John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
May. 19th, 2019 10:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearJohn Wick is a thing of beauty.
John Wick Chapter 2 is an entertaining action film with fantastic world building.
John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum is a lot of grim unpleasantness, interspersed with some good moments now and then.
At least, that was my first impression upon watching it last night.
I've had more of a chance to think about it now, and have more to say. I'm still disappointed that the violence was ratcheted up considerably, so as to pass well beyond my ick threshold. I appreciate the elegance and choreography of the fighting in the first film, and there's nothing in the second that makes me want to look away. But the fighting in the first two thirds of the third film is unnecessarily gruesome (which impacted quite negatively on my experience of watching it) and then just really tedious towards the end. Plus, the amount of damage John can take and still be conscious, let alone functioning) moves past unbelievable into the realms of the utterly ridiculous.
However, there are great new characters (take a bow, Angelica Huston and Halle Berry) and some interesting new plot (though it doesn't feel wholly consistent with what has come before). There are also some funny bits and some cool bits. Charon is still awesome and the dog is still cute.
So, while the third film isn't what I wanted it to be, I'm not sure I can say I disliked it. I just would have preferred to be able to watch it all without hiding behind my hands.
Also, I prefer my version:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/15298950
John Wick Chapter 2 is an entertaining action film with fantastic world building.
John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum is a lot of grim unpleasantness, interspersed with some good moments now and then.
At least, that was my first impression upon watching it last night.
I've had more of a chance to think about it now, and have more to say. I'm still disappointed that the violence was ratcheted up considerably, so as to pass well beyond my ick threshold. I appreciate the elegance and choreography of the fighting in the first film, and there's nothing in the second that makes me want to look away. But the fighting in the first two thirds of the third film is unnecessarily gruesome (which impacted quite negatively on my experience of watching it) and then just really tedious towards the end. Plus, the amount of damage John can take and still be conscious, let alone functioning) moves past unbelievable into the realms of the utterly ridiculous.
However, there are great new characters (take a bow, Angelica Huston and Halle Berry) and some interesting new plot (though it doesn't feel wholly consistent with what has come before). There are also some funny bits and some cool bits. Charon is still awesome and the dog is still cute.
So, while the third film isn't what I wanted it to be, I'm not sure I can say I disliked it. I just would have preferred to be able to watch it all without hiding behind my hands.
Also, I prefer my version:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/15298950
