The John Wick series has cracked the video game movie code.

As you know, movies based on video games generally are… not very good. Sometimes it’s because there’s no budget, or because the script and actors aren’t up to snuff, or because the director is horrible*. But video game movies persist in being bad even when there’s money and competence.  But, as I said: the John Wick series has figured out the trick. If you want to make a video game movie, don’t base it on an existing video game.

John Wick 2, in other words, is the epitome of a movie made in the aesthetic of an over-the-shoulder shooter with almost no role-playing potential, a linear plot, and a fondness for cut-scenes.  That was not a criticism. I am legitimately impressed that the director and writers realized that audiences would readily forgive, say, a running stealth battle in a subway using silenced pistols that nobody else in the subway noticed. And why shouldn’t audiences do that? Happens all the time in video games.  And that’s true about everything else that’s superficially absurd in the film, ranging from the hyper-legalistic framework of the assassins’ community to the fact that there is an assassins’ community, and apparently everybody in NYC works for it**. Continue reading The John Wick series has cracked the video game movie code.

Looks like sweaters and John Wick 2 tomorrow.

This seems like an efficient use of my time: go to the mall, get some sweaters at Sears, wander over to the movie theater.  As the philosopher said: I love this plan. I’m excited to be a part of it.  Although I’m a little alarmed at myself that I’m looking forward to having some new sweaters.

Moe Lane

PS: I am also finding it bemusing that, so far, there’s a very positive critical reaction to John Wick 2. I mean, you get used to critics normally not liking action flicks, but 89% on Rotten Tomatoes is about twenty points higher than I expected. I mean, dang, NP freaking R liked this movie. Weird, huh?

Two John Wick 2 clips.

I’m kind of with Coming Soon on the first clip: it’s like a Matrix reunion!  I’ll go one further, in fact: John Wick 3 should be a Matrix reunion. Turns out that this world is the new, improved world that the cow-battery AIs came up for all of us after whatever the hell happened in the third Matrix movie that I did not even bother to watch.

Continue reading Two John Wick 2 clips.

…Annnnd here’s the John Wick 2 trailer.

Saw this on Twitter (from a protected account, so no point for a link). It doesn’t really matter if it’s good. It doesn’t really matter if it’s bad.  I’m going to go see it anyway, because John Wick 2 seems determined to embrace this ‘video game movie’ aesthetic thing and I find that sort of artistic decision quite tolerable when there isn’t an actual video game to get in the way.  That really might be the answer, in fact.  Make the movie, instead of the game.

Radical, huh?

I wonder if a John Wick 2 trailer is going to drop soon?

John Wick 2 is coming out in February, but we haven’t seen any footage from it yet.  That’s gonna change next week at New York Comic Con in October; I’m wondering whether they’re going to drop an actual trailer there, and not just footage.  I admit, I’m looking forward to this sequel; the original John Wick was a very pleasant surprise. One that apparently grew on me, too…