Everyone is fighting against 'gun-fu': John Wick 3 is almost as good as the original

<img src = "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/wickTOP-800×533.jpg" alt = "" This was not just a puppy. "Keanu Reeves is back, declaring war on the high table in John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum."/>

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum blows up the box office this weekend with an anticipated opening of $ 56.8 million. No follow-up will match the lean, mean, and revengeful fury of the original film, but Parabellum come near. Director Chad Stahelski knows exactly what his audience wants. This third opus puts forward the mythology of the assassin's underworld while chaining a series of choreographed spectacular combat sequences featuring some of the most beautiful stunts you are likely to see on the screen.

(Spoilers for the first two films and soft spoilers for chapter 3 below.)

For those who missed the first two movies, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is a legendary hitman (known as Boogeyman or "Baba Yaga") who tried to retire when he fell in love and s & rsquo; Is married. Unfortunately, he is brought back into the darkness of the underworld by a senseless act of violence after the death of his wife. Nothing will prevent John Wick from seeking redress. The first John Wick has grossed more than $ 88 million worldwide for a film whose filming cost about $ 30 million, and he was commended for his steady pace, his breathtaking action sequences and his style elegant. black feel.

So naturally, there was a sequel. In John Wick: Chapter Two, Wick takes a whole lot of Russian bad guys but is forced to respect the honor (according to the code of the professional hitman) to leave for a last mission. Of course, he succeeds – that's John Wick – but the client, the Italian crime lord Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), is trying to cover his tracks by depositing a bonus on Wick's head. Wick ends up killing Santino – recently appointed at the high table – inside the Continental Hotel in New York, supposed to be a safe place for murderers and declared "excommunicated", cutting him off from all the resources that the clandestine killer has the habit of conducting provides.

And that's where it is John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum Wick rushes to find allies (and ammo) in order to repel just about all the underworld of killers, all very eager to claim the $ 14 million bonus on his head. The title refers to the old saying, If vis pacem, para bellum: "If you want peace, prepare for war." Wick basically declared the war at the high table, and the escalation takes place exactly as one would expect when the favorite hitman of everyone, dog lover, is involved.

Parabellum continues to flesh out the details of the inner workings of the High Table and its global network of highly skilled killers – one of the most fascinating aspects of franchising. Yes, it's a criminal enterprise, but there has always been a strict code of conduct. A representative of the table of honor, known only under the name of the referee (Asia Kate Dillon), is determined to apply this code, not only to Wick, but to all those who offer him the slightest assistance . This includes Winston (Ian McShane), director of the Continental Hotel; an underground crime lord known as Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne); and the director (Anjelica Huston), who grudgingly grants the safe passage from Wick to Casablanca. (The director also reveals a hint of Wick's mysterious origins.)

In the end, everything is about combat sequences, and Stahelski is really good at it. He is a former stunt choreographer who worked with Reeves on The matrix movies, after all, and he put all those years of expertise to profit when he blocked the fight sequences for Parabellum. They are elegant, intense, inventive and sometimes witty, and Stahelski does not limit his repertoire to what is called "Gun-Fu". There are many knives and antique weapons assorted, many martial arts styles and a memorable sequence taking place in a stable where Wick asks the help of a horse to deliver kicks perfectly executed with his hind legs (Horse-Fu!).

Halle Berry has broken three ribs by training for his fight scenes.

My favorite was Death By Library Book; I guess it could be called "Fu found object". Wick uses it in the film's very first fight scene, among the stacks of the New York Public Library, to repel an assassin played by NBA basketball star Boban Marjanovic. The 7-foot, 3-inch Serbian plays for the Philadelphia Sixers. Stahelski said The Philadelphia Inquirer that he wanted Wick to face a much bigger opponent in a confined space, but did not know any seven-foot stuntman. A producer told him about Marjanovic, a John Wick fan who auditioned with the stunt team for a few hours to win the role. Wick is the star, of course, so that the result of their face-to-face is never doubted. But who knew that Bobon's murderer quoting Dante would be eliminated by a collection of Russian folk tales of the nineteenth century?

This almost uninterrupted action required months of intense training for a large part of the distribution, which was often quite hectic. Halle Berry, who plays the role of assassin Sofia and reluctant ally Sofia, told late evening host Jimmy Fallon that she had broken three ribs while that she was training for her fight scenes. These scenes included work with dogs, especially of the Malinese breed in Belgium. Stahelski describes them to Vulture as a "leaner and meaner version of a German Shepherd". Dressed in Kevlar dog jackets, the dogs make the point for Sofia during the fight, to take an arm, a chinstrap or (memorable) for the groin each time a bad guy advances. (Dog-Fu!) Stahelski called it "a jujitsu dog" and told Vulture that the dogs were trained to think that it was all in the game.

For those who waited Parabellum the film ends with a final twist that prepares a fourth possible movie. Why would the studio abandon such a popular and profitable franchise? Poor John Wick will have to wait a little longer to take a well-deserved break after the murder.