By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
If you think John Shaft is a bad mother then wait until you see John Wick, aka, Keanu Reeves in
?John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum.?
This may be the most exciting movie not just of the summer, but the entire year. I know ?Avengers: Endgame? was amazing and even the upcoming ?Godzilla: King of the Monsters? looks fierce too, but for those who understand and love the John Wick franchise, this entry is a deliriously, relentless and extremely entertaining follow-up to 2017?s ?John Wick: Chapter 2.?
?John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum? picks right up where the last movie left off.
John Wick (Reeves, ?Toy Story 4?) has been declared "excommunicado" now and has nowhere to run or hide ever since he violated the rules of the High Table by killing Santino D?Antonio (Ricardo Scamarcio) in the ?Safe Haven? space of the New York Continental Hotel. It?s owned and managed by the ironfisted elder statesman, Winston (Ian McShane, TV?s ?American Gods?).
Consequently, there?s a $14 million bounty on John?s head and everyone in New York it seems, including an assassin named Zero (Mark Dacascos, TV?s ?Hawaii Five-O?) and ?Tick Tock Man? (Jason Mantzoukas, TV?s ?Big Mouth?) wants it on a platter.
John has one hour to come up with a plan to save his life. First, he decides to take a cab and get his dog to safety.
Meanwhile, The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon, TV?s ?Billions?) is paying a visit to the Continental Hotel to chat with Winston (McShane), and the Bowery King (Lawrence Fishburne, TV?s ?Black-ish?) who had a hand with Wick?s escape. She informs them that their involvement with John Wick can?t go unpunished either. They have seven days to vacate their posts or else.
And then the action in ?John Wick? takes hold and seldom lets up. It starts with an outrageous fight at the New York Public Library with John and a giant Yugoslavian (NBA star Boban Marjanovic). This sequence is so amazingly choreographed, it feels wrong to call such a violent, bloody beat down a thing of beauty, but it really is.
As unbelievable as that scene is, it pales in comparison to a vicious knife-wielding attack between John and a bunch of highly skilled judo, kung fu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu martial arts masters that would make Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and Jackie Chan mighty proud.
Other spectacular and jaw-dropping moments have John on the Manhattan Bridge chasing down some baddies on motorcycles and riding a horse John Wayne style.
Is there anything this guy can?t do?
Desperately looking to get out of his predicament, John even meets with his protector, ?The Director? (Angelica Houston, TV?s ?Angie Tribeca?) with hopes of obtaining clearance to Casablanca.
While there, he also calls in a favor to his good friend/assassin, Sofia (a badass Halle Berry, ?Kidnap?) who runs a local branch of the Continental Hotel. Sofia rises to the occasion along with her beautiful Malinois who are trained to viciously attack men?s crown jewels.
Everything about ?John Wick: Chapter 3?Parabellum? is over the top crazy. I?ve never seen so many throats slashed, gunshots to the head, stabbings, and beat downs using everything from books to horses to get the job done.
After ?John Wick: Chapter 2? I wondered how director Chad Stahelski would be able to top it. Well, he does in a big way with ?John Wick: Chapter 3 ? Parabellum.? It?s arguably the best of the series and the way it ends, there will definitely be a ?Chapter 4.?
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Check Out This Trailer For
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3--PARABELLUM"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
