John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

Review #1222: John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

Cast: 
Keanu Reeves (John Wick), Ian McShane (Winston), Mark Dacascos (Zero), Laurence Fishburne (The Bowery King), Asia Kate Dillon (Adjudicator of the High Table), Halle Berry (Sofia), Lance Reddick (Charon), Anjelica Huston (The Director), Saïd Taghmaoui (The Elder), and Jerome Flynn (Berrada) Directed by Chad Stahelski (#905 - John Wick and #906 - John Wick: Chapter 2)

Review: 
It goes without saying that these have proved to be entertaining movies to sit through. They have plenty of action to go around, along with good pacing and a fairly well-thought-out story that makes these more than the mindless entertainment pieces that they might have been under lesser hands. It certainly seems like Reeves is having a great time with this role, having plenty of discipline when dealing with a glut of action sequences and a fair bit of plot without seeming lost in the background. This remains true here, with no real sense of stopping the ride of entertainment in sight (after all, a sequel was announced not long after this film's release), and I certainly can't wait to see where they want to go from here. Stahelski returns to direct, with screenwriter and story writer Derek Kolstad now being joined by Shay Hatten, Chris Collins and Marc Abrams in the former department, and there is certainly a good degree of consistency from one feature to the next as it continues to do a bit of storytelling beneath just people trying to take down Wick over and over again, remaining energetic with its resemblance to hard-boiled film noir and western types without becoming a parody of them. Sure, the action is the key highlight, but the fact that it doesn't feel overbearing with a run-time of 131 minutes is the underlying part of what makes for a winning experience. When the focus isn't so much on its main character (or more specifically, when it wants to take a breather), at least there is some sort of interesting nature to this world of assassins without blathering on too much. Reeves plays the role with subtle relish as ever, having no trouble at all. Dacascos shines finely in the way an adversary should, fairly agile and imteresting to view when faced with a climax battle. Fishburne goes along with the fun for his moments once again. McShane comes off fairly interesting for his moments on screen, amusing and watchable.  Dillon does fine as a newcomer to the series; the film doesn't really have a big enemy at the end, but at least Dillon manages to play an adversary (a bureaucrat of penance, egads) with smarmy effectiveness that will I surely see again soon. Berry is fine for her time on screen, showing some agility even when not having too much time on screen for the first half. On the whole, the film has plenty of movement and energy to make for a quality thrill ride that keeps up mostly with the quality of the first two without losing the spirit of what makes a film with a force like its title character so fun to be watching. They make for good shows of weapon work, editing and look, but most importantly good shows of people to look around with every now and then.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.