John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

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PowerDump
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And nobody has mentioned the great reviews this is getting yet
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MuffinMcFluffin
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PowerDump wrote: ↑
May 11th, 2019, 2:47 am
 And nobody has mentioned the great reviews this is getting yet
That included you, until you mentioned it. ;)

If it helps, I thought about it. :geek:
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Vader182
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so this is the worst movie of the series, has the best action overall, but is plagued by a bizarre series of tonal and structural left turns that totally derail the pace. it's too serious AND too silly, and doesnt have that pitch-perfect balance of camp like 1 and 2. that is bad!

some of that is due to egregious miscasts (Mark Dacascos' line readings gave me cancer) some due to where the story and mythology go (the international section is BAD), and some due to the general shape of the last half of the movie's "plot."

PS don't shoot black outfits against a black background as your final series of fight scenes. Even in Dolby it was hard to follow.

also, Keanu just can't keep up with the boys from The Raid and it shows, but it's awesome anyway. annnd the opening 20 minutes may be the best consecutive 20 minutes of the franchise tho

those are 3:00am thoughts thank you for coming to my ted talk

-Vader
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anarchy
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Vader182 wrote: ↑
May 18th, 2019, 4:13 am
 so this is the worst movie of the series, has the best action overall, but is plagued by a bizarre series of tonal and structural left turns that totally derail the pace. it's too serious AND too silly, and doesnt have that pitch-perfect balance of camp like 1 and 2. that is bad!

some of that is due to egregious miscasts (Mark Dacascos' line readings gave me cancer) some due to where the story and mythology go (the international section is BAD), and some due to the general shape of the last half of the movie's "plot."

PS don't shoot black outfits against a black background as your final series of fight scenes. Even in Dolby it was hard to follow.

also, Keanu just can't keep up with the boys from The Raid and it shows, but it's awesome anyway. annnd the opening 20 minutes may be the best consecutive 20 minutes of the franchise tho

those are 3:00am thoughts thank you for coming to my ted talk

-Vader
Interested to know what these structural left turns are.
I see many complaining online about this, but I found it pretty classically structured, with a clear inciting incident established at the end of Chapter 2, a solid mid-point that changes Wick's character goal (the meeting with the Elder), and a clear plot point/escalation into the third act with his refusal to kill Winston. Maybe it doesn't adhere to the 3-act formula that strictly, but the fact that the characters kept repeating their intentions and plans made it super easy to follow. (e.g. there was a lot of "why are you here?" "I'm here to see the Elder" etc)
I found it to be a welcome return to the structural leanness to the first one instead of a repeat of the messiness of Chapter 2.
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Vader182
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Casablanca feels like it's out of a completely different movie. The guy who runs the High Table is Omar Sharif circa 1930 met by TE Reeves? It's one mythological leap too many, and cut awkwardly with the high table getting revenge amongst multiple characters.

it's unclear what wick thought he'd accomplish with the elder, the elder makes an impossible request, wick pretends to grant it (we know he won't), then he doesn't, thereby trivializing that entire second act of the movie.

speaking of John Wick 2s messiness, it's also unclear why he's still getting killed and attacked if the guy who runs the high table wantsWick to carry out this task, and likewise why Wick goes out of his way to kill people if he doesn't have to. It's not clear what the rules of engagement are.

finally, making the third act not about Wick's vengeance but about his friend's hotel, is a weird, dissonant way to finish out what seemed like a trilogy. I get it's meant to demonstrate he's caring about others again but it's pretty vacant, no?

-Vader
spade
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Vader182 wrote: ↑
May 18th, 2019, 5:55 am
Casablanca feels like it's out of a completely different movie. The guy who runs the High Table is Omar Sharif circa 1930 met by TE Reeves? It's one mythological leap too many, and cut awkwardly with the high table getting revenge amongst multiple characters.

it's unclear what wick thought he'd accomplish with the elder, the elder makes an impossible request, wick pretends to grant it (we know he won't), then he doesn't, thereby trivializing that entire second act of the movie.

speaking of John Wick 2s messiness, it's also unclear why he's still getting killed and attacked if the guy who runs the high table wantsWick to carry out this task, and likewise why Wick goes out of his way to kill people if he doesn't have to. It's not clear what the rules of engagement are.

finally, making the third act not about Wick's vengeance but about his friend's hotel, is a weird, dissonant way to finish out what seemed like a trilogy. I get it's meant to demonstrate he's caring about others again but it's pretty vacant, no?

-Vader
He went to the Elder so as to get Excommunicado revoked. Don't think The High Table or Elder never thought he would reach out to the Elder himself. And only way Elder can make the apology and the mess created by Wick worthwhile would be to make Wick work again for him.

Where exactly does Wick go out of his way to kill people? It has almost always been to keep him alive right?
I think this one was pretty close to 2nd one in terms of being fun. The second half of first one is still the only dull portion of this franchise. But yeah the fourth part gonna need subversion big time.
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anarchy
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Vader182 wrote: ↑
May 18th, 2019, 5:55 am
Casablanca feels like it's out of a completely different movie. The guy who runs the High Table is Omar Sharif circa 1930 met by TE Reeves? It's one mythological leap too many, and cut awkwardly with the high table getting revenge amongst multiple characters.

it's unclear what wick thought he'd accomplish with the elder, the elder makes an impossible request, wick pretends to grant it (we know he won't), then he doesn't, thereby trivializing that entire second act of the movie.

speaking of John Wick 2s messiness, it's also unclear why he's still getting killed and attacked if the guy who runs the high table wantsWick to carry out this task, and likewise why Wick goes out of his way to kill people if he doesn't have to. It's not clear what the rules of engagement are.

finally, making the third act not about Wick's vengeance but about his friend's hotel, is a weird, dissonant way to finish out what seemed like a trilogy. I get it's meant to demonstrate he's caring about others again but it's pretty vacant, no?
-Vader
1. Pretty sure Casablanca being a completely different movie is the entire point. Some kind of exoticization for sure, but I thought it was a welcome contrast with the LED high tech NYC world.
2. That part does get confusing, but I guess it can be explained that the Japanese mercenaries were such huge fans of Wick that they just wanted to fight them.
3. The original intention was probably "look how cool it would be if we return to the Continental for the big finale!" Which worked for me. I thought it was really cool. And while many might think the "will JW kill Winston or not" thing is super obvious, it also worked for me. It's not that I thought JW would kill Winston, but I was interested in seeing how JW would get out of that predicament. So the hotel set-piece, though excessive and way too long, still felt like it had good character motivation for me. I think it's meant to demonstrate that he's finally disobeying the rules of the High Table and the system. (Which he already did in Chapter 2, I know. But this time it has bigger stakes and feels more powerful because it involves a friend.)
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Cilogy
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This was fucking awesome

can't believe this actually managed to outdo the previous 2

loved the deeper dive into the world and the "lore" of this universe

and Halle Berry was badass

also:
For some reason, I was under the impression this was the last of the series. But hey, bring more on if the action is gonna be like this.
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Cilogy
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dude that gun store/knife room scene

that needs to be studied
spade
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Yeah but that particular shot was gratuitous.
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