Keanu Reeves returns to the big screen, through a character that seems to fit him perfectly, with john wick 4. The first reviews are positive. It is a franchise that is very clear about what it wants to offer its viewers: pure and hard entertainment based on unbridled action sequences. In this last section, one of the key names of the saga is its director, Chad Stahelski.
Although his career has had more recognition in recent years, from his work in the saga john wick, the history of Chad Stahelski in the cinema goes beyond these productions. The truth is, without everything he’s done before, this franchise might never have gotten off the ground. Well, it is not unreasonable to think of it as an autobiographical work in some sense.
In the series, with john wick 4 Available in theaters March 24., integrates his vision as a director and his extensive career as a stunt double. On the other hand, the synergy that occurs between Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski would not be possible if the two had not met a few years ago, when Stahelski replaced Reeves in some of his danger scenes or with combat choreography only available to a few few.
Who is Chad Stahelski?
Chad Stahelski began acting as a stuntman at the age of 24. The 90s were a decade in which he participated in different low-key projects. During that period, he recorded one of the most important: The Raven (1994). That film, marked by the death of Brandon Lee Due to an accident during filming, it was the first major project for which Stahelski had to step up.
Until the actor’s death, Chad Stahelski had only done some risky and action scenes. After his death, it was he who finished filming the production. Before he passed by The Ravenin accordance with SensaCinemaI participate in Breaking point (1991), Knights (1993) and Hongkong 97 (1994). Thus began a career that currently has more than seventy film and television projects. The constant during that trip has been action. More than half of his works have had to do with this genre, especially highlighting Matrix (1999).
The child born in USA by September 20, 1968 he had become an adult beginning to make noise in the industry. In 1997 he could boast of having his own action design company, 87Eleven, along with David Leith. It would not be the only project they would tackle together. Without knowing it, years later they would be in charge of the first installment of john wick.
As a curious fact, very descriptive of Chad Stahelski’s profession, by the early 2000s, the actor had suffered at least:
- Two knee surgeries.
- Two shoulder surgeries.
- A broken ankle.
- A fracture in one of his hands.
The meeting with Keanu Reeves
During the filming of Matrix, Chad Stahelski replaced Keanu Reeves in those risk scenes that the actor could not interpret and in the combat sequences that required professional knowledge. Stahelski’s work was so convincing that he was present throughout the entire trilogy.
Regarding his intervention in Matrix: Reloaded (2003), Keanu Reeves described the profile of his partner:
“Chad Stahelski has a lot of experience in wirework, is a professional kung-fu fighter and has been an extraordinary acrobat for nine or ten years. That is to say, he has been related to all the elements that are involved in this film”.
The truth is that Chad Stahelski was in charge of interpreting the entire action sequence that takes place in the park, in which Neo is approached by hundreds of adversaries. In fact, most of the stages that required some stunt, followed by a fight, were the ones where Stahelski came on the scene.
But Chad Stahelski’s role in this production was not based only on following orders, on following the script. He was the Martial Arts Stunt Coordinator. PA Rondell, who worked with him in the department, described part of the dynamic in one sentence: “I’m a guest on your recording set”. Perhaps that control and commitment to what happens on stage was the initiation moment of what would later become his career as a director.
Through these projects, Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves were establishing a friendship relationship. Later, looking for an action figure, Stahelski may have only had a name in mind to be a part of. john wick (2014). Reeves, who was in a career desert with no attractive jobs and a declining career, answered the call.
Between then and the present, Chad Stahelski has worked on more than a dozen other films. Among which, he may be the most important are the following:
- 300as a fight choreographer.
- X-Men Origins: Wolverinein the position of Action Coordinator.
- Ninja assassinas Coordinator of doubles.
- The Expendablesalso as Doubles Coordinator.
They are not the only projects in which he was involved during the last two decades. But they are productions recognized for their spectacularity and degree of action; especially, 300 and Ninja assassin. If those were mixed, along with matrixthe result would probably be something quite close to john wick.
Chad Stahelski: from john wick to john wick 4
In Spain, john wick It was not released in theaters. It came in DVD format, as Alejandro G. Calvo remembers. This is important data because it gives information about the size of the project. The first film in the subsequent franchise didn’t get off to a very ambitious start. To this we must add that it has never had a large study supporting it. However, that first installment, also titled another day to killgenerated a stir among fans of the genre.
It was the genesis of a franchise without too many narrative aspirations, but with a clear story: a man who wants revenge for what others have done to him. Perhaps that simplicity, triggered by the murder of John Wick’s dog, served as a bridge with the viewer: how could one not sympathize with someone to whom that has happened? Is it possible not to justify, in a fictional universe, acting that way?
The formula john wick it worked. As if Chad Stahelski and his team were saying, ‘This is an action movie, let’s do it our way and in a big way.’ These forms have a lot to do with the extensive career that the director has in terms of martial arts. From john wick until john wick 4the combats, the action sequences and the way in which they are recorded are the highest points not only of the franchise, but of contemporary cinema.
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The staging that Chad Stahelski achieves is capable of defeating any credible argument. Through the four installments of john wick, the director laid the foundations of a cinematic universe in which justification makes sense. Of course, there are conveniences and the viewer must cling to the fictional pact. But when the realization is not convincing, none of the above can be validated or enforced. In that, beyond some detail, this franchise seems unquestionable.