
John Wick
Storyline
With the untimely death of his beloved wife still bitter in his mouth, John Wick, the expert former assassin, receives one final gift from her–a precious keepsake to help John find a new meaning in life now that she is gone. But when the arrogant Russian mob prince, Iosef Tarasov, and his men pay Wick a rather unwelcome visit to rob him of his prized 1969 Mustang and his wife’s present, the legendary hitman will be forced to unearth his meticulously concealed identity. Blind with revenge, John will immediately unleash a carefully orchestrated maelstrom of destruction against the sophisticated kingpin, Viggo Tarasov, and his family, who are fully aware of his lethal capacity. Now, only blood can quench the boogeyman’s thirst for retribution.
John Wick Movie Cast & Character
John Wick Movie Crew
Storyline
With the untimely death of his beloved wife still bitter in his mouth, John Wick, the expert former assassin, receives one final gift from her–a precious keepsake to help John find a new meaning in life now that she is gone. But when the arrogant Russian mob prince, Iosef Tarasov, and his men pay Wick a rather unwelcome visit to rob him of his prized 1969 Mustang and his wife’s present, the legendary hitman will be forced to unearth his meticulously concealed identity. Blind with revenge, John will immediately unleash a carefully orchestrated maelstrom of destruction against the sophisticated kingpin, Viggo Tarasov, and his family, who are fully aware of his lethal capacity. Now, only blood can quench the boogeyman’s thirst for retribution.
John Wick Movie Details
Production & Distribution Company
Production Companies
Distributors
About John Wick Movie
- Derek Kolstad’s script drew on his interest in action, revenge, and neo noir films. Producer Basil Iwanyk purchased the rights as his first independent film production.
- Keanu Reeves, whose career was declining, liked the script and recommended that the experienced stunt choreographers Stahelski and David Leitch direct the action scenes; Stahelski and Leitch successfully lobbied to co-direct the project.
- Principal photography began in October 2013, on a $20–$30 million budget. Stahelski and Leitch focused on highly choreographed and long single takes to convey action, eschewing the rapid cuts and closeup shots of contemporary action films.
- Iwanyk struggled to secure theatrical distributors because industry executives were dismissive of an action film by first-time directors, and Reeves’s recent films had underperformed.
- Lionsgate Films purchased the distribution rights to the film two months before its October 24, 2014, release date.
- John Wick was theatrically released on October 24, 2014. It received generally positive reviews for its style and action sequences. Critics hailed John Wick as a comeback for Reeves, whose character played to his acting strengths. The film’s mythology of a criminal underworld with rituals and rules was praised as its most unique and interesting feature.
- Following a successful marketing campaign that changed its perception from disposable entertainment to a prestige event helmed by an affable leading actor, John Wick exceeded box-office projections and became a modest success, grossing $86 million worldwide.
- It received generally positive reviews for its style and action sequences. Critics hailed John Wick as a comeback for Reeves, whose character played to his acting strengths. The film’s mythology of a criminal underworld with rituals and rules was praised as its most unique and interesting feature.
- John Wick began a successful franchise that includes three sequels (John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019), and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)), the prequel television series The Continental: From the World of John Wick (2023), the spin-off film Ballerina (2024), as well as video games and comic books.
- Retrospectively, John Wick is considered one of the greatest action films ever made; it is seen as having revitalized the genre and popularized long single takes with choreographed, detailed action.
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