John Wick (2014)

Written by The Movie Mob on August 20, 2022

The mastery of stunt choreography and world-building make John Wick the new standard of action films.

John Wick is a master class on taking every movie trope and delivering an incredibly fresh and innovative franchise that delights avid action fans and casual observers alike. Chad Stahelski and team break free from the now overused shaky cam to hide mediocre acting and push their stars and stunt team to give us some of the best action sequences in film since The Matrix. But to take this movie even further into brilliance, Stahelski prefers to show and not tell the audience about the world in which John Wick lives. As a result, everything is mysterious, leaving viewers intrigued, questioning, and wholly immersed in this assassin-filled world. The unusual gold coin currency, the legend and fear of John Wick, the enigmatic Continental hotel that forbids any assassin "work" on the premises, and much more sweeten a typical action revenge story into a cinematic treasure.