We got a new high speed internet connection a couple of weeks ago so my son & I immediately decided to have a movie DAY since we weren’t busy elsewhere. Of course, the next question was what to watch? We finally settled on John Wick. Ended up watching the first three movies, one right after another.
So, I’ll say it again. WOW!
The weird thing is that essentially they are very violent, blood and all, movies which normally I don’t like that much. And yet it was more like watching a ballet at times. With guns and fists. My son said that they are probably technically called gun-fu, a term I’d never heard before. But it fits. Because that’s probably where the impression of dancing comes in – highly choreographed martial arts that just happen to involve guns at close range. Yep, I can see it. Also, I have heard the first movie called a Symphony of Violence. Hmmm.
The thing that really struck me the most, though, was how much we actually laughed while watching them. There was a lot of humor in them that was totally unexpected considering the type of movies they are. Almost to the point that I’ve actually considered whether they’re satire… dunno, but it’s a thought.
Anyway, you know me, I had to go digging around on the internet to find out if I was right. Still not sure but I found a couple of interesting links. First is an article about the “art” in John Wick – 3 Ways John Wick is Deeper Than You Realized.
Then there’s this video about the “mythology” in the films:
Well, I don’t know about the Greek Gods but by the time we finished the third movie I was looking over at my son and saying, very deliberately, “I feel like I’m watching a modern Dante’s Inferno with a hero fighting his way out of all the levels of hell.” Seriously.