Movie Review -- John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum

  Screw Avengers: Endgame. This is the movie I've been looking forward to seeing in 2019! John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is the latest instalment in what I consider to be the best new action franchise of this decade. The previous film in the series (reviewed February 2017) utterly blew me away and its ending gave this third film plenty to work with as far as story goes. So did Parabellum match the high calibre of its predecessors or has this series fired its last bullet? Let's take a look.

  Chapter 3 starts off right at the end of Chapter 2, with hitman John Wick on the run from countless assassins due to his actions in the previous film. With badguys coming at him from all sides John desperately tries to clear his name with the High Table. It's a plot that continues the world-building we saw in Chapter 2. We meet a few more important characters and we learn a lot more about how the whole secret-society-of-assassins works. For example, being a hitman apparently requires you to frequently mutilate yourself in front of your bosses. We also get some insight into John's origin as well as his real name.

  We're also presented with a load of action scenarios new to the series, such as a chase scene on horseback, a knife fight in the middle of a knife store/armoury, and (basically) ninjas. It's the good old over-the-top action we've come to love about this franchise, and while it doesn't go as far as slapstick territory the film definitely has a sense of humour at times as evidenced by the abundance of attacks to the crotch. The only thing I wasn't too keen on was how it was unclear whether killings in full view of the public were being noticed or not.

  Keanu Reeves returns as the title character and he's in as good a form as ever. However I did notice that the character of John Wick seems a little less sympathetic this time around. All the trouble that he's now in: he brought that upon himself and now he's dealing with the consequences. It's also unclear what his motivation is. In the previous films he was out for revenge or he was doing things that he was obligated to do, but in Parabellum it isn't all that convincing or clear of what it is that he's got to live for. Familiar characters have returned from the previous films – yes, even the dog with no name. Lawrence Fishburne is once again the Bowery King, hamming it up and loving every minute of it. Even Charon, the concierge, gets to kick some ass this time. There's also Halle Berry who plays one of Wick's old assassin buddies. Her acting is merely OK, but at least she's pretty good in the action scenes.

  And when it comes to John Wick movies that's what people go to see isn't it? Yes, the series trademark action makes its triumphant return with its spectacular choreography and breakneck speed thanks to returning director Chad Stahelski. The fight scenes and shootouts are exhilarating: close up and not too shaky, unlike the viewer who will be trying their best to not blink! The rest of the movie has that familiar, modern visual style the series is known for. Even visual elements such as lens flares – which I usually dislike – are used to heighten suspense. Parabellum's sound design also deserves a lot of credit. The thunderous gunshots, the explosive shattering of glass, and the enhanced punch/kick sounds all serve to make the action scenes that much more visceral and impactful.

  And that about sums up John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. It's an intensely fun experience that ups the ante in terms of action spectacle, and a worthy addition to this great franchise. If you didn't care much for the other John Wick films then this one probably won't win you over. But for everyone else, prepare to have your socks knocked off yet again.

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Movie Review -- Avengers: Endgame

  Hey, guys. Sorry this review is so late. I actually saw Avengers: Endgame a week and a half ago, but things have been busy lately and in order to avoid this review being delayed until June I'm going to try something a bit different. I'll start things off by giving my verdict right away: Avengers: Endgame is a good film roughly on par with its predecessor, Infinity War (reviewed last May). Go watch it. This review of Endgame will be more of a brief comparison between the two films. So let's get to it!

  In terms of story both films have their strengths and weaknesses. Infinity War's best story part was its ending partially because its bleak, punch to the gut approach was radically different to any ending yet seen in the MCU films. But that film's beginning was plodding and took a while to gather momentum. Endgame, on the other hand draws you in right away with its more interesting opening, showing us what a world suddenly missing half its population would be like. As the action gets rolling, it's clear that the stakes have never been higher for Marvel's superheroes; if the Avengers can't pull this off they won't get a second chance. This leads to a desperate tone which still allows for some fun and jokes (this is the MCU, after all). For example, as was the case in the last film there's a heart-rending scene involving the Soul Stone that really stands out. (It's also cool to see Red Skull again, even if again he isn't voiced by Hugo Weaving.) Endgame's middle act is similar to Infinity War's but since it draws the viewer in immediately Endgame doesn't feel as long as its marathon running time would suggest.

  A big difference between the two films is their cast of characters. The first film was an all-hands-on-deck affair, whereas this second film is more of an anyone-who's-left-tag-along-if-you-want situation. This obviously means that there are less characters to keep track of in Endgame and the film is better for it. Infinity War had plenty of heroes – Hulk, Vision, Groot, etc. – who were pretty much useless. Though there are still characters with diminished (sometimes non-speaking) roles, Endgame has more room to develop and show off its characters. It also helps that most of the guys who died at the end of Infinity War were people I didn't really care about anyways. And speaking of characters I don't care about, Captain Marvel thankfully has a very limited presence in Endgame. All she really does is act arrogant and talk about how important she is. In fact, she would make an alright villain...

  In terms of direction and production value, there's no surprises to be found in either film. They're shot and edited just the same as most other Marvel films.

  And that's about all I'll say about Avengers: Endgame. It's a fine ending to the story we first got in last year's Infinity War. Each film demands that you view the other as well, but if I had to pick one over the other I'd say that Endgame is the superior of the two thanks to its better pacing and more balanced cast.

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