Where Fact and Fiction Converge
This is where I dive into one of my favorite film franchises: John Wick. A pleasure to see you again, Mr. Wick.
Both poetry and fiction are more difficult for me than blogging, which is tiring enough with the preexisting drains from health issues and familial demands, so that gives you an idea of how significant it is to make that choice of scrounging together the time and energy and creativity for a piece. But when I thought about this series, I knew it absolutely deserved that level of acknowledgment, no two ways about it.
Without a doubt, John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum pushed the franchise further than ever. This exposed the most notable flaws and potential weaknesses I’ve seen from the John Wick movies to date, but it also meant that the filmmakers doubled down on the best aspects of the series with regards to action, storytelling, characters, and emotional impact.
To make a sequel that lives up to or exceeds the original film is a notoriously difficult accomplishment. To do it twice in a row and create a trilogy that’s excellent throughout is an even rarer feat.
But I think this franchise absolutely has the ingredients it needs to pull this off.
I saw someone make a comment that really, John just wants to be left alone.
And while I do have some questions, I strongly agree with that assessment for the most part. The carnage in his wake makes it easy to misconstrue the man, but let’s look a little deeper. There are bigger factors at play to explain why and how he keeps ending up in these situations.
Fans have wondered what role Winston will play in the larger story here, and they’ve also questioned why he’s continued to help Jonathan. Here’s my perspective.
The John Wick Universe is a rich, deep, mysterious one. The franchise makes clever and fascinating use of visual storytelling and an approach that is simultaneously minimalist and layered. It’s definitely a fun, visually striking picture and can be enjoyed for that alone, but delving deeper proves to be really rewarding.
The High Table itself clearly has resources, and there are also the many under its rule. Lord knows how many John will have to face, just in New York City alone. And even if he survives in the short term, how long does this go on?
Initially I had resigned myself to not being able to get any of these posts done prior to the film’s official premiere date of May 17, 2019. That’s less than a week from now, after all. But it occurred to me that there were a few particular posts—the ones dealing with theories and predictions related to the newest film—that really needed to go live _prior_ to the premiere.
