Ten years ago this month, John Wick hit theaters and gave Keanu Reeves a comeback for the ages. But it’s easy to forget that the film wasn’t a huge hit out of the gate. An $86 million worldwide take at the box office is hardly memorable, even when considering the film’s modest $20 million to $30 million budget. It took time for action fans to latch on to John Wick when it had its post-theatrical release on home media. But once they did, John Wick became the start of a franchise that is still going a decade later.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of John Wick, we’re looking back at the film itself and how it brought Reeves’ career back to life after a long downward spiral following his stint in The Matrix and its sequels.
John Wick revitalized Keanu Reeves’ career
Before we get into the film itself, it’s worth taking the time to remember that Keanu Reeves had lost a lot of his star power in the industry. By 2014, it had been over a decade since the third Matrix movie, The Matrix Revolutions, and Reeves hadn’t had any comparable hits in that timeframe. Reeves still worked regularly, but John Wick wasn’t a big-time major studio release. Everyone outside of the film assumed it would just be another low-budget action flick with a former star in the lead.
Reeves also deserves credit for helping screenwriter Derek Kolstad reshape the character of John Wick to more closely line up with Reeves’ on-screen persona. Excess dialogue was chopped, and the film relied on Reeves’ face and body language to convey what he was going through, rather than having him state the obvious out loud. That went a long way toward making the audience feel like they knew John, because he seemed so similar to Reeves.
The title character is immediately compelling
John starts in a very human place at the beginning of the film, and the audience meets him while he’s grieving the death of his wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan). Before she died, Helen arranged for John to be gifted with a puppy he could take care of, and he accepted that dog into his heart. But in no time at all, Russian mobsters break into John’s home, steal his car, and murder his puppy before leaving him for dead.
Unlike the vast majority of moviegoers, John didn’t need to seek relief from the police. As a former assassin, he recovered from his injuries and set out on a bloody path of revenge. Ironically, John’s desire to avenge himself and his dog resonated with moviegoers and proved to be more interesting than simply avenging his wife, as so many action heroes had done before.
The action is incredible
Aside from Reeves’ performance as the title character, the big draw of John Wick is its action. Former stuntmen Chad Stahelski and David Leitch co-directed John Wick, although only Stahelski was credited due to DGA rules. Regardless, Stahelski and Leitch brought an understanding of action that the Michael Bay school of filmmakers lack. They didn’t rely on quick cuts or incomprehensible editing to convey action. Their focus was on longer takes and well-choreographed fights.
Even the gunplay of John Wick featured stylized action that separated it from the films that came before it. Once John Wick was discovered by action fans, they embraced its unique touches which were pushed even further in the sequels.
John Wick takes the time to create its own underworld
Compared to the films that came after it, John Wick is clearly set in something that resembles our reality. This was long before audiences learned about the High Table and the arcane rules of this world of assassins. Having said that, John Wick sets the table — so to speak — for all of those things by introducing The Continental hotel, which is an oasis for killers and criminals to roam freely without fear of violence.
This movie also revealed that the currency of the underworld isn’t strictly cash. Instead, it revolves around gold coins that are worth more than mere money, and they can buy access to The Continental among other services that can’t be legally acquired.
The supporting cast gives great performances
There are two scenes in the movie where characters slap the taste out of the mouth of Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) for being stupid enough to attack John Wick, steal his car, and shoot his dog. John Leguizamo’s Aurelio does it, and he’s soon followed by Iosef’s father, Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist). The reason why those scenes are so effective is that they set up the mythology of John Wick himself, as expressly laid out by Viggo. Without any flashbacks, the audience learns that John was one of the most feared assassins in the underworld. The supporting players hype up John for the audience before the movie shows what he’s capable of doing.
Two of the other supporting characters, Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick), were so memorable that they’ve been in every sequel to date. McShane in particular commands the screen as Winston, and he adds a lot of flavor to the movie. Willem Dafoe and Adrianne Palicki also have great turns as Marcus and Ms. Perkins, respectively. They helped flesh out this world and they gave Reeves intriguing characters to play against.
It wasn’t intended to be a franchise
Three sequels and one TV miniseries later — with a spinoff movie, Ballerina, to come — it’s easy to forget that John Wick was a standalone movie. It didn’t end on a cliffhanger like the second and third films. Instead, John’s story is finished when he finally gets his revenge, as well as a new reason to keep on living. That was John’s happy ending.
Of course, once John Wick became wildly successful in its home release, plans were drawn up for more movies and the rest, as they say, is history. Even though John Wick: Chapter 4 went out of its way to seemingly end the story once and for all, there’s still talk about a potential John Wick: Chapter 5. Sometimes, Hollywood just doesn’t know how to let a franchise go and won’t let characters reach their conclusions. It’s the kind of thinking that got us The Matrix Resurrections, another Reeves action franchise that lost sight of what made the movies before it so entertaining.
Surprisingly, John Wick isn’t currently on any of the major streaming services, but that should change as we get closer to Ballerina‘s release next year. And yes, Reeves has already filmed his cameo appearance for that movie.
Rent or buy John Wick on Prime Video.