John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum (2019) Dir: Chad Stahelski
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With Chapter 4 around the corner, I figured it was at last time to watch the third installment of this, quite frankly, bonkers franchise.
Directed by Chad Stahelski, who has directed both prior movies, Stahelski continues his form of using straight-to-the-point storytelling, flamboyant visuals and especially wild action sequences.
The aforementioned flashy visuals are thanks to the cinematography of Dan Laustsen, who curates a Blade Runner-esque neon-dystopian aesthetic that suits the film to the bone.
There were only two moments that disappointed me visually; both when the CGI used was a little poor, although, I will concede that they were very difficult scenes to animate.
The excellent fight choreography can find its origins in classic Hong Kong cinema, and, more directly, Yuen Woo-ping, who both Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves trained under while working on The Matrix trilogy.
The intense and committed training the cast went through for the film pays off, with each and every action scene flowing beautifully.
Keanu Reeves is, of course, the face of this franchise, and returns once again to star here, continuing his character's violent story in spectacular fashion. He may not be the strongest actor, but he always manages to entertain, and this instance is no exception.
Ian McShane has been a consistent secondary character in these films and once again appears here. This role is easily one of the ones he has been best suited to, and he plays his character, once more, as well as you could hope.
Halle Berry is an iconic actress, and when I heard she was in this, I was very excited. However, she was not featured anywhere near as much as I expected, which is a shame. That said, the scenes she was in, she did very well.
Laurence Fishburne is an actor who I think deserves far more acclaim than he seems to get. He always seems to deliver at worst a decent performance, and, in this film, he gives one of my favourite performances.
Asia Kate Dillon is a new character, and, while she is very intriguing in her role, I would've liked to see her get more screentime - though I would imagine that will be amended in the fourth film.
I'd also like to give praise to Anjelica Huston, Lance Reddick, Jason Mantzoukas and Mark Decascos, who all delivered enjoyable performances in their supporting roles.
Overall, this surpasses the second film in its overall quality and entertainment value, but can't quite match the first, if partially because of my sentimentality towards the original.
It is a near certainty that fans of the action genre especially will absolutely love this. The fight choreography alone is enough to ensure that.
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