“John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” Review

Who needs young and upcoming action heroes when you have the likes of Keanu Reeves?

Now, I don’t think Reeves is a fantastic actor. In fact, I don’t even know if I’d say that he’s good. We all know hes a fantastic human being and down to earth person, so there’s no denying that. But I’d say the best quality about him as an actor is that he’s dedicated to his craft, and that he’s good at choosing movies that suit his acting range. John Wick is in my opinion his best franchise over The Matrix, no contest. While the franchise itself doesn’t really do anything new or innovative, it doesn’t need to. At its core, the John Wick franchise started with very humble 90’s action-style roots, and then blossomed into an insane cinematic universe that doubles down on an all-encompassing assassin syndicate that spans the entire world.

There’s not too much to say about this film other than the fact that the action takes up about 85% of the film. There is so much action loaded into this movie that at times you might actually find the times that someone isn’t getting their head blown off a breath of fresh air. There’s an action sequence in particular that I think lasts about 5 minutes too long, but the overall pacing of the movie is pretty good all things considered. And yes, the action is about all you could ask for. The wide shots, the lack of shaky cam, the fact that you can see everything happening cohesively, all fitting of the golden standard of filming action. There’s also a wide variety of shootouts and action scenes; some scenes are focused on close combat, others on with varied weapons (that knife one though) and then your standard mass carnage with an insane arsenal of weaponry. Reeves does what he does best in this film, which is murder scores and scores of bad guys and make it look easy. However, there are some scenes where he’s fist fighting and definitely shows his age, particularly in scenes near the end. He isn’t the spry young man he used to be, but he does a good enough job to make most of his scenes work and not take you out of the movie.

The biggest weakness in this film is the story. There are a lot of inconsequential things that happen, and the result of the absolutely bonkers ending of the second film take it to another level in this film. A lot of the things that happen don’t really make a lot of sense, but at the same time, I guess it doesn’t really have to. The issue here is that a movie franchise like this doesn’t have to have an interesting story to get people hungry for more, but it’s written in a way where the writers actually really want you to take the story seriously and care about it. The best way I can describe this film is that it tries to do its best impression of The Raid 2 and instead ends up being The Fast and the Furious. Is that bad? No, not necessarily. It’s endlessly entertaining, but there’s a lot of ridiculousness that might make you roll your eyes.

In the end, this is one of the most consistently entertaining franchises, and I’m not mad that they’ve already announced a fourth film. Keanu isn’t getting any younger, so they ought to use his talents while he’s still capable of pulling off these crazy stunts. I think the team behind this franchise has found something special, and I would be surprised if fans of the series were anything but pleased with this third installment.

Grade: B+/81

“Avengers: Endgame” Review

I’m still alive!

I apologize to the three of you that read my blog, I haven’t posted anything in quite a few months. I don’t really have a good reason for not posting anything, other than the fact that I haven’t been interested in seeing any movies that have come out this year so far.

Endgame is no exception. For those of you who have followed my blog for the past few years, you probably already know that I’m suffering from major comic book fatigue. So before I get into this review, I think it’s fair to let everyone know that I’m not really a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the exception of a few movies. That way you can take whatever I say with a grain of salt.

When I think of the MCU, and DC Comics’s attempt at creating their own shared universe, I think of one thing: finality. For me, a good series is one that ends. Closure brings resolution to characters that we’ve come to love, and closes the chapter on an overarching story that envelops all of them. While this is not always the case, I think we can agree that most good series are written with a specific end in mind. To many, the Marvel franchise is a big exception, and for good reason. They’ve managed to capture the hearts of moviegoers everywhere, if Endgame‘s box office numbers are any indication. Each Avengers movie seems to get bigger and bigger in scale, with no end in sight. How can the level of hype be sustained with each passing film? How can you continue to grab the viewer’s attention after years and years of films in the same genre? Fan service. Lots and lots of fan service.

When is fan service too much? I asked myself this while I watched Endgame, as this film struck me as a sort of MCU Greatest Hits type of film. I think this movie falls into two groups of thought: If you’ve bought into the MCU so far, and you’ve become heavily invested into the characters and their journey, then you will absolutely love this film. If you haven’t, then it’s going to be just another run-of-the-mill film. This movie not only serves to be a sort of bookend for Marvel’s first major story arc, but also a self-congratulatory trip down memory lane that honors all of the characters that Marvel has brought to the silver screen. Oh yea, this movie also has a lot of fan service. A LOT.

I don’t think fan service is necessarily a bad thing. I think back to when I saw Ready Player One last year, a film that I thoroughly enjoyed, and that film is 100% fan service. A good portion of my enjoyment of that film came from all of the video game/movie references it threw at me. While I know that it’s a deeply flawed movie, I was able to overlook it because of all the fun I was having. Similarly, Endgame throws a lot of fan service at you. It has all these character moments you want, and familiar character beats that you want to see happen. And yet, I did not find myself captivated by what was happening in the 3-hour long film. I think the reason comes from the fact that Ready Player One is a singular film that isn’t meant to be taken seriously, while Endgame is a culmination of 11 years of Marvel movies, a grand event that is meant to be taken seriously. However, everything seemed so predictable and telegraphed. How thrilling can the biggest film of the franchise be when you know exactly what is going to happen?

After over a decade of movies where the formula for each one is the same, I’ve come to realize that the only way to maintain interest is to give the viewers EXACTLY what they want. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Well, it depends. The more that a movie gives what the majority of viewers want, the more formulaic and predictable it becomes. However, the predictability is hidden from us because we’re enjoying everything that we’re seeing, so it’s easier to overlook its flaws. Playing it safe is the way to go for big franchises, and look no further than the backlash being received by the final season of Game of Thrones. The moment that expectations are subverted for the show’s biggest characters, people riot and petition for the final season to be re-done.

Disney is in the business to make money, and it’s always been that way. That’s not a bad thing, because unlike a majority of companies with big franchises, they’re insanely good at it. These Marvel movies are meant to sell millions of dollars worth of toys and other merchandise. It also helps that their movies are well thought out and directed. But their goal is to not subvert expectations, or make any creative narrative leaps in storytelling. Their goal is to give you exactly what you want, all the time. After seeing Infinity War last year, it taught me that any time Marvel can pull a punch, it will. To me, they are the masters of playing it safe, and if I’m going to be invested in a franchise that spans decades and decades worth of films, I’d like some surprises thrown my way every now and then.

It’s funny, I’ve written so much in this review so far and I’ve barely talked about the movie. I think that’s because there isn’t really much to talk about. It’s more of the same, just bigger. The fights are more spectacular, and the overall scale is grander. However, at the end of the day, it’s more of the same. While this film is supposed to wrap up the story line with Thanos, my overall impression of the film is that nothing is really over. The stories with these characters will never come to an end, because the money-making machine is too big to stop now. I don’t think Disney anticipates creating the next Avengers movie with expectations that it’s going to be any lesser than Endgame. How can they top all of the spectacle and grandeur? The answer is more formulaic, predictable fan service.

I’ve completely accepted the fact that this franchise is not for me, and is everything for the majority of moviegoers, and that’s fine. I’ve realized that I’m just not a fan of this structure of film making. It’s not that I have anything against Marvel, because you could put three Mission: Impossible movies out a year with the same level of quality and fan service, and I’d be the first person shouting from the rooftops for the franchise to be put to death. The more I watch movies from the MCU, the more I begin to feel like the movies are being produced by a machine that’s collected user data for 11 years and pumped through an algorithm that is able to make the best possible movie without the element of a human’s creative touch. I can’t even say that I’m disappointed in this film, because it’s exactly what I expected. At the end of the day, it served its purpose in being entertaining. It was fun, it had some nice moments, and that’s all I was really expecting. I’m glad to have finally seen this movie, so that I can put it behind me until the next one comes. Sort of like a tetanus shot.

Grade: B-/75