John Wick (John Wick, David Leitch, 2014)
There are several types of action heroes, with lone avengers leading the way. From the cowboy Shane to the Black Mamba, revenge for the injustice suffered is often the main driver of the plot. This setting allows the authors to logically justify the violence shown later, and it also favors the rhythm that harmonizes the revenge climax with the closing credits. "John Wick" is a classic example of such a film, where it stands out from the sea of similar titles with a high-quality and focused execution.
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is a retired hit man whose wife is dying. After her death, he receives a letter written by her, as well as a puppy as a gift. When the criminal Jozef (Alfie Allen) sees Vik's car at the gas station, he wants to buy it, which he refuses. Soon, thieves break into Vik's home and steal his car, causing him to light up. Meanwhile, Jozef turns out to be the son of mob boss Vig Tarasov (Michael Nyquist), for whom the killer once worked.
It goes without saying that "John Wick" is a violent film, but the violence in it gravitates more towards dance choreography than shocking bloodletting.
Unlike films that slowly build up the pace, "John Wick" exhausts everything that has nothing to do with action at the very beginning. The revenge campaign starts after ten minutes and there is no break until the end. The furious pace can be compared to Besson's "Lucy" or Travis' "Dread", while the quality is a class above this year's "The Righteous" with Denzel Washington. In addition, the director Čad Stalevski pays homage to a classic such as "Hell's Orange", as well as to all car chases, which he treats in a realistic key.
The world in which "John Wick" takes place could easily be seen as a transitional form between a megapolis and "Sin City". The financial insecurity of today is underscored by a detail in the form of a gold coin, with the moral of the film (if any) contained in the message that evil should not be done because it is bad in itself, but because you never know how dangerous the person it is inflicted on is. . In addition, the film provides an interesting commentary concerning the temples of modern civilization. The main headquarters of the Russian mafia is in a church, which is obviously not Orthodox. There is a safe in her basement, but the collapse of society is best shown by the fact that money is not the most valuable thing in it, but it is the footage of corrupt politicians and businessmen. John, and neither do the criminals, have no problem turning the temple into a showdown, which ends in an orgy of violence.
On the other hand, the hotel with the symbolic name "Intercontinental" corresponds to a criminal embassy. He has rules that everyone must respect, where disobeying them will result in punishment, and compliance will result in a material reward. Thus, it is pointed out that the sanctity of the church has been moved to the luxury of the hotel, and that the peace of mind that people once found in places of worship can now only be found in the relaxation areas of the rich. In addition, the only service that functions properly is a private company that removes corpses after a mafia showdown, which once again highlights the professionalism of the criminal milieu. That it's not all about money, the hired killer Marcus (William Dafoe) will show, and that Mrs. Perkins (Adrijana Palicki) might be. In order to avoid the misconception that there is no difference between a thief and a business environment, almost all characters will be dressed as businessmen.
It goes without saying that "John Wick" is a violent film, but the violence in it gravitates more towards dance choreography than shocking bloodletting. Basically, what characters in Asian action games do with cold weapons, John does with fire. The work has a couple of logical omissions, the most obvious of which is the one in which the prisoner is not killed immediately, but is given the space to do what he knows best, that is, to free himself. Also, the rain at the end involuntarily reminds of the finale of "The Matrix", while the dance scene in the disco can be associated with Zion. However, since the plot is primarily an excuse for an exercise in aesthetics, the success of the exercise makes up for the failures.
From the above, it is easy to conclude that the main advantage, but also the disadvantage of "John Wick" is that almost every scene is an action movie. For those who expect more, it will not offer enough, but therefore the expectations of fans of the genre will be exceeded without any problems.
Rating: 7/10
How to get rid of the boss 2 (Horrible Bosses 2, Sean Anders, 2014)
Few expected that French economist Thomas Piketty's book "Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century" would become a New York Times bestseller. This study thoroughly studied the problem of capital acquisition and scientifically proved that earnings from acquired wealth, i.e. the return of invested capital, exceeds the rate of economic growth in the long term. Put differently, Piketty showed that the accumulation of wealth is not an anomaly, but an essential feature of liberal capitalism. Therefore, no matter how capable an individual is, on average, he will earn less money than the one who inherited him. Although the authors of the sequel to the film "How to get rid of the boss" did not intend to make a socially engaged comedy, it seems that in addition to the sketches, they managed to give a picture of corporate America that is as much for laughing as it is for crying.
Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman), Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) found a shower company. Businessman Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz) promises to buy 100.000 showers from them and promote them on his television channel. After Nick, Kurt and Dale borrow from the banks to start production, Bert refuses to help them because his goal from the beginning was to buy the bankrupt company. In order to pay off the debts, the team decides to kidnap Berta's son Rex (Chris Pine), but the problem is that Rex is more cunning than his father.
In addition to the main characters, there are also notable cameos. Jennifer Aniston reprises the role of a nymphomaniac, not once acting like a guest star, but completely fitting into the character, which also applies to Jamie Foxx. Chris Pine superiorly interprets the spoiled and good-natured father's son, while Kevin Spacey with his focused and serious role only emphasizes the total execution of Nick, Kurt and Dale
The director and screenwriter of this sequel is Sean Anders, and he was recommended for the job by the successful comedy "We Are the Millers". Already in the first few minutes, it will be clear to the audience that the main quality of the film is the acting, which was also true for the first part. Although at first glance, Nick is the voice of reason, Kurt is a cynical joker, and Dale is an unintelligent satrap, the real truth is that none of them are intelligent. Thus, Nick will present his obtuse observations in the language of a measured intellectual, and Kurt in the language of a guy who does not miss beer and football games. Dale is a story of his own, because even to such a think tank he profiles as the least gifted. With a closer look, it is easy to find that their conversations are based more on nuances of stupidity, than on the clash of idiocy and common sense.
Thematically, the film builds on the story from the first part by elevating the protagonists from the position of subordinates to the level of managers. What the bosses were to the working class, corporate America is to the bosses.
Also, unlike the first part, in which it is shown that employees still have a chance against their superiors, the sequel points out that the battle against corporations is already lost. When Nick, Kurt and Dale explain to Bert and Rex how they want to start production in America, they tell them that nothing has been produced there for decades, but that everything comes from China. This is not to say that "How to Get Rid of the Boss 2" is a sociological comedy, but it is fun to see how a modern Hollywood film starts from a relatively claustrophobic picture of the world that it does not even treat as a theme, but only as a backdrop that allows it to gain credibility.
In addition to the main characters, there are also notable cameos. Jennifer Aniston reprises the role of a nymphomaniac, not once acting like a guest star, but completely fitting into the character, which also applies to Jamie Foxx. Chris Pine superiorly interprets the spoiled and good-natured father's son, while Kevin Spacey with his focused and serious role only emphasizes the total execution of Nick, Kurt and Dale.
As for the type of humor, it is similar to the first part, with Dale being given more space, which is definitely good. The work is occasionally reminiscent of "The Big Lebowski", and not in terms of charm and originality, but rather in the story of the kidnapping. The only, but at the same time the main problem, is that with a different cast, the film would be much less interesting, so the quality lies not in the design of the script, but in the inspiration of the actors. As it is at the top level, the conclusion is that it is a sequel that is occasionally of better quality than the original, although it does not offer anything original. The Claw from Predator doesn't count.
Rating: 7/10
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