THIS movie takes off immediately after John Wick: Chapter 2, in which legendary hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) goes on the run with his dog after being declared excommunicado for killing a crime lord on the neutral grounds of The Continental Hotel.
This means that Wick has lost all access and privileges to underworld resources.
He also now has a multi-million-dollar contract out on his life, with every other assassins’ guns trained on him.
In a last-ditch effort to survive, he calls in all favours owed to him over the years, so that he can get a chance to plead his case to the head of the High Table, the shadowy organisation that sets up the rules for all assassins to follow.
However, he soon finds that ‘forgiveness’ can come at a high price.
The violence goes up several notches in this movie compared to the previous ones, and many new characters are thrown into the mix.
A few manage to rise above their limited roles, such as Halle Berry as the assassin Sofia who owes Wick a favour, and Angelica Houston as the Russian mobster who helps Wick get safe passage out of the country.
But the real stand-outs here are Mark Dacascos as the assassin Zero, who admires Wick but still wants to kill him for the bounty and the glory, and Asia Kate Dillon as the Adjudicator, a member of the High Table tasked with dealing with those who help Wick.
Another standout is McShane who returns as Winston, the owner and manager of the Continental Hotel who gave Wick time to escape.
The fight scenes are impressive, even though some are over the top and seem to go on forever. Sofia’s attack dogs are pretty memorable though.
Look out for Indonesian actors Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman (both from The Raid), who play John Wick fanboys who regretfully have to kill him.
This movie may lack the brilliant premise of the first, but fans who can’t get enough of Reeves will not be disappointed.
And judging by the end, there is room for yet another movie.
