John Wick (2014)

An ex-hit-man comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that killed his dog and took everything from him.

Directors:

Chad Stahelski, David Leitch (uncredited)

Writer:

Derek Kolstad

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen

5 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	John Wick
Michael Nyqvist	...	Viggo Tarasov
Alfie Allen	...	Iosef Tarasov
Willem Dafoe	...	Marcus
Dean Winters	...	Avi
Adrianne Palicki	...	Ms. Perkins
Omer Barnea	...	Gregori
Toby Leonard Moore	...	Victor
Daniel Bernhardt	...	Kirill
Bridget Moynahan	...	Helen
John Leguizamo	...	Aurelio
Ian McShane	...	Winston
Bridget Regan	...	Addy
Lance Reddick	...	Hotel Manager / Charon
Keith Jardine	...	Kuzma

Storyline

With the untimely death of his beloved wife still bitter in his mouth, John Wick, the expert former assassin, receives one final gift from her--a precious keepsake to help John find a new meaning in life now that she is gone. But when the arrogant Russian mob prince, Iosef Tarasov, and his men pay Wick a rather unwelcome visit to rob him of his prized 1969 Mustang and his wife's present, the legendary hitman will be forced to unearth his meticulously concealed identity. Blind with revenge, John will immediately unleash a carefully orchestrated maelstrom of destruction against the sophisticated kingpin, Viggo Tarasov, and his family, who are fully aware of his lethal capacity. Now, only blood can quench the boogeyman's thirst for retribution.

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Plot Keywords:

one man army | vengeance | revenge | professional killer | professional assassin | 

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Taglines:

Don't Set Him Off!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong and bloody violence throughout, language and brief drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Wick's Mustang is wrongly identified as a "'69 Boss 429". The error is common for those not knowing the history of the car, as the Boss 429 had three telltale differences from its Mach 1 and GT models. The Boss 429 was a "ram air" model with a huge hood scoop while the others would have the famous "shaker" hood scoop, which meant the motor could be a 351 (Cleveland or Windsor), 390, and lastly the monster 428ci. The Boss has a clear identifying "Boss 429" on the both fenders, and lastly it had the regular Mustang gas cap , not the flip GT/Mach 1. These are just the outside cosmetics, under the hood the 429 would have the spark plugs in the middle of the valve covers as it was the Ford "HEMI " motor to compete against Chrysler's HEMI in NASCAR. The other would be no AC unit as the Boss 429 took up the entire engine compartment and had to have a different front end, wheel wells and such to accommodate the extra size and power.

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Goofs

Around 29:55 John shoots one of the thugs through the glass of the staircase, leaving the glass shattered. In the next scene however the glass is unbroken.

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Quotes

Iosef Tarasov: Are you scared of the fuckin' boogeyman? I'm not.
Kirill: No? But you should be.

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Connections

Referenced in Take Two: Family Ties (2018)

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Soundtracks

Killing Strangers
Written, Produced and Performed by Marilyn Manson and Tyler Bates
Courtesy of Loma Vista Recordings/Concord Music Group, Inc.
under exclusive license from Cooking Vinyl Ltd.

User Reviews

The coolest action film you'll see all year

At first glance, John Wick sounds like a terrible film on paper but with the slickness of Keanu Reeves' performance as the titular character and the sheer brilliance in its action sequences, this marks the best action film of the year and one of the absolute best in the past decade. Following a brutal home invasion that leaves his beloved dog murdered by thugs from his past, John Wick vows revenge on the ones who have taken what he loves most. Like I said, on paper, this seems like a direct-to-DVD slopfest starring John Cena but as a film with Keanu Reeves as the lead, it marks the very welcomed return for Reeves to the genre. John Wick is insanely fun, violently brutal and an overall romp especially for those disappointed by The Expendables 3. John Wick is propelled by Tarantino-esque dialog mixed with the swagger of action stars from the 70s. Reeves literally emulates cool in this film and does it with such confidence, that we don't even doubt the character...even when he kills countless bad guys with extreme force in some utterly ridiculous and implausible situations. We don't doubt it for a minute. This is EXACTLY what you want out of an action film. It is briskly paced, brilliantly shot and meticulously choreographed and keeps you wanting more and more. The supporting cast filled with the likes of John Legiuzamo, Ian McShane, and Willen Dafoe also keeps this film very interesting. These guys don't play good guys, hell, John Wick by traditional standards would be a bad guy in any other film. Every character is more ruthless than the next and pushes John Wick to be more ruthless than they are, creating a very cool dynamic between the character and the plot regarding the idea of how far is too far? However, don't expect some revelation from John Wick regarding the morality of bad and evil. This film wants you entertained and does so with brute force, it never lets up, not even for a second. One scene in particular that will have your blood pumping is a showdown between thugs and Wick in a nightclub. This action sequence remains the best in the film and will have you grasping your theater seat because of the sheer intensity of it. Overall, John Wick is slick, violent fun that turns into a remarkable, surprising film that will catch you off guard. It is THAT good. I highly recommend this film to action buffs especially but I'm sure those who just like a good movie will love it as well.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA UK China

Language:

English Russian Hungarian

Release Date:

24 October 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Wick

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,415,922, 26 October 2014

Gross USA:

$43,037,835

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$86,081,711

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures, 87Eleven

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Auro 11.1 Dolby Atmos Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1