John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Summary

“I gotta say, I’m a pretty big fan.”

I love the recent resurgence of Keanu Reeves as everybody’s favorite action star. When I talk about Keanu Reeves with friends – which is a common occurrence- I mention that he is probably the most well trained action star out there. The person I would least like to be facing off against is Keanu Reeves. Think about it for a second. He has trained extensively in hand to hand combat and martial arts for both The Matrix and John Wick. He has trained in “Gun Fu” and is an excellent marksman in numerous weapons due to the John Wick franchise. He also owns a part of a motorcycle company and is an avid rider. These are all traits of a guy that can realistically kick the ass of almost all of the action stars from the last couple decades. He has come a long way from his days in Bill and Ted. The John Wick franchise is one of my favorite film franchises. It is one of the few movie franchises that can persuade me to go buy a movie ticket. The only other film I saw in the theater this year was Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood. Now, as an audience, we are granted the opportunity to watch the film in Ultra HD.

The film picks up directly after the ending of John Wick: Chapter 2. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is deemed “ex communicato” because of committing a murder of a key figure within the Continental. Injured, John is given a head start by Winston but there is not much time before all of the assassins across the world will know the bounty on his head – $14 million. A corporate lawyer for the assassins guild- the High Table- arrives to help insure that Wick pays the price for breaking the rules. She calls herself the adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon.) Wick will need to call in all the favors that he can if he plans to survive. Meanwhile – the adjudicator enlists the help of a group of Asian assassins led by martial artist Zero (Mark Dacascos.)

The opening of the film is frantic and the film keeps up an incredible pace. There is so much bloodshed in the beginning sequences of the film that some have accused the film of being repetitive. For myself – I dug it. The film moves from one incredible set piece to the next with some of the most amazing stunt choreography I have ever seen. The body count is high – like… John Wick: Chapter 2 high. I thought that these fight scenes were so incredibly inventive that it made it impossible to mind the near constant violence on display. That said- there are a couple moments in the film that the run time gets the best of the film. The scenes involving Halle Berry and a couple dogs are amazing, but the sequence where this all takes place definitely sticks out a little bit from the other scenes. That is the only real knock that I have on the film. It isn’t even a big knock.

This is the third movie in the series and unlike Matrix Revolutions, Parabellum delivers the goods. The film expands the universe of John Wick and gives some back story for the titular character. It also delivers some excellent new characters. The new favorite that every single person I spoke to agreed upon is Zero played by Mark Dacascos. This character is one of my favorite villains that I have seen in a movie in a while. Mark Dacascos starred in a movie called Double Dragon that I watched in my youth, so it was exciting to see him really spread his wings and land a great meaty role. I am hoping that we will see a lot more of him in starring roles because he absolutely killed it here. People are also going to enjoy Halle Berry in the film. She got in great shape and went through similar training that Keanu undertook. She is a welcome addition. Then there are the dogs. People are going to love the dogs.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is a great third act. With the same star, the same director, and the same writer as the previous two films – it knows what it is doing and will please the fans of the other films. Keanu delivers the goods. If you liked the previous two films, this will scratch that itch. If you didn’t like the previous two – why would you consider watching the third?

Video:

John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum blows away most other films with its drop dead gorgeous 2160p transfer utilizing an HEVC encode in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The film is visually incredible from the beginning to the end. Utilizing a wide range of colors and taking full advantage of HDR, the film looks truly incredible on 4K UHD. The cinematography by Dan Laustsen is every bit as enjoyable as his work on Chapter 2. I love the use of blue, pink, and red colors throughout the film. I would say that visually this film looks as good as anything on the format.

Audio:

The Dolby Atmos track for the film sounds fantastic. The movie is hard hitting and fast from the beginning. Sound is incredibly important to the modern action film and the sound design of this film is immaculate. I would love to be in the room of the sound technicians as they had to figure out the best way to make the noise of a jaw being snapped by a book. The excellent score by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard keeps the energy level high with its synth driven themes. A great sounding track.

Supplements:

All supplements are featured on both the 4K disc and the Blu-ray disc.

• Parabellum: Legacy of The High Table 
• Excommunicado 
• Check Your Sights 
• Saddle Up Wick 
• Bikes, Blades, Bridges, and Bits 
• Continental in the Desert 
• Dog Fu 
• House of Transparency 
• Shot by Shot 
• Two Theatrical Trailers
• John Wick Hex Game Trailer 
• Behind the Scenes of John Wick Hex 

Overall Scores:

Video: 5

Audio: 5

Supplements: 3.5 

Overall – 4.5/5

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is a great third film for the excellent John Wick franchise. I have enjoyed watching Keanu become one of the ultimate badass action stars and the action pieces here are staggering. Is he basically superhuman to survive everything? Yes. Is the nonstop violence eventually sort of numbing? Yes. But who cares! The universe of John Wick is substantially expanded with this film and it introduces some great characters played by Halle Berry and Mark Dacascos. Keanu’s renaissance continues and it is a lovely thing to behold. 

Portions of this review originally appeared on Blu-ray Authority.