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Lisa Anderson Shaffer, LMFT's avatar

Another wonderfully thorough retrospective, Ryan!

One of my favorite film franchises, I admit that John Wick surprised me from the start. As a person really put off by gun violence, I was apprehensive to give the films a chance. It is hard not be won over by Keanu Reeves and without his involvement I probably never would have given the film a chance. As you write, the tightly choreographed fight scenes are so intentional and impactful that for me, they seem to transcend the brand of violence normally associated with gun heavy films.

Always a delight to see Lance Reddick on film, really glad you mentioned his supporting role in your piece.

Looking forward to watching the film again while contemplating on your insights!

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Ryan Milford's avatar

Thanks for reading, Lisa! I'm always glad to hear your insight.

You're right: the movie makes sure, through the writing and Reeves' performance, that there is enough purpose behind the action that it never feels totally mindless or unnecessarily gratuitous. And though I do enjoy the sequels quite a bit? Thinking on it, this is my one big hang-up.

Taking on the High Table, for example, while it *is* super exciting, on an action-first base level, it simply doesn't (and can't) have the same emotional impact as John working through his grief in the only way he knows how (and as a minor aside, I've always found the latter Bourne films struggled with this too) - but hey, at the end of the day, the overall storytelling isn't the appeal. And that's okay.

You gotta love Lance Reddick, absolutely. While it is a shame we lost him so soon, he really did make his mark, on these movies in particular. It'll be great to see him again in Ballerina, if only briefly.

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