Movie Review: "John Wick"

Everyone knows that Keanu Reeves knows kung-fu, but what else can he do? As the lead role in Chad Stahelski's "John Wick," he does a little bit more than kick ass with his hands. Reeves plays an ex-hitman out for revenge after his dog is killed by Russian mobsters (No, seriously, that's what it's really about). Lots of veteran cast members including John Leguizamo, Willem Dafoe, and the guy who does the Mayhem commercials for Allstate make this movie a step above your average C-list action thriller. Although the beginning is kinda slow, the action picks up relatively quickly and goes strong all the way to the final scene. I wasn't too fond of the development of the characters, as most of the characters remained static throughout the film and there could have been a deeper back story for Keanu's character. Nonetheless, Reeves delivers a dark and ominous performance, which adds a new freshness to what could have easily been a cookie cutter Jason Statham flick. I should note that the soundtrack was excellent, a new Marilyn Manson track never hurts to throw in. Overall, I would have to give this movie the grade of B-. If I learned anything from watching this, it's not to fuck with John Wick.