John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Movie Review

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

Watch the trailer
Written by: Derek Kolstad and Shay Hatten and Chris Collins & Marc Abrams (screenplay by), Derek Kolstad (story by), Derek Kolstad (based on characters created by)
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, Jerome Flynn, Jason Mantzoukas
Rated: R

Plot
Super-assassin John Wick is on the run after killing a member of the international assassin's guild. With a $14 million price tag on his head, he is the target of hit men and women everywhere.

Verdict
It's big action set pieces nearly start to finish, and it's very entertaining. I do miss story elements and world building from the first movie, but Chapter 3 is an effective and brutal action movie. While it isn't the same leap forward John Wick was, it's a nice progression for this action movie franchise.
Watch it.

Review
You don't need to see the previous movies to get into this, though it definitely helps. The first one had a, or really the, story, the second was a lot of mayhem. The third is more mayhem.
I do miss the story the first one had (read my review), it did a great job of world building and creating the myth of John Wick while also showing us how deadly he is. The sequels have focused on the action almost entirely. I miss the story aspect of this, but I acknowledge there isn't a good way to push the story. The franchise has moved past that.

The John Wick trilogy happens across a couple of days. This picks up right after Chapter 2 (read my review).
John Wick has an hour before he's excommunicado and an open target for the underground world of assassins.  He'll no longer be part of the assassin's club and afforded the amenities.
At that point no one can help him, lest they pay the consequences. Parabellum means prepare for war and that's what this is, war.

 

In one of the first scenes, Wick is attacked in a library and there is some wild book fighting. It's one of the only one on one fights and it's a good one. The next scene is a knife fight in something that looks like a weapons museum. It's brutal, and has one of the most brutal scenes in the movie because it happens so slowly.

The story is pieced in between the fight scenes, and at this point it's the weaker element. None of the sequels have built and expanded the lore like the first movie.

 

There's an amazing motorcycle fight scene as Wick prepares to team up with Winston to fight the High Table. He has to get to the Continental, but there are a lot of people in his way.

The movie does a great job of distinguishing itself from other action movies towards the end We've seen one man fight off a tactical crew of men, but there's a few differences in this movie. The Wick  movies are just brutal.
These scenes definitely have a kick to the sound. The sound mix is good throughout. Guns are loud and the punching sounds land with a thud. It's louder than most movies, but it really ups the mood. I don't know if that's due to the theater I was in or a direct aspect of the movie.

This leaves the franchise wide open for another addition, though it's funny that John is only seriously injured in the first fight. Towards the end of the movie especially, he seems invincible.

I thought the first movie did a great job balancing story and action. It was the kind of fighting we just hadn't seen before. This movie isn't the same leap forward, but it is a nice progression.