John Wick (7/10): Keanu Reeves is back doing what he knows best

“People keep asking if I'm back and I haven't really had an answer, but yeah, I'm thinking I'm back.”

John Wick is as predictable and formulaic as the other 99% of revenge action flicks out there, but what makes this stand out is how well the action scenes are choreographed and what a breath of fresh air it is to see the action take place without all the extreme close ups and fast edits which never allow you to enjoy them. John Wick was directed by two former stunt men, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who seem to have a grip at what they’re doing because they don’t take any of the fun away from the action scenes. Derek Solstad’s screenplay is pretty straightforward. We are introduced to the main character, John, who is grieving over his recently dead wife. She leaves him a cute puppy which will help him during this grieving period, but a group of young Russian mobsters break into his home one night to steal his car and in the process they kill the dog. That brings John to his breaking point and we discover pretty soon that he is no common man. He was once a feared hitman who later retired after meeting his wife. Now he is set on getting his revenge and the action begins. John is the typical hero we can route for and identify with for his loss, while the villains are ruthless and deserve to be punished. We’ve seen all this in almost every other revenge film, but what makes this one stand out and feel fresh is that the action scenes are stylized and energetic. So despite having a predictable plot you are entertained with some of the coolest action scenes of the year. This is no Raid 2, but it does get the job done. There is one particular action scene that takes place in a nightclub that is fantastically choreographed. These are the strongest moments of the film, but if you are looking for an original plot look elsewhere because this is very predictable. There are some interesting elements that Solstad introduces in this world where the mobsters have a series of codes and rues that they follow giving it sort of a video game vibe to it at times.

In order for the action scenes to work for a film like this where they aren’t cutting the scenes every second you need to have an actor who can pull them off. They found the right one with Keanu Reeves who definitely knows his stuff. He delivers in every action scene with some fantastic choreographed moves. The mobsters build him up as someone they fear and respect, and once you see him in action you believe it. He also delivers during the quiet moments as well despite not having the best dialogue to work with. He was made for these roles and delivers. The supporting cast is excellent as well. Alfie Allen (from the Games of Thrones series) is getting typed cast as the hateful villain who behaves like a child at times. His father is played by the excellent Michael Nyqvist, who John Wick used to work for. He knows his kid made a mistake but tries to protect him nonetheless putting a generous reward on John’s head. Willem Dafoe, Lance Reddick, and Adrianne Palicki get some screen time as well and they were a lot of fun. The way everyone treated John when they realized he was back in business was also another nice touch that the directors made and help lighten the mood at times. This was an extremely entertaining film with some of the best action scenes of the year despite all of its predictability. Stahelski and Leitch succeeded in making this predictable story feel fresh and if you are a fan of Keanu Reeve’s work you will not want to miss this.

My Review: 47 Ronin (4/10)

"I will search for you through 1000 worlds and 10000 lifetimes!"

If it weren't for the title I would have never guessed this film was about 47 Ronin (47 disgraced samurais who have failed their master), because we barely get some character development from two of them (and one technically isn't a ronin). The rest of the Ronin are simply placed in the background for the action scenes, but they are completely ignored. Something similar happened in 300, but at least that film had incredible action scenes and a memorable lead performance from Gerard Butler who engaged its audience. It's not the case here with Keanu Reeves and Hiroyuki Sanada who fail to draw us into their world. This hurts the action scenes because we never really care for the outcome of these men. When I first saw the poster for 47 Ronin I thought this might be a cool movie, but when I watched the trailer I dropped any expectations I might've had. Not even the cool looking villains in the poster had much screen time and every single character in this film is one dimensional. This was a very dull fantasy film despite its subject matter and its two hour runtime began to take its toll on me considering it was very poorly paced. The film begins with a prologue, setting up the action, but I really don't know when the prologue ended and when the actual story began because it took forever to set up the plot. It's a shame this film was so poorly realized because first time director, Carl Rinsch, was given a huge budget to work with. Despite the gorgeous landscape there was nothing extraordinary about the action scenes and this is one of those movies that will be quickly forgotten.

Screenwriters Chris Morgan (from the Fast and Furious franchise) and Hossein Amini (Drive) based this screenplay on one of Japan's most endearing folktales. The story begins with a prologue explaining the code of the samurai and the feudal situation of ancient Japan. Then we are introduced to Lord Asano (Min Tanaka) of Ako who finds a young half-breed named Kai in the forest and takes him back home. Several years later, Kai (Keanu Reeves), who is now a grown man, continues to serve under Lord Asano helping the samurai led by Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada) protect Ako from mystic creatures. While hosting a tournament, as a welcoming for the Shogun in Ako, Lord Asano is bewitched into hurting Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) of Nagato. Lord Asano didn't realize his actions were induced by a Witch (Rinko Kikuchi) who was on Lord Kira's side, and he is forced to take his own life by the Shogun. The samurais are punished and disgraced to live as ronin outside of Ako and Kai is sold as a slave, while Lord Kira is named ruler of Ako. In order to restore their honor, Kai and the disgraced samurais embark on a dangerous quest to avenge their master's death.

I'm sorry if the plot description feels a bit rushed and all over the place but that was just the way everything was presented in this film. The characters are one dimensional and the plot simply moves from one sequence to the next without feeling cohesive. This is perhaps why I felt the pace was so tedious because we never get any time to actually get to know any of the characters or their motivations. It doesn't matter how beautiful the landscape or set pieces were, the action scenes simply didn't engage me. Everything about this film felt uninspired and dull. 47 Ronin is a disgrace to Japan's classic legend and I'm sure nobody back home is proud of this film. The critic for Newsday, Rafer Guzman, described this film so well I feel the need to quote him: "47 Ronin would have been more fun if it kept swinging its sword instead of falling on it." Skip this movie, it's not as cool as the poster makes you believe it is.

My Review: Man of Tai Chi (6/10)

"No rules. No mercy. Pure fighting."

Finally a tagline that's actually true to a film! It defines pretty well what Keanu Reeve's directorial debut film is all about: fighting. Reeves proves that he isn't just a martial arts fan, but he knows the genre really well and has successfully incorporated it to his film. It is a flawed film with a rather predictable story, but the choreographed fighting scenes are great and plentiful. I enjoy martial art films although I don't consider myself a huge fan of the genre and for the most part I find films that focus entirely on the action a little boring and dull, but it wasn't the case with Man of Tai Chi. Despite being purely an action film I had a great time with it because the scenes were really well choreographed (Yuen Woo Ping, who is mostly known for his work in Kill Bill, receives the credit for this as the action director) and Tiger Chen does an amazing job in the lead role. The cinematography was also pretty strong and everything about Man of Tai Chi looked great. Despite its predictable and generic story I had a great time with this film and was entertained. It's hard to say anything about the script, written by Michael Cooney, because there is more fighting than actual dialogue here. I do wish Reeves explored  a little more some of the themes he introduced such as voyeurism and the conflict of selling out that the lead character experiences. I think fans of the genre will enjoy this film because it's highly entertaining and satisfying.

The story centers on Tiger Chen (Tiger Hu Chen), one of Tai Chi Master Yang's (Hai Yu) last students. During the day he works as a delivery man, but he makes time to train and meditate in the early mornings. Tai Chi is more of an inner exercise, it isn't typically used for fighting, but Tiger Chen wants to prove that it is and therefor signs up for a martial arts tournament. Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves) is a businessman who runs an illegal underground fighting club that Hong Kong Police Officer Sun Jingshi (Karen Mok) is desperately trying to seek and shut down. When Donaka discovers Tiger Chen in the martial arts tournament he sets up an interview for him to enter his underground fighting club. When Tiger Chen discovers that the temple where he trains is going to be demolished for modern urbanization, he accepts to work for Donaka to come up with the money to pay for the temple's needs. Tiger Chen is introduced into a dark and dangerous world that slowly begins to change him. He doesn't realize that his every move is being followed by a select group of fans through Donaka's voyeuristic enterprise.

Tiger Chen proves in Man of Tai Chi that he is a talented action star. He shines in his role and the choreographed fighting scenes are entertaining. Keanu Reeves gives a strange performance as the villain. His expressions are empty and looks stiff most of the time, but I think he was purposefully doing so to give his character a mysterious vibe. I can see how it could've displeased most people, but it worked for me, and the final face off scene between him and Tiger Chen was great. I did have some issues with the final third act which seemed like it was trying to extend the movie a bit. Overall this generic martial arts film still works thanks to the great choreographed action scenes, and strong cinematography and editing despite its weak plot.