John Wick Showed Hollywood How to Save Itself, But No One Paid Attention

[@tsiefhtes]

People always seem to forget it's not really that they killed his dog, they killed the last gift, the last momento, the last message he had received from his wife. A message and reason for living literally sent from beyond the grave preplaed by his wife to keep John from being suicidal after her death. Killing the dog was literally killing his last reason to stay alive.

[@AuthorGuy1]

By killing the dog they essentially killed her, which gave John a target that the disease she died from didn't.

[@triadwarfare]

It's people like you that makes the movie have a long tail on lore, even if it was not the original intention of the producers. The amount of free marketing they gain from fans explaining the small details is valuable

[@KatrinaDancer]

To some of us though... it is about the dog. Don't forget he saves a dog at the end of the movie that is going to be euthanized that day... similar story to my last rescue dog.

[@Ezberron]

@@triadwarfare killing someone's dog is a sin worth avenging on it's own. then adding in the grief and "it's the last gift from his dead wife" just pushes it from avenging to unforgivable. especially since it was such a stupid senseless act. just some dumb ass being a punk.

[@TurboRampage]

I found it odd that this video lists Nobody as a knock off, rather than an extension of the learning - it's the same production company, same writer, even lower budget, huge gamble on an untested actor (Bob Odenkirk was definitely not known for action), resulting in a very slick action movie, that is getting a sequel next year. Similar for The Accountant.

[@Theomite]

Is Odenkirk's heart up to the task given he almost died 2 years ago?

[@garyg7145]

Nobody was awesome. They don't give it enough credit.

[@akumaquik]

Yeah

[@szewei85]

Haha well said

[@VoidedFilms]

Loved Nobody! Liked it more than John Wick 3 and 4 too.

[@Chilled_out_Penguin]

One thing I liked with the training for Chapter 3, is that the dogs were trained to play, not kill, since as Stahelski said, the dogs don't know the difference, so they took careful consideration to make sure the dogs weren't taught to harm people, it's a small thing most don't think of, but I really like it and shows the care the team had on these films

[@reptongeek]

6:25 This is how you get cheaper movies. You plan it before you start shooting it. We knew how to do this when we shot on film, but we seem to have lost this discipline now we are shooting on a data card. Look at how every Disney movie needs reshoots now. Contrary to popular belief you don't NEED to do reshoots. You can do without them if you are properly organised Titanic for example was a tough shoot, and certain things were changed in the editing. But it only required the smallest amount of extra shooting because James Cameron knew what he was doing

[@jinraigami3349]

More like the higherup keeps interfering with the creative control.

[@tomnorton4277]

Well, James Cameron is a master filmmaker. The best since George Lucas retired, apart from maybe the criminally underrated Robert Rodriguez. Francis Ford Coppola and Ridley Scott have both lost their touch and Todd Phillips (who was starting to show serious potential) fucked up his Joker sequel, so as of right now, James Cameron's the best of the best.

[@featherdragon7894]

Godzilla minus one is another good example

[@coreyengwall6779]

Reshoot should only be at the last resort. Rogue One has had reshoots and turned out to be a good movie. But I do agree that reshoots should never be an option

[@kuramobay2445]

The success of John Wick rests mostly on the shoulders of Keanu Reeves. The first movie was ho-hum, but the story put Keanu in practically every scene and he was either being lovable Keanu or badass Keanu and audiences love both sides. The succcess of the JW franchise is a testament to his enduring charisma, dedication to the craft and his reputation as an alll-round decent guy.

[@playgroundchooser]

Couldn't agree more! The whole world woke up and remembered Keanu is the bestest dude in real life too.

[@methos1999]

The first movie is still probably my favorite for how it builds up the Babayaga, but the later movies you can SEE where the budget went, the cinematography gets really beautiful. And while they get more creative with how they shoot, they still keep the same ethos as the first by keeping things clear (for example I love the "dragon-breath" fight scene in 4).

[@motherplayer]

Shit, the climax alone, essentially one last "hurrah" for John Vs. The World, one of the best action sequences of this decade right now. Just one, mind you, the decade is still young.

[@Gilescorey6458]

The main problem is Hollywood doesn't know how to market movies anymore. They found their sweet spots with the marvel movies and since then more people who have a background in business are in the producers chair. If they saw a movie like Parasite they would market it as a straight horror or more likely, not even support it. The thing that made the marvel movies so popular was that all the marvel heros were in one big movie. Avengers Assemble was this massive event in pop culture because it was something new and epic to audiences. Those in Hollywood need to understand that they can't replicate that as hard as they can. Seeing all those heros together in one movie was something exciting for young people that can't be replicated. Going forward what Hollywood needs to do is invest more directiors. Now, more than ever they should try to work with brand name directors while also keeping an eye out for talent. Like, im a moviegoer in my twenties and the main thing that makes me go is who is behind the camera. Also break up Disney. Their monopoly has been cancerous to the movie industry.

[@salvambala7779]

Also it's good to point out that disney needs to start making disney-like movies like they did before and not just the property thry bought

[@Ryan.of.the.Valley]

The other part of the success of Avengers was that all the characters were already known and beloved by comic book fans, so it was the excitement of seeing them in live action with realistic special effects, and not cheesy or campy or low-budget.

[@ChairmanMo]

@@Ryan.of.the.Valley This was something that generations of comic fans had waited for. The in built audience for marvel was created back when Segregation was still a normal part of American society.

[@snackplissken8192]

You hit the nail right on the head. Hollywood studios think limitations are a bad thing, so they like to approve budgets that don't come with limitations. The problem is that a budget that big requires the film to be a guaranteed success. You can't spend several hundred million dollars on an original story with unknown actors and directors and novel ideas. Studios want to get rich quick rather than doing the hard work of nurturing a number of potential winning franchises.

[@AuthorGuy1]

The entertainment industry lives on imitation. If you can't reference comparable titles yoiu won't get approved (unless your budget is small and there's less risk involved).

[@WTFisTingispingis]

It is insanely frustrating how studio producers seem allergic to doing the right things. Meanwhile the John Wick guys are like the opposite, they're allergic to fucking up.

[@MrGhostTheBigRoast]

Eh? They keep pumping out more generic garbage sequals and spin offs with a lead actor with the acting range rivaling a brick wall lmao. Even the first movie was badly written. Dancing and jumping around with guns can only go so much and appeal only to the lowest common denominators who like to think of themselves as film critics lol.

[@louiea4276]

They're afraid of creativity. They prefer to keep failing with money-earning formulas instead of trusting their writers and directors to develop something amazing. Their goal isn't enjoyable cinema, only a cash grab

[@stellviahohenheim]

Now we need gender swap John Wick but instead of a hitman she is the twitter assassin trying to get people cancelled

[@Gilescorey6458]

​@@stellviahohenheimyeah. I can just tell a lot of Hollywood writers spend way too much time on twitter and would rather write anything else than what they are stuck writing. "What if a superhero was x" is a terrible way to write a movie. There's no point. No compelling narrative. Just diversity for the sake of diversity itself. Its the idea of diversity by those who don't actually care about marginalised folks. If we let those people actually tell their own stories rather than forcing them to write superhero movies since they are the only thing that makes them money, then we'd be getting great movies. For example "Tell me, I'm worthless" is a great book. It's captures so much about trans identity and what they go through while also telling a fascinating story. Given how much a relevant issue this and how powerfully it could connect with a very vocal group of people. Do it Hollywood

[@Cursalock]

@@louiea4276 did John Wick stop being creative at the third or the fourth sequel?

[@Not_So_Slim_Shady]

I think dismissing movies inspired by John Wick as clones is really reductive. They took inspiration but have identities of their own.

[@vibin_psilocybin]

Yeah that part of the script seemed like a cheap embellishment because they were trying to make their point have more weight behind it. Reminds me of when I used to have homework 😅

[@volodymyrbilyk555]

Except for Nobody which is a gimmick movie that goes from bone crunch bus scene to Matthew Vaughn weightless cartoon shootouts within an hour. And there was no fucking David Cross. Wasting a chance to do a Mr Show John Woo heroic bloodshed movie is a crime against human culture

[@tjd.4589]

Eh it’s just the same as the tons of Die Hard copy cats.

[@TurboRampage]

Funny how they mentioned Nobody, without mentioning it was the same scriptwriter as John Wick (Derek Kolsted) and same production company (87 North).

[@doublep1980]

Dude, Sisu literally copies the iconic scene from John Wick 1, where Viggo Tarasov explains to his dumbass son who John Wick is, almost beat by beat. Only the late Michael Nymquist is a waaaay better actor than that Finnish chick. The whole movie is pretty much inferior, in terms of action choreography in general.

[@DavidBaillie1986]

$200m for films that are legacy destroying remakes or overly long movies with awful cgi

[@stellviahohenheim]

Daddy BlackRock can pay baby as long as you push the message

[@christopherquinn-x1z]

“Limitation breeds creativity.”

[@willer3399]

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”

[@Valyn]

Also a savings in the car chase scenes. No constant explosions. Cars didn't blow up for no reason, etc.

[@drshadowsfilms6059]

Original concepts work, but marketing is needed.

[@Richard_Nickerson]

It's not even original

[@drshadowsfilms6059]

​@Richard_Nickerson I know. I was referencing going forward.

[@roninunrefined1637]

@@Richard_NickersonThe IP is original. It doesn’t remake or continue on an already established world. Nothing is media is original. Everything is version of something. Also Marketing was non existent when the first movie came out. It was all about word of mouth. People that saw it told their friends and they saw it, so by the time a sequel came out everyone was hype to see Keanu be a pin point marksmen and fighter. The franchise just organically and simplistically evolved into what it was by just proper handling and people. That’s what makes this franchise so unique. It was all organic, original, and nothing was forced.

[@Richard_Nickerson]

@@roninunrefined1637 🙄 I went to school for film score over a decade ago. I have been on both sides of this unoriginal comment regarding media's originality many times. You're not saying anything new in the least & I'm no longer interested in having this exact same conversation we've all been having for like 15 years now.

[@Richard_Nickerson]

@@drshadowsfilms6059 Fair

[@steve.santiago]

Such a good franchise. It keeps topping itself. The Arc de Triumph fights in part 4 was as good as any action scene I’ve ever seen.

[@Xarthis]

The movie industry is good at not learning the right lessons. Happened with The Matrix, where every movie after it had long coats and bullet time for a while, forgetting that it was vision, authenticity and creativity that made that movie great. You mentioned the MCU, where everything after had to be a "universe", forgetting setup and payoff, and now again with John Wick. The movie industry is not alone in this however, the video game industry is only now waking up to the fact that not every game needs to be an always online live service with "micro" transactions.... It seems that the lure of a quick buck (or a billion of them) is stronger than the willingness to put in the work. It also tends to set up a culture of "to big to fail": If you throw enough money at it, it has to work out right? And because a lot of money was thrown at it, it better not fail. That is when you get the focus groups, the taking of the safe middle ground, the appeal to everyone that appeals to no one in particular, because the moneymen want their return on investment. Until something truly creative comes along, then everybody panics a little, and the cycle resets.

[@drewt1717]

Also, unlike the film industry, the video game industry has evolved the advantage of being able to continue to refine and improve their product after it's initial release. Can you imagine going to a movie and when you sat down in the theatre a notice came on screen to notify the audience that a "patch" was being downloaded to improve it? 😅

[@dariobigi6618]

It isn’t that they killed his dog. The woman he loved, who he got out of the business for, gave him that dog to help him heal. That was the last bit of her. Every time he said they killed his dog, it was more than that and no one but him and the audience who knew that sub plot knew it was revenge for killing the last thing of her that he had.

[@tomnorton4277]

"Killed that from me!" That was one of the most unnatural lines any actor could ever read on paper but God damn, Keanu Reeves sold the hell out of it. The pure rage in his delivery made a line that should have sounded incredibly forced actually sound convincing. If anybody says Keanu Reeves can't act, just ask them to try and make shitty dialogue like that sound natural. After The Matrix trilogy, his career slumped for a while but John Wick was a spectacular comeback. Even if it had just remained a standalone movie, it would have still cemented Reeves as a legend.

[@Garthant]

Its not bad dialogue, its bad grammar. Bad grammar can be good dialogue in the right context.​@tomnorton4277

[@motherplayer]

Not to mention, he was already told this would get messier if he went back in. And the plot of the second film happened entirely because Santino saw him come out of retirement and take down a whole organization for his wife's memory and went ahead and used an old coin to put him back to it. From then on, it was merely backstabs and hungry assassins that kept pulling him back into it, and the idea John won't just roll over and die, no matter how sad he was.

[@AuthorGuy1]

@@motherplayer The thing is he didn't come out of retirement in JW1. Everything was done for personal reasons He used his skills to get revenge, and then went back home. Everything about JW2 flies in the face of what JW1 was about.

[@motherplayer]

@@AuthorGuy1 Exactly. Entirely intentional because, like Winston said "You so much as dip your pinky back in here, you may find something pulls you back in." So whether he wanted it or not, his little rampage for the memory of his dog and wife still told someone he still had it in him to do his thing, used an old promise they made and from there on, he simply choice to fight instead of die, regardless of what others thought of it. So yes, I agree 2 flies in the face of 1, and argue that it was entirely purposeful, personal preference be damned.

[@Shiningfreak98]

8711 sounds a little like the Beijing Wushu Team or Jackie Chan Stunt Team. A group of professionals that work together often and can put together tight, well choreographed sequence quickly, and then execute them flawlessly.

[@doublep1980]

Remember, Stahelski & Leitch are big fans of Hong Kong & Asian action cinema and have worked on the Matrix trilogy under Yuen Woo-ping. Stehelski & Leitch said in an interview, I quote: "Working on the Matrix trilogy with the Wachowskies & specially Yuen Woo-ping, was like going to film school for us. We learned so much about film making doing these movies."

[@Deadjim17]

I was literally thinking the same thing as they were describing it... Hollywood is 40 years behind HK in stunt work 🤣

[@AdobadoFantastico]

They definitely learned from Hong Kong films.

[@volodymyrbilyk555]

Man of Tai Chi went hard. Keanu's take on Mortal Kombat was fun

[@tjjordan4207]

Just look at Godzilla: Minus One. A film that was made between 15 to 20 million and managed to make a profit. Even Bad Boys 4 made good money on a decent budget (although it could have been lower). And while I didn't see Alien: Romulus, it also was made on a decent budget and made a return with the money it made back. Lower budgets make for bigger returns.

[@champslim]

Godzilla: Minus One was soooo good!!! And it had some of my favorite k drama stars in it.

[@ReverendMeat51]

The dog scene in 3 is just so incredible. High point for me, in a franchise full of high points

[@allisonbergh4429]

Cal, your enthusiasm is infectious! I haven’t seen any of the John Wick films, but I still enjoy listening to you gush about them!

[@tomconneely1361]

The role of CG, like all SFX and VFX, is to sell the shot. If it's doing anything else, someone has miossed the point. Rubber mats to protect the horse, digitally replaced, is selling the idea that it is a regular street instead. Matting Paris into a sequence done on a German airfield is selling the idea it really is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. CG is a visual effects (VFX) technique and VFX go back to the earliest days of cinema. John Wick is not my kind of movie, but I'm glad we have competent filmmakers making innovative movies on sensible budgets once more. I hope they can keep doing so and that others can come along into an industry that remembers why it exists.

[@axelfoley133]

This is all good, but I don't accept the simple premise of hiring an out-of-vogue star and untested directors as a good recipe to make a low budget action film. Most of Steven Seagal's films probably match this combination. Hell even the premise of an old hitman seeking revenge on the mob would fit in Seagal's filmography. What made the first John Wick work was the goodwill that Keanu had earned as a likeable person with a sad life story (somewhat enhanced by the Sad Keanu meme), regardless of what they thought of his acting ability. He is a quiet guy that's dealt with some traumatic loss, playing a quiet guy going through a traumatic loss, and so audiences that like Keanu can easily relate to John, and we go with him to find catharsis. That's the emotional hook. On top of that, the combination of Chad/Leitch with Keanu created the opportunity to explore a new way of shooting action. So now we have a well-cast hero, and well shot, innovative action for a deadly one-two combo. But that was never a guarantee going in. What if Chad and Leitch couldn't direct actors, or didn't know how to shoot story outside of action? What if the producers failed to get a distributor (which actually happened in Australia for Chapter 2.... It was almost direct to video here)? What if the story just lacked a good hook to get the audience onboard? The movie would have failed. I always say it's a miracle that movies can even get made, and it's lightning in a bottle if it's made well. John Wick was lightning in a bottle, having just the right combination of story, star, and directors from the stunt world with a point to prove. If any of these weren't quite ready, then the movie could have easily faded into obscurity.

[@viridian5maureen853]

The video is saying though that with a smaller budget, the movies don't have to be as massive a money maker to be successful and can take more chances. That's more movies, the possibility for more originality and innovation, and more opportunities for lightning to strike.

[@miketrotman9720]

Every step you describe of this film's journey from idea to production is at best short odds to flop. Bill Goldman ("The Princess Bride") was 100% right: Nobody in Hollywood knows anything. Formulas aren't foolproof. This is just one of the gambles that paid off.

[@GMizza]

8711 were not the first stunt team. Maybe the first in Hollywood, but The Jackie Chan Stunt Team came way before. Hong Kong was first.

[@ScreenCrazee]

This content is amazing! Great job!

[@pikebishop8516]

Some might say Tom cruise. Nolan didn't, but keanu reeves is too humble to take credit of anything. Great that people notice it.

[@PRCOM]

I appreciate your insight into this and yes John Wick has been a success evan the OTT 3rd and 4th film. But what your forgetting to mention the ridiculous amount of marketing needed to get the word out on a film.

[@benwasserman8223]

Yeah but word of mouth was the only significant marketing John Wick had. Most people weren’t sold on the initial trailer and, even after the solid reviews, it took a while to drag people to see it in theaters

[@corneliusdobeneck4081]

Like the general focus on how to make an action movie BUT "John Wick" really is just an imitation of "The Raid" and it's predecessors. "John Wick" is a summery of decades of Asian cinema.

[@peterstangl8295]

It boggles the mind how the big studios are willing to dump hundreds of millions into things nobody wants to see just because it's connected to a tired franchise that was popular at some point, but couldn't be caught dead spending the Hollywood equivalent of pocketchange on a new idea.

[@crowkangi]

so cool that Keanu has been involved in two great franchises in his career. maybe hes a mid actor but his presence in popular cinema is undeniably iconic. plus hes a great symbol for decency and being a good person. I feel that Denis Villeneuve works with some of these film maker principles you stated. he uses his budget very well and gives us a cutting -edge result.

[@josephthomasjr.6551]

That was simply SUPERB! Thank you CineFix for such an intelligent analysis of such a superlative film. Or...more precisely...series of films. Keep it up! I'm looking forward to more engaging exposes in the future.

[@champslim]

Monkey Man was one of my favorites of the year. My mom loves action movies and she watched the first John Wick on cable one day. Loved it and told me about it. So we saw the next 3 together during the opening weekends. Really fun daughter/ mom days. Thank you for introducing Halle Berry to action movies. I hope she does more in the future.

[@CaseyMeeko]

The best stories always have humble beginnings. - BEST LINE

[@GeahkBurchill]

This might be controversial but John Wick is a franchise I wish had never gotten any sequels. I saw the original in the theater and it was sublime. Such a perfect action film. People forget that we were given reason to believe John would die at the end, which was an extremely effective set-up that can’t be repeated. I saw John Wick 2 and Parabellum in the theater but each sequel I enjoyed less. They explained too much and John became a superhero who was more or less invincible. I ended up never seeing the fourth film and, actually, I didn’t know that he dies at the end until now. I watch the original film five or six times a year. It’s SO good and simple. It’s the platonic ideal of an action film that has never been topped.

[@IantheDugan]

16:19 this is an oversimplification. All the movies use extensive VFX. The motorcycle fight was not “all CG.” Yeah it’s on a stage, but there’s great behind the scenes that show what they did to execute a oner like that. They’re still fighting! And it’s super convincing!

[@chrishampton8842]

Awesome video

[@Jknight416]

Wouldn’t be surprise if the constant success of the John Wick series ends up spawning a John Wick 5 movie. Personally I say that would be a pretty welcoming addition.

[@Muz__27]

I love the John Wick movies but to me the first movie was as close to a perfect action movie as you can get.

[@lanceknightmare]

I saw the fight against the two fighters John Wick was fighting in this video. I immediately thought of a fight in Streets of Rage 2 where you have to fight the two sisters. Something about that fight sticks with me decades later. That brings up the question of what makes something memorable. It was a fight against two ninja sisters in a peak action beat em up game. It actually ended up being more memorable than any fight scene in any of the John Wick movies for me.

[@michaelcain9324]

Excellent video. Thank you.

[@QuincyKane]

Good video!

[@kestertroy]

Before John Wick, there was John Constantine. I'd put these two together at the same level of greatness. Even Reeves himself said he wanted to be in more John Constantine films.

[@leeperkins84]

It was greater than the sum of its parts. Fairly simple premise, grounded approach that is realistic enough without being too over the top. Just good fun.

[@wowomg1980]

It’s not perfect but I’ve always loved that it’s a self aware action movie

[@LearnToWin823]

John Wick is one of the best original action movie franchises of all time! They are in rare company within Hollywood movies.

[@skate052]

Beautifully done and said.

[@osirisatot19]

This doesn't feel like a CineFix video, bitching about studio IP films and acting like The Flash did badly because it was a DC movie and not because the film itself was hot garbage is just not the in depth kind of talk I enjoy from this channel. Also where is the normal narrator? Also as another comment said, Nobdoy isn't a knock off.

[@buadabibi]

Limitation leads creativity 💕💕

[@karatekoala4270]

7:45 this is the same thing with Robert Rodriguez and Desperado

[@andrewcarruthers1352]

John Wick is an incredible franchise, but I’d actually say Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning was the first film to display action in a John Wick fashion and rewrote the action playbook. It’s not a perfect film, but it really is fantastic taking into account its budget and the time (2012 I believe) it really was original, unique and the action was unbelievable. I wholeheartedly believe Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is the grandfather of current action cinema, John Wick brought it to the mainstream

[@ALANWICK2]

Going to the movie theaters are lowkey coming back

[@Mildred-q2r]

The times are changing And I think Hollywood should accept these changes and communicate with their actors and actresses and compromised for the best outcome and keep the fans happy...

[@magic804]

Great stuff

[@corwinjkabuki]

The Best Gun Fu action film to date! Keanu Reeves will never be forgotten

[@NelsonStJames]

Hollywood execs have always learned the wrong lesson from movies successes and failures. That they didn’t learn anything from the success of John Wick is not surprising.

[@ChairmanMo]

What will make it worse is that the Hollywood Execs are all coming from the Ivey League MBA programs and have drunk the cultural and economic jizz of Neo-Liberalism. These people only learned an arrogance that gives theory invulnerability to fact and an aspiration to be a vampire squid on the face of humanity.

[@justthisguy2976]

The vast majority of the broken glass used in the "house of glass" scene is actually CGI. According to Rob Nederhorst (VFX) there are only two shots in the whole sequence where real broken glass was used.

[@just_gut]

John Wick is on the short list of greatest action movies of all time. Something I highly recommend that seems to get no love on any list is a movie called Free Fire. Also an incredibly well-done low-budget action flick, but much closer to how I think people would behave if they were in an actual gun fight; very darkly humorous through most of the movie.

[@PK-999]

Being Gen X I was around in the heyday of John Carpenter when he was doing inventive unique stuff with limited resources and influencing so much of the future cultural movers Escape From New York has influenced so much for so long That’s the sort of film making that needs to come back

[@I_Am_The_Devils_Advocate]

8:35 *WHY DO PEOPLE SAY "eCspecially"?????* [sic]

[@I_Am_The_Devils_Advocate]

15:16 too! 😫

[@NeedforMine1]

It's so fucking annoying. "Aks" and "ekcetra" never felt so wrong but "ecspecially" is nails on a chalkboard. I'd rather have my nutsack sandpapered than listen to anyone say "ecspecially".

[@PhilosophyForTheMops]

The most recent movie to motive me to pirate and watch it was Drive. Call me old, but I don't feel like I'm missed anything.

[@L1vv4n]

Main issue, big suits want to save on pre-production and planning and very agreeable writers and directors. That means that they end up with undercooked slop which lacks any vision regardless of the budget.

[@spencerpalmer2918]

Fantastic essay!

[@defaulted9485]

Amazing that in context of Hagekura or Baba Yaga, JW4 fill both interpretation respectfully. As the Baba Yaga travelling around the world simile to Greek Mythology and Divine personification has been analyzed to death but the Hagekura has yet. From the Japanese perspective : John Wick ferried down the river honors the legend of the River Styx/Sanzu River in the afterlife to cross the realm of the dead. The Osaka Continental fight is portrayed akin to Ukiyo-e and its personnels acts as if they were the 47 Ronins. Which also a movie where Keanu Reeves played as MC. The Dragon's Breath incendiary auto shotgun also kept the sanctity of Dragons which are considered as forces of nature that brings both destruction and blessings in disguise in Japan, which John Wick embodies throughout the tetralogy. Caine's tendency to swordfight also refers to Samurai culture despite the Chinese origins where they fought more named and publicized opponents to claim even higher bounties. John claiming Killa Harkan for killing the Ruska Roma Pastor portrays John taking the life of a reaper/killer himself, going through the realm of hell/ecstacy and back to atone for what his misdeeds caused to be reaccepted back into his clan, a classic Kishotenshoku storytelling narrative device. John climbing up the stairs to Sacre Coeur is portrayed as if John underwent pilgrimage of a Buddhist Monk towards the shrine to pray or commit into tradition as most shrines are usually placed on hilltops or mountains. John's quote to Caine is a direct quote from Kenshin Uesugi. John's demise on the stairs doubles from Cowboy Bebop reference and also how a monk commits so much to their belief that they passed on during their pilgrimage backdropped by the shrine/cathedral they just prayed to, cementing their martyrdom for the cause.

[@brandon_youtube]

Fantastic video editorial. Hollywood will continue to suck if it doesnt learn the lessons.

[@charlessmyth]

In short: They shot John Wick like one of the old Jackie Chan, Cynthia Rothrock movies :-)

[@BryceKoebel]

One thing we can all agree on, they did CGI correctly because you couldn't even notice it until you realize it's inhumane to kill that man stunt-people.

[@Deraphim]

I've been subconsciously ignoring this franchise until just this last year (I can't believe how old it is). I saw the first movie, but didn't feel like it lived up to the hype of the franchise. I want to keep going with it though. Hearing about what has happening behind the scenes just makes it more enticing honestly

[@roninunrefined1637]

Watching the first movie expecting hype is completely ignorant. When the first movie came out nobody expected it to be what it is now. It was a simple revenge movie with a solid motivator, brilliant fight/gun choreography, and an interesting world. If you watch the movie with expectations you soil the movie before even watching it. Just watch the movies or don’t we don’t care about your subconscious. This isn’t an Oscar award winning franchise it’s what it is and it’s enjoyable for what it is, expecting anything more because of “hype” is a disrespect to the movie.

[@SonGoku-tp8gb]

Depends on what you want. You want some really cool fights with guns that sometimes become super unrealistic? You'll love it. You want a deep, touching story with a masterfully written script? You're looking in the wrong direction.

[@mattyt1961]

If you're a gamer, I would compare it to Saints Row... starts of small, focussed and then becomes more blown out and ridiculous as the entries move along. If you actually are going to think about what you are watching.... this isn't the series for you, the first holds up to some scrutiny, by 4 it is essentially a fever dream of impossibilities in the real world (how can a group of assassins afford this many killers and staff)

[@doro626]

The fight scenes in the last one bored me. They were about 50% too long. When I saw the steps, I said, damn, hes gonna fall back down all of those, isnt he. Im excited for this Anna De Armis version. Im goign to look up those clones you mentioned at the beginning. .

[@studgerbil9081]

Always wondered why Tony Jaa isn't a huge star in the West.

[@Cursalock]

Because he couldn’t even speak English until about five years ago and straightforward martial arts action movies do not do big business in the west. Jackie Chan wasn’t a big star in America until he learned English and started doing action comedies with bigger stars like Chris Tucker.

[@shaha9]

Save Hollywood steps: 1. Take a popular actor now making flops. 2. Pick a story troupe that is easily accessible. 3. Pick a budget based on the market that guarantees ROI. 4. Write a story around 1 and 2 but turn the troupe on it's head by going all silly or all dramatic.

[@MechaPig227]

Baba Yaga is a spooky old lady that lives in a chicken-legged house. It will always be funny to me that John Wick's nickname is so off type.

[@yomerosoy5852]

The Deadpool franchise fallows this script al the way to Deadpool and Wolverine.

[@amitkrupal1234]

Limitation breathes Creativity

[@jonLK47]

Ah.. yes the IGN side of cinefix again.

[@ReverendMeat51]

Cal nerding out about practical effects is firmly Cinefix.

[@abb0tt]

Hollywood Studio: “Sorry, [Keanu,] you cannot have more than one camera for your new action film. We green-lit $25M, be happy you got that much.” Can you imagine?

[@krono5el]

a lot or maybe most of my favorite movie from the past have been "box office duds" like Starship Troopers and Demolition Man.

[@Ianmundo]

John Wick owes a lot to Collateral, Tom Cruise’s Vincent moved and killed with that choreography years before Keanu/Wick did it

[@austinsmith5529]

It doesn't even look like they used CGI at all that's how fucking good they did God damn

[@grfrjiglstan]

The investors also deserve blame for the state of Hollywood. Sinking 200 million on the next Marvel movie instead of enabling ten smaller budget scripts they see promise in is just bad for everyone.

[@jacobharris954]

It is other way around, the success of bid budget, allows the smaller ones to be commisoned

[@AbbyNormL]

How many people noticed they also saved money by removing the engine and drive chain from the Chevy Tahoe from the one they dropped into the Navy Yard’s dry dock?

[@branagain]

This is why I love the John Wick films and hate all the DC and Marvel films.

[@AuthorGuy1]

I loved your analysis of what was so right about JW1, but i would 't agree that the sequels did anything better. They hyped the action at the expense of the heart, forgetting the dog and the wife. They could easily have done something equally action-oriented while maintaining that connection to his outside life, and I was very disappointed to see they did not.

[@R3_dacted0]

I like the John Wick franchise and all of the movies.... but I also think that each subsequent movie progressively got worse and worse as they drifted away from why the first one was so good. I felt like the last movie was just way too long. The entire first section of the movie in Osaka could have been removed entirely. The combat scenes felt like they were designed to be video game levels rather than movie scenes where John would take on small groups of henchmen who would only enter the fight once the previous group was dispatched. The best part of Chapter 4, imo, was the overhead panning scene. I thought that was really cool and fun to watch. But overall, I actually was checking my clock a lot during this movie since it just seemed to drag on forever.

[@__-fi6xg]

the only time i saw keanu reeves angry was in one of his first movies. Johnny mnemonic or something like that..where he transports information in his brain but the info is too big so he deletes childhood memorys. He never plays angry again.

[@dougsmith8104]

Cal lives!!!

[@jphilb]

Thought that was who was narrating.

[@TheJhar22]

Strange but fun little factoid about the John Wick movies; each installment made four times the money back.

[@AdornamentDesigns]

Hollywood seems to have killed off creativity

[@CaseyMeeko]

Sorry, I didn't get your point about what should have Hollywood listened to and pay attention to? Keep attention to low-budget ideas and movies from script piles? Save lo-budget strategy and not overflow movies with money like Disney and others do? Promote action movies instead of CGI? Rehearse more instead of relying on CGI? Still don't get the main point

[@harisankars4365]

John wick had a screenplay something today's movies lack

[@cable7763]

The audience noticed. So far, each movie in the series has made more money than the one before it.

[@poutineausyropderable7108]

Box office is going down. Cinema cost too much. Look up price. Everything cost too much, but cinema price increased even more.

[@frankunodostres473]

well john wick itself is an example of what's wrong with hollywood. a great, original idea turns out to be an unexpected success. this leads to soulless hyperproduced sequels that live by the motto "style over substance". the first john wick was a very good movie because it balanced action and violence with an emotional story. the sequels tried to do the same but failed with their incrasingly over the top, illogical action set pieces and admittedly intriguing world building that falls apart because of the stupid and paperthin plot. we saw the same development in the fast&furious series. it's sad because of how great john wick 1 was. I haven't seen the 4th one tbf. but part 2 and 3 were huge disappointments imo. it's just one action set piece after another. unfortunately if a movie is original and succesful enough, greedy people will try to milk the new cow with as many sequels, spinoffs, etc as possible. even artsy meant-to-be standalone films like joker. a musical sequel? it's so unnecessary... that being said, I kinda wanna watch john wick 4 after this video hyped the movie up so much^^

[@VecTron5]

Don't bother. If 2 and 3 were disappointments, 4 probably wont do anything for you, especially with it's long runtime. And that's fine. Not everything is everyones cup of tea, and if your criticism of 2 and 3 is "it's just one action set piece after another." then that'll definitely be the case there.

[@frankunodostres473]

@@VecTron5 for the record, I loved both the raid movies. to this day one of the prime examples of a sequel that warrants its existence by expanding upon an already amazing first installment. just so you know where I'm standing

[@tomikivinen281]

This is JUST what happened. First was pretty solid revenge story, you could feel WHY he was killing all those guys. Second movies beginning tied first films story perfectly. After that… too much content, only reason to kill is survive, Wick loses ability to communicate properly. There is no heart so why should I care about this guy who has almost superhuman abilities. 😫😫😫

[@frankunodostres473]

@@tomikivinen281 I thought the 2nd one was just a bit boring as the action wasn't as good as the 1st and 3rd (may be just me though). the 3rd one was a bit frustrating because after all this journey john ends up almost in the same position as he was at the beginning. and the ugly short haired girl never gets her comeuppance (apparently she is not even in the 4th movie which makes it all the more frustrating >.

[@Cursalock]

The problem is that what you think is “wrong with Hollywood” resulted in every JW movie making more than the last. The most recent made four times as much as the original and it’s only about half is good. Audience have something to do with this, it’s not all on executives.

[@axnyslie]

In the case of the vehicles they were probably donated free by the auto manufacturers because it's very good publicity for them. Especially the sequels where they could have had a bidding war for Wick's car like they do for James Bond's car

[@FrancisSyCoCo]

The only problem is Hollywood is gonna milk this franchise until fans get to the point where we say, enough.. starting with Ana de armas😅

[@hodaachkar-d2m]

❤❤❤❤John wick franchise is the best ever

[@jerryschramm4399]

They already knew this because of the huge success of the first "Deadpool". But then again, that would mean that you wouldn't have highly paid do-nothings who know nothing about movies trying to micromanage the process. Or, like so many films have done lately, shoot the film, do test screenings, find out people hated it, then do extensive re-shoots, ballooning the budget beyond the realm of profitability. I've been pointing out the success of Blumhouse for years. Make cheaper movies, market them well, and look to make a nice profit, not a killing.

[@guve25]

Past Hollywood mistakes are over reliance on star power and use of CGI as star of the show not to improve scenes like in John Wick.

[@fragout9575]

This is basically the same formula of Rocky! But let's not beat it to death in the same manner please!! I am excited to see Ballerina and maybe if they stick to the same level if details as the first film, expanding on some of the key side characters as spin offs would be good too as back stories to The High Table and the 12 families.

[@lymphomasurvive]

Rocky was one of the greatest movies of all time. Nothing was ever going to live up to it.

[@fragout9575]

@@lymphomasurvive I'm not saying it was a comparison to being better than Rocky, only that the ridiculous amounts of sequels that followed it (after Rocky 3) did it become pointless. John Wick doesn't need to be overly done.

[@lymphomasurvive]

@fragout9575 I was agreeing but for different reasons. I think "we" are stuck with more of the Wickverse, sequels, prequels, and spinoffs, until it consistently loses money.

[@ericpeterson8732]

I'm continually frustrated with the stakes in the superhero genre. It's always too big. Like John Wick, they could do more with less. The comics get that. They had to fill 12 issues of story over an entire year. If every story was world-shaking every month, the fans would tire of that quickly. By scaling down the stakes to a town or region or secret base, you wouldn't need to save the world every film.