John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
| John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Chad Stahelski |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Derek Kolstad |
| Based on | Characters by Derek Kolstad |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
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| Cinematography | Dan Laustsen |
| Edited by | Evan Schiff |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release date |
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Running time | 131 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $75 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $326.7 million[4] |
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (also known as simply John Wick: Chapter 3) is a 2019 American neo-noir action thriller film starring Keanu Reeves as the eponymous character. It is the third installment in the John Wick film series, following John Wick (2014) and Chapter 2 (2017). The film is directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams, based on a story by Kolstad. It also stars Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, and Ian McShane. In the film, which picks up minutes after the end of the previous film, ex-hitman John Wick finds himself on the run from legions of assassins after a $14 million contract is put on his head due to his recent actions.
The third installment was announced in June 2017. Much of the returning cast and crew was confirmed in February 2018, with new members joining that May. Filming began that month and lasted through November, taking place in New York City, Montreal, and Morocco.
Parabellum was theatrically released in the United States on May 17, 2019, by Lionsgate. It grossed $326 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of the franchise in just 10 days, and received positive reviews from critics, with praise for the action sequences, visual style, and Reeves's performance.[5] A sequel, John Wick: Chapter 4, is set to be released on May 27, 2022.[6][7]
Plot
Less than an hour after the events of the second film, John Wick is now a marked man on the run in Manhattan. Before he is labeled "excommunicado" for the unauthorized killing of High Table member Santino D'Antonio on the grounds of the New York Continental, Wick travels to the New York Public Library to retrieve two concealed items – a "marker" medallion and a crucifix – but is injured in a fight with a giant assassin named Ernest. Wick seeks medical treatment from an underworld doctor, but he runs out of time before the doctor can finish. Wick finishes patching his own injury and, to protect the doctor from retaliation for helping him, shoots him twice to suggest he put up a fight. Upon leaving the doctor's office, John is found by a gang whom he kills in an antique weapons store, and in a chase on horseback.
John meets with the Director, the head of the Ruska Roma. John presents the crucifix and requests safe passage to Casablanca. The Director reluctantly helps (as John is a former protégé from Belarus), knowing there will be repercussions. An Adjudicator of the High Table meets with Winston—the owner of the New York Continental—and the Bowery King—the leader of a network of vagrant-assassins. The Adjudicator stabs their hands as punishment for helping John before giving them seven days to resign their positions and hiring Zero, a ninja, as an enforcer. Zero and his students find the Director, slaughter her guards and give her Winston and the Bowery King's punishment.
In Casablanca, John meets Sofia, a former friend and the owner of the Moroccan Continental. John presents her marker—from aiding her daughter—and requests to be directed to the Elder, the only person above the High Table. Sofia takes John to Berrada, her former boss, who tells John he may find the Elder by wandering through the desert until he cannot walk any longer. In exchange, Berrada asks for one of Sofia's dogs. When Sofia refuses, he shoots the dog, which is saved by a bullet-proof vest. Sofia tries to kill Berrada, but at John's warning she only wounds him. They fight their way out of the kasbah and drive into the desert, where she leaves him.
The Adjudicator and Zero confront the Bowery King, who refuses to abdicate his position. In response, Zero's students slaughter the Bowery King's henchmen while Zero cuts him seven times with a wakizashi as "penance".
Collapsing in the desert, John is brought to the Elder and states that he is desperate to live to "earn" the memory of the love he once had with his wife. The Elder agrees to forgive Wick on the condition that he assassinates Winston and keeps working for the High Table until his death. To show his commitment, John severs his ring finger and offers his wedding ring to the Elder. John returns to New York City and is attacked by Zero and his students before reaching the protection of the Continental. Winston urges John not to die as a killer but as a man who loved and was loved by his wife.
The Adjudicator arrives, but Winston refuses to resign his position and John refuses to kill him, leading the Adjudicator to revoke the "neutral ground" status of the Continental, and send Zero and heavily armed enforcers to kill John and Winston. Winston provides John with weapons and the assistance of Charon and his staff. After killing the enforcers, John is ambushed by Zero and his students, and John proceeds to kill all but the two students who were respectful towards him. John confronts and fatally wounds Zero.
The Adjudicator agrees to a parley with Winston, who explains his rebellion as a "show of strength" and offers fealty to the High Table. John arrives, and the Adjudicator asks what should be done with him. Winston shoots John repeatedly, and he falls off the roof. The Continental is "reconsecrated," but the seriously injured John and his dog are covertly delivered to the Bowery King, who voices his anger with the High Table and asks John if he feels the same way, and John replies "Yeah."
Cast
- Keanu Reeves as John Wick
- Halle Berry as Sofia, an ex-assassin, former friend of John and the manager of the Continental Hotel in Casablanca.
- Ian McShane as Winston
- Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King
- Mark Dacascos as Zero
- Asia Kate Dillon as the Adjudicator
- Lance Reddick as Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York
- Tobias Segal as Earl
- Anjelica Huston as the Director
- Saïd Taghmaoui as the Elder
- Jerome Flynn as Berrada
- Randall Duk Kim as the Doctor. Duk Kim reprised his role from the first film.
- Margaret Daly as Operator
- Robin Lord Taylor as Administrator
- Susan Blommaert as Librarian
- Jason Mantzoukas as Tick Tock Man, one of the Bowery King's men
- Cecep Arif Rahman as Shinobi #1, one of Zero's pupils
- Yayan Ruhian as Shinobi #2, another of Zero's pupils
- Roger Yuan as Huang, a Triad gang assassin (Uncredited)
- Tiger Chen as Triad (Uncredited)
- Boban Marjanović as Ernest
Production
In October 2016, Chad Stahelski, who made his directorial debut with John Wick and served as Reeves' Matrix stunt double,[8] stated that a third film in the John Wick series was in the works,[9] and in June 2017 it was reported that Derek Kolstad, who wrote the two prior films, would return to write the screenplay.[10] In January 2018, it was reported that Stahelski would return to direct.[11]
According to Reeves, the film's title was taken from the famous 4th-century Roman military quote "Si vis pacem, para bellum," which means, "If you want peace, prepare for war."[12] In an interview with The New York Times, McShane said that the film would be big, good, and that nothing is the same while also hinting that part of the action could be the High Table's payback not only on Wick but also on his close friend Winston.[13]
Casting
In January 2018, it was reported that Hiroyuki Sanada was in talks to join the cast.[11] Later, it was revealed that Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, and Lance Reddick would reprise their roles from previous John Wick films.[14] In May 2018, Halle Berry, Anjelica Huston, Asia Kate Dillon, Mark Dacascos, Jason Mantzoukas, Yayan Ruhian, Cecep Arif Rahman, and Tiger Chen joined the cast.[15][16][17] In November 2018, Said Taghmaoui confirmed his involvement in the film.[18]
Filming
Principal photography began May 5, 2018, in New York City and Montreal, along with the additional filming locations of Morocco. Principal photography lasted until November 17, 2018.[14][18][19] Cinematographer Dan Laustsen was asked about how challenging it was to use as many extended fight scene takes as possible while filming the high action screenplay. He stated, "Of course it is [a challenge], because all the fights—Chad [Stahelski] is doing most of the fights himself. We play that as wide as we can. Because that way we see it’s him. We do that a lot, we try to play it as wide as we can and do long shots. Of course, because Chad has a background from the stunt world he knows exactly how to block this kind of stuff. I’m not the best stunt person in the world, but I’m learning."[20] In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Halle Berry said, "I broke three ribs in rehearsal."[21]
The action scene featuring NBA basketball player Boban Marjanović was inspired by the Bruce Lee film Game of Death (1972), where Lee fights NBA basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[22]
Special effects
The visual effects are provided by Method Studios, Image Engine, and Soho VFX.[23]
Music
Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard return to score the film. The soundtrack was released by Varese Sarabande Records. Also featured is the song "Ninja Re Bang Bang" by Japanese artist Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.[24]
Release
Parabellum premiered in Brooklyn, New York on May 9, 2019.[25] The film was theatrically released in the United States on May 17, 2019, by Lionsgate. The film was released on Digital HD on August 23, 2019 and was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 10, 2019 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.[26]
The studio spent an estimated $48 million on prints and advertisements promoting the film.[27]
Reception
Box office
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum grossed $171 million in the United States and Canada, and $155.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $326.7 million.[4] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $89 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[27]
In the United States and Canada, Parabellum was released alongside A Dog's Journey and The Sun Is Also a Star and was initially projected to gross $30–40 million from 3,850 theaters in its opening weekend.[28][29] The film made $5.9 million from Thursday night previews, more than the total of the Thursday night previews for the previous two films ($950,000 and $2.2 million). It then made $22.7 million on its first day (including previews), increasing its projected gross to $56 million. It went on to debut at $57 million, becoming the first film to dethrone Avengers: Endgame atop the box office.[30] It was the best opening of the series, and more than the first film made during its entire theatrical run ($43 million).[31] In its second weekend the film made $24.4 million, finishing second behind newcomer Aladdin.[32] It then earned $11.1 million in its third weekend and $6.4 million in its fourth.[33][34]
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90%, with an average rating of 7.45/10, based on 343 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum reloads for another hard-hitting round of the brilliantly choreographed, over-the-top action that fans of the franchise demand."[35] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[36] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, the same as its predecessor, while those at PostTrak gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and a "definite recommend" of 75%.[31] Rotten Tomatoes also ranked it at No. 2 on its list of "The Best Action Movies of 2019".[37]
Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, calling it "a work of pop cinema so blissfully, albeit brutally, entertaining that you come out of it feeling even more resentful of its multiplex neighbors for not making a similar effort."[38] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a grade of "A-", writing that "as gorgeously choreographed, gratuitously violent action movies go, it's high art".[39] Wendy Ide of The Observer gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a flying kick to the senses" and writing that "The spectacular third installment in Keanu Reeves's fighting franchise overwhelms with opulent martial arts set pieces".[40]
Accolades
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art Directors Guild Awards | Best Contemporary Film | Kevin Kavanaugh | Nominated |
| Critics Choice Movie Awards | Best Action Movie | John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum | Nominated |
| Golden Raspberry Awards[41] | The Razzie Redeemer Award | Keanu Reeves | Nominated |
| People's Choice Awards[42] | Favorite Action Movie of 2019 | John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum | Nominated |
| Favorite Male Movie Star of 2019 | Keanu Reeves | Nominated | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Action or Adventure Film | John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum | Nominated |
| Best Actor | Keanu Reeves | Nominated | |
| Best Editing | Evan Schiff | Nominated |
Sequels
On May 20, 2019, following the third film's successful debut, John Wick: Chapter 4 was announced and given a May 21, 2021 release date.[43] On May 1, 2020, the film was delayed to May 27, 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer confirmed that a fifth film was also being developed. It is intended to be shot back-to-back with the fourth installment. Production is set to begin in early 2021.
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