john wick is back
John Wick has no plans to retire. 2014 saw the arrival of Keanu Reeves as “John Wick”, a retired thug who returns to the field to avenge the death of his puppy, a gift from his late (he is grieving) wife. The film became equally a box office success with 86 million dollars from a budget of less than 30 and critical with 86% on the meta site Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus highlighted its value as a stylized thriller and its potential as a franchise. Nine years later, “John Wick” already has four titles (the most recent to be released), a spin-off series (“The Continental”, announced for this year), a spin-off film (“Ballerina”, starring Ana de Armas) and plans for at least two more deliveries. With a simple plot, what is the reason for the impact of “John Wick”?
In principle, it should be noted that “John Wick” has a charismatic and attractive protagonist such as Keanu Reeves, a figure who already comes with hit titles and movie classics ranging from the “Matrix” series to “Full speed” and that reaffirm his status as an action figure, even cult, but also others such as “The lake house”, “Someone has to give”, “The devil’s advocate”, “A walk in the clouds” or “Dracula” that show a certain versatility that comes in handy to give dimension to a character that also requires romantic and vulnerable moments. Then there is the universe where he moves. It’s parallel to ours and it has these organisms or associations of assassins that alternately move and, of course, there is the stylized and creative action sequences, including at this point horses, dogs and even books in a library.
It also helps the franchise in that compared to others it is low cost and very profitable. The budget of the second was 40 million dollars, 171 entered; the third 75 and recovered 327. The above shows that, contrary to what happens with others, it has been growing. Critically it has held up, both have 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now, all of the above has to do with aspects of form and business. The key to the success of “John Wick” is in experience and identification. The storytelling theory indicates that for a story to work it must tell something universal and the universality of John Wick is that he is a broken being. Yes, it’s something anyone can relate to, whether it’s a loss of a loved one or job, a breakup, or any other type of crisis. Furthermore, the “magic” is that many would like to do the unconscious: fight, get even or hit the world. “John Wick” serves as a catharsis. Communication theories speak both of uses and gratifications (the viewer can put the medium in question to whatever use he requires, from companionship to a utilitarian one such as using a newspaper to wrap, to mention a couple, and obtain satisfaction with it) and of the ways in which the portrayed violence can be assimilated. Catharsis is one of them and “John Wick” certainly offers a lot.
“Don’t let him off” said the poster of the first movie, something like “don’t provoke him”. John Wick is provoked by something that might seem simple and that is the point, he is at the boiling point and does in a hyperbolic and metaphorical way what anyone wants, but he can’t. John Wick is back and his story continues to be written.