John Wick

Keanu Reeves stars as the taciturn titular character, a grieving widower whose sanity tips over the edge when Daisy, his beloved beagle puppy—a posthumous gift from his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan)—is slaughtered and his classic 1969 black Mustang is stolen by a young thug, Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen). Wick, a legendary mob hit man who retired to New Jersey, is determined to wreak homicidal vengeance. Iosef turns out to be the son of a Russian crime lord (Michael Nyqvist), who tells the lad, “It's not what you did that angers me so, it's who you did it to.” In paternal protective mode, dad puts a $2 million price on Wick's head. So the carnage continues—as Wick is hunted by various assassins (Willem Dafoe, Ian McShane, Adrienne Palicki) who hang out in a shadowy safe house called the Continental Club. After laying out an initial series of improbable coincidences, director Chad Stahelski (a former stuntman) serves up a series of action set pieces, featuring acrobatic, cartoonish violence centered on dapper, daredevil killer Wick, who can efficiently annihilate dozens without wrinkling his black, three-piece suit. Revolving around revenge, retribution, and redemption, the relentlessly violent John Wick is a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Don't F*#% with John Wick” (15 min.), “Calling in the Cavalry” (12 min.), “Red Circle” (7 min.), “NYC Noir” (6 min.), “Destiny of a Collective” (6 min.), and “Assassin's Code” (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is audio commentary by filmmakers Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, as well as bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven action thriller.] (S. Granger)