a great advantage in the past. So alone and seeking a way out of this lethal dilemma, John calls in a couple of very old and very valuable favors, ultimately being granted a meeting with a mysterious, powerful figure (billed only as "The Elder") who seems to hold sway over the immensely powerful criminal organizations that all want John dead. In exchange for safety from the countless killers after him, John agrees to serve him for the rest of his life in addition to killing Winston, longtime friend of Johns' and the manager of the New York Continental Hotel. Almost needless to say, things don't exactly work out the way that The Elder and the other most powerful criminals lords hope, with John and a few friends killing dozens upon dozens of would-be assassins along the way. 

I have to tip my cap to this franchise - it's done a brilliant job of taking a simple, crowd-pleasing idea and executing it with a satisfying amount of style, novelty, and exceptional attention to detail. The first John Wick made its mark in two ways: by bringing an intense, "extended shots" approach to filming action and fight scenes, and setting the story within a novel, dark fantasy world with its own mythology and rules. Chapter 2 got deeper into that mythology, and it managed to show that they could offer equally intense fights with novel twists, either through the settings or the methods that the fighters used. Parabellum continues this trend, giving us new, often exotic and dazzling locations and sets, and adding fun wrinkles to the combat. And there's a lot of combat. I know this will be sacrilege to the millions of Wick faithful, but I actually thought there was too much combat. I'll explain later.

The sequels in this series have done a great job of giving us
new environments, visuals, and companions for John. For
example, getting John and Halle Berry strolling through 
the desert with a pair of attack German shepherds.

In terms of story, the broad strokes are basically the same as Chapter 2. John seeks to get out of a massive, life-threatening dilemma, but he needs to seek out help to do it. He cashes in a few favors just for the chance at a solution, only to find that he'll have to pledge eternal servitude as a killer to The Elder if he wants to be safe from assassination. There are mysterious, ever-more-powerful characters, and a few new friends whom we meet along the way. And at every turn, John and his few partners cut bloody swaths between where they are and where they're going. In this sense, it's all very much like the latter half of Chapter 2, during which John goes from the offensive to the defensive. The most fascinating part of this is that, as John works his way up the criminal power structure, we continue to get hints at just how powerful - seemingly supernaturally so - those in control of this vast network are. I really enjoy how the story keeps these cards close to the vest. I'm still not sure if it speaks to deft storytelling or a lack of actual substance, but it still works for me. 

The combat and action scenes. Look, they're great. This is by far the major draw to this entire series, and Parabellum keeps the bar exceptionally high, arguably raising it even higher than the previous film. Whether it's on-road pursuits, hand-to-hand fighting, or gunplay, this series continues to dazzle. We've already seen how well the action and fight sequences are choreographed and shot, so that's no surprise. What each new film offers, though, is new environments, weapons, and other props. Yes, it's John Wick killing people by the bundle, but nearly every new fight does something new and different in its dark, brutal way. Just a few examples from Parabellum include a motorcycle pursuit of John on a horse, one of the longest knife-fights you'll ever see, Halle Berry using a pair of bulletproofed attack dogs, and more. Honestly, my Dad and I (we went to see it together in the theater) were as entertained by the over-the-top novelty of the kills as much as anything. 

This is Zero, John's primary fighting adversary
in Parabellum. He's actually been my favorite so
far, adding some levity to the intense fights.

For all the mastery and ingenuity of the highly dynamic and kinetic fight sequences, though, I did find that they wore on me after a while. This is a continuation of this entire series for me, actually. The first John Wick clocked in at 101 minutes; Chapter 2 expanded to 122 minutes, and Parabellum upped it a bit to 130 minutes. All three have about the same 25 to 30 minutes of "plot," with the rest given over to action. The balance was just right in the first movie for me, but it all grew a bit tiresome at the 90-minute mark in the second and third films. It didn't help that the grande finale fight in Parabellum took place in an environment that looked a lot like the final big fight in Chapter 2, so it already felt a bit familiar. I must say, though, that the actual fight against Zero and his two henchmen was much better than what I found to be a so-so fight against Ares in Chapter 2. The fights are all done brilliantly - it's just that I don't have the unquenchable thirst for action that many viewers might have. 

There's a very interesting possible path that this series may go down - the path of "tearing down the entire system." At this point in the overall story, I'm hoping that we now have the basic framework of the vast, rule-governed network that all of these criminals and killer operate within. John's arc so far suggests that he is ready to break free of it entirely, and he is now in the position where the only way to do so is to destroy it completely. This would be the logical - and extremely fun - path for the future movies to take. I recently heard that the plan is to film both the fourth and fifth movies together, so we can expect at least two more chapters in this "franchise." I'll definitely check them out, even if I'll go in expecting to grow a bit tired of the bloodletting if they go much beyond the hour-and-a-half threshold.