John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

[borgmatrix]

I liked Chapter 3 a lot.

It started well, and I appreciated the tension of Wick running through the city waiting for the eventual onslaught that would come.

The first fight was something different in the specifics of who was involved and the setting.

[Show spoiler]I especially liked the vulnerability it brought in its aftermath, and the desperation with which Wick seeks out the doctor. And this is in advance of 6 pm when the contract would go into effect.

Nice variety to the early action with the highlight being

[Show spoiler]the knife fight in the antique store. Reminded me a lot of a hallway fight in the first Raid.

I didn't mind the action slowing to shift into narrative and Wick seeking out potential help, though at times it just felt like a superficial "Hey, look, these are other notable/cool characters in this world of the Assassins" as John moved from one to the next before reaching what he sought. But, interesting settings and nothing really boring here. Again on the theme of vulnerability, I liked

[Show spoiler]the urgency with which Wick presented his ticket to the Director and insisted he was owed. If he didn't get passage/help, there was the sense he was finished and that he knew it. Nice, in general, to see this force that is Baba Yaga dependent on the help of others and to see that "vulnerable" nature that Addy had commented on in the first movie.

But the highlight was easily

[Show spoiler]the section featuring Halle Berry. The shootout with her, Wick, and the dogs is a contender for series best.

I also appreciated the weight of the end point of this mid-picture journey for Wick, the question regarding his reason for living, the decision he was faced with and had to make

[Show spoiler]in the scene with the Elder

.

The Adjudicator thread that ran in parallel with the above was fine. I liked Asia Kate Dillon in the role

[Show spoiler]though, and this is a minor quibble, I was bothered by her telling Winston, "you'll find me in room...", only to have this followed immediately by a scene the next day with her visiting the Bowery King. Felt like we needed a scene between these two.

In the last section of the movie, I was glad to see

[Show spoiler]another layer of difficulty added for Wick in facing the highly armored Table squad in the Continental. No longer able to just mow down guys at will, I enjoyed seeing some of that desperation back as Wick pounded on the door for Winston to let him back into that armory, giving voice to needing more firepower. Nice to see Charon get a chance at some action here, too.

The fights after this did less for me, but weren't bad. More interesting than the action were the scenes that ended the movie and the questions about what's next.

[Show spoiler]I imagine its going to be war between the High Table and several the individuals/factions we saw throughout this movie.

I'm puzzled about some elements of the overall narrative. I realize I may be thinking too much about some of these things in an action series, but its story/plot they're presenting, and I do find it fun to think about.


First,

[Show spoiler]Why wouldn't it be easy for John to be exonerated? The excommunicado was for business conducted on Continental grounds, while the doubling of the contract on Wick to $14 mil was for that business being the killing of a Table member. Right? If killing a Table members is that big of a deal, which it makes perfect sense for it to be, wasn't Santino wrong in the first place for ordering the hit on his sister? Can't imagine its okay, marker or not, to be able to so easily order a Table members death. And if killing a member of the Table brings death, then wouldn't Wick killing Santino right the original wrong of Gianna's death?

I get that Wick still broke Continental rules, but I'd think it would be in the best interest of all to let Wick off with a minor punishment and be glad Santino was taken out for ordering Gianna's death.

Sort of related to the above, the High Table seems pretty stupid.

[Show spoiler]Again, why waste so many resources on a dangerous man like John Wick, the stories about whom have been, if anything, "watered down" as pointed out in Chapter 2. The Table/Adjudicator seemed to know pretty much everything, so they'd know in detail what Wick's done in his career. Their attempts to take hiim out, therefore, went pretty much as one would have expected...with utter failure.

On top of this, they're risking war, and pretty seem to have triggered one, in their attempts to seek penance by blood from those helping Wick. At the least, they'll be facing the Bowery King's plus John Wick. I'd suspect we'll also see the forces of the Director, Sofia, and probably Winston also siding with them.

So it'll likely be the end of the High Table when they had a clear out (at least as I see it) to give Wick a pat on the back for cleaning up Santino D'Antonio and let him go on with his life in epace.

Overall, I'm still struggling to rank the three movies. As I've noted in past posts, I found the first movie near perfect from start through Wick killing Iosef and leaving the Continental. But I found the last part of the movie significantly inferior to what came before.

I loved the start of the second movie, and really wished Wick going after his car had been the end of the first movie in place of its weak final act. But, it made for a fantastic start to the second, and the excellence continued with Santino arriving at Wick's home through the Wick/Cassian fight ending at the Continental with a drink. I found things bogged down a bit after that with the assassin's coming after Wick and the Bowery King stuff. But, rebounding with great ending.

I didn't find Chapter 3 to have any extended low/boring points like the first two. Perhaps pacing suffered from being longer, but I found it more consistently entertaining overall. Great opening, solid ending, and pretty consistent entertainment and content between those points. It's hurt by not having a clear/clean ending or sense of catharsis, ending instead in a cliffhanger.

I'm not sure. I'll need to continue to think on it.

[DVD Josh]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

I liked JW1 a lot, but I'm still not sold on the sequels. The franchise really seems to be going the way of Lethal Weapon... maybe for some it'll be a good thing?

But if that's what floats your boat, glad you enjoyed!

I went in expected ultra stylized violent with very little believable plot and that's what I got . It was a fun 2 hour ride and that is all it was supposed to be.

[MifuneFan]

I think the first works perfectly well as a standalone film. But I really love the whole universe and mythology, which we glean more and more of with each movie. Of course with that, we also get some incredible, and sometimes batshit crazy action sequences, so it caters both to fans deeply invested in franchise, as well as just action fans in general who are looking for an entertaining movie.

I wouldn't have minded if it was wrapped up nicely in a trilogy, as I do fear it'll fall victim to the law of diminishing returns, but so far they clearly seem to have a vision and roadmap paved for the franchise, and aren't just making mindless sequels purely to cash in. I do think the 4th will likely be the last, as it very much feels like things are coming to a head.

[Dr_Bedlo]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

My favorite sequence is a Casablanca battle that comes across like the worst nightmares of the adolescent boys who feared the junkyard dog, “Chopper”, in the 1986 Rob Reiner film, Stand by Me. These dogs are trained not just to sic, but to sic specific parts of the human anatomy.

LOL...all I kept thinking of the entire time with that sequence was Stand By Me and the narrator recounting the dreaded line...."Chopper...sick

[Show spoiler]BALLS

!

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by DVD Josh

I went in expected ultra stylized violent with very little believable plot and that's what I got . It was a fun 2 hour ride and that is all it was supposed to be.

I think the 1st one did a better job of being more neo-noirish, which is what I liked best about it. The sequels seem to have gone in a glitzier direction, especially all the scenes that involve lots of mirrors or lots of glass. But I get that a lot of people seem to be cool with that, tho.

[yeslek]

The movies always had a visual style of darkness lit by neon...club scene in the first is iconic of this
They just lent more into the brightness with each movie is all i see.
For the Ndw York scenes at least

After seeing this 3rd one I need to revisit the comic run as am sure that had a kind of Origin for good ol’ Wick

[Show spoiler]Jardani himself

[MifuneFan]

There's a part where NYC gets some love, and that got a nice cheer from my New York crowd, so that was pretty cool

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

There's a part where NYC gets some love, and that got a nice cheer from my New York crowd, so that was pretty cool

Was there a reaction when he tries to get from the train terminal to the NYC Library by taking a cab?

[Mandalorian]

It may seem minor, but I get excited when the Buster Keaton clips play at the beginning of Chapter 2 and 3.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Was there a reaction when he tries to get from the train terminal to the NYC Library by taking a cab?

No lol. There's actually a lot of funny things they do with locations that only new yorkers would probably recognize.

Like in Pt. 2 there's a shootout with Cassian at this water fountain, but that's Lincoln Theater and there's really no reason to be there.

There's also an odd passage of time at the end of pt 2 where he gets back to his place in Jersey at night, and then Charon picks him up and drives him to Central Park and it's day time and presumably morning. But then after his talk with Winston, where he's given an hour and is seen running away, you see the sun setting.

[Chaotic]

When Winston said what Parabellum meant, i remembered Frank castle saying in the 2004 movie when he getting ready to kill everyone else.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

No lol. There's actually a lot of funny things they do with locations that only new yorkers would probably recognize.

Like in Pt. 2 there's a shootout with Cassian at this water fountain, but that's Lincoln Theater and there's really no reason to be there.

There's also an odd passage of time at the end of pt 2 where he gets back to his place in Jersey at night, and then Charon picks him up and drives him to Central Park and it's day time and presumably morning. But then after his talk with Winston, where he's given an hour and is seen running away, you see the sun setting.

I haven't lived in Manhattan for years but even I remembered if you're going from that terminal to the Central Library you're better off walking

[malakaheso]

It's set for a big opening weekend. It could very possibly surpass the 2nd in box office (globally), which earned twice as much as the first one. Based on opening weekend predictions, it will likely gross more than 2 in the US.

Nice to see a 'franchise' that gathered momentum slowly through word of mouth. i.e genuine interest rather just media hype.

I will definitely see it.

[The Great Owl]

It's funny how this fictional world is so over-the-top, yet so lovingly detailed.

I love the High Table clerical women with the 50s hairstyles and the tattoos.

I love the lavish gun rooms at every High Table headquarters around the world.

I love how every single person in all three of the John Wick movies looks as though he or she walked out of a GQ magazine.

[ArrestedDevelopment]

Wish we got to see more of John on the horse. That was epic.

[Leonidas King]

Saw it a second time tonight and still dig it. Probably my favorite in the series so far.

[Jennifer Lawrence Fan]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

Saw it a second time tonight and still dig it. Probably my favorite in the series so far.

My dawg.

[Zivouhr]

Two times, cool Leonidas King. I'm looking forward to checking it out on blu ray for sure. Fun action movie.

Originally Posted by borgmatrix

I liked Chapter 3 a lot.

It started well, and I appreciated the tension of Wick running through the city waiting for the eventual onslaught that would come.

The first fight was something different in the specifics of who was involved and the setting.

[Show spoiler]I especially liked the vulnerability it brought in its aftermath, and the desperation with which Wick seeks out the doctor. And this is in advance of 6 pm when the contract would go into effect.

Nice variety to the early action with the highlight being

[Show spoiler]the knife fight in the antique store. Reminded me a lot of a hallway fight in the first Raid.

I didn't mind the action slowing to shift into narrative and Wick seeking out potential help, though at times it just felt like a superficial "Hey, look, these are other notable/cool characters in this world of the Assassins" as John moved from one to the next before reaching what he sought. But, interesting settings and nothing really boring here. Again on the theme of vulnerability, I liked

[Show spoiler]the urgency with which Wick presented his ticket to the Director and insisted he was owed. If he didn't get passage/help, there was the sense he was finished and that he knew it. Nice, in general, to see this force that is Baba Yaga dependent on the help of others and to see that "vulnerable" nature that Addy had commented on in the first movie.

But the highlight was easily

[Show spoiler]the section featuring Halle Berry. The shootout with her, Wick, and the dogs is a contender for series best.

I also appreciated the weight of the end point of this mid-picture journey for Wick, the question regarding his reason for living, the decision he was faced with and had to make

[Show spoiler]in the scene with the Elder

.

The Adjudicator thread that ran in parallel with the above was fine. I liked Asia Kate Dillon in the role

[Show spoiler]though, and this is a minor quibble, I was bothered by her telling Winston, "you'll find me in room...", only to have this followed immediately by a scene the next day with her visiting the Bowery King. Felt like we needed a scene between these two.

In the last section of the movie, I was glad to see

[Show spoiler]another layer of difficulty added for Wick in facing the highly armored Table squad in the Continental. No longer able to just mow down guys at will, I enjoyed seeing some of that desperation back as Wick pounded on the door for Winston to let him back into that armory, giving voice to needing more firepower. Nice to see Charon get a chance at some action here, too.

The fights after this did less for me, but weren't bad. More interesting than the action were the scenes that ended the movie and the questions about what's next.

[Show spoiler]I imagine its going to be war between the High Table and several the individuals/factions we saw throughout this movie.

I'm puzzled about some elements of the overall narrative. I realize I may be thinking too much about some of these things in an action series, but its story/plot they're presenting, and I do find it fun to think about.


First,

[Show spoiler]Why wouldn't it be easy for John to be exonerated? The excommunicado was for business conducted on Continental grounds, while the doubling of the contract on Wick to $14 mil was for that business being the killing of a Table member. Right? If killing a Table members is that big of a deal, which it makes perfect sense for it to be, wasn't Santino wrong in the first place for ordering the hit on his sister? Can't imagine its okay, marker or not, to be able to so easily order a Table members death. And if killing a member of the Table brings death, then wouldn't Wick killing Santino right the original wrong of Gianna's death?

I get that Wick still broke Continental rules, but I'd think it would be in the best interest of all to let Wick off with a minor punishment and be glad Santino was taken out for ordering Gianna's death.

Sort of related to the above, the High Table seems pretty stupid.

[Show spoiler]Again, why waste so many resources on a dangerous man like John Wick, the stories about whom have been, if anything, "watered down" as pointed out in Chapter 2. The Table/Adjudicator seemed to know pretty much everything, so they'd know in detail what Wick's done in his career. Their attempts to take hiim out, therefore, went pretty much as one would have expected...with utter failure.

On top of this, they're risking war, and pretty seem to have triggered one, in their attempts to seek penance by blood from those helping Wick. At the least, they'll be facing the Bowery King's plus John Wick. I'd suspect we'll also see the forces of the Director, Sofia, and probably Winston also siding with them.

So it'll likely be the end of the High Table when they had a clear out (at least as I see it) to give Wick a pat on the back for cleaning up Santino D'Antonio and let him go on with his life in epace.

Overall, I'm still struggling to rank the three movies. As I've noted in past posts, I found the first movie near perfect from start through Wick killing Iosef and leaving the Continental. But I found the last part of the movie significantly inferior to what came before.

I loved the start of the second movie, and really wished Wick going after his car had been the end of the first movie in place of its weak final act. But, it made for a fantastic start to the second, and the excellence continued with Santino arriving at Wick's home through the Wick/Cassian fight ending at the Continental with a drink. I found things bogged down a bit after that with the assassin's coming after Wick and the Bowery King stuff. But, rebounding with great ending.

I didn't find Chapter 3 to have any extended low/boring points like the first two. Perhaps pacing suffered from being longer, but I found it more consistently entertaining overall. Great opening, solid ending, and pretty consistent entertainment and content between those points. It's hurt by not having a clear/clean ending or sense of catharsis, ending instead in a cliffhanger.

I'm not sure. I'll need to continue to think on it.

Nice summary with good points.

John Wick 1 is still my favorite, but they each have something unique and are slowly expanding our understanding of this character, his history and where he may ultimately end up.

I sure wouldn't want the life of John Wick, that's for sure. It's mostly a life of running, gunning and suffering!

[Gaffer]

Question for those who have seen it:

[Show spoiler]the Knife in the eye scene - what do you see exactly because Im pretty positive the version showing in Australia has been censored

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Gaffer

Question for those who have seen it:

[Show spoiler]the Knife in the eye scene - what do you see exactly because Im pretty positive the version showing in Australia has been censored

John slowly

[Show spoiler] pierces the guy's eye with the knife, his right eye, nearest the knife. It's not gory, but it looks painful.