I was flying overseas. They had all 3 movies. I never saw any and watched all 3 back to back to back. My mind was numb after all three and seeing what seemed like 1000 people get killed.
We are in the age of video game-like action films.
IMO, the gold standard for action films is Enter the Dragon. One doesn’t have to be a fan of martial arts to see this: It opens with a spectacle, introduces characters with challenges using action and humor, then introduces the bad guys and builds them up as nearly invincible. Bond films follow this approach and probably influenced ETD’s director.
ETD builds and releases tension (again, sometimes with humor), leading up to a climactic battle, all within 102 minutes.
Wick – 101 minutes
Wick 2 – 122 minutes
Wick 3 – 131 minutes
Wick 4 - ?
I enjoyed the first Wick, but the others didn’t really moderate the tension and action. The fight scenes are spectacular, but they’re like one Mt. Everest after another with grim humor doing little to release tension. It was what, the dog or puppy whimpering in the passenger seat to offer us some release?
That you sat through all three in one seating must’ve made it seem like an endurance contest.
Each Wick film has made more than the previous, so the director has no reason to change his approach to directing his “Gun Fu” franchise. He’s found a niche for his creativity that makes stinking piles of cash for himself and his crew – and that’s a very good thing.
