John Wick (film)

After retired professional hitman John Wick loses his wife Helen to a terminal illness, he receives a beagle puppy named Daisy from her to help him cope with his grief. Despite John's stoic demeanor, he bonds with the puppy and they spend their day driving around in his vintage 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1. At a gas station, he encounters a trio of Russian gangsters whose leader Iosef insists on buying his car, which John refuses to sell. That evening the gangsters break into John's home, knock him unconscious, steal his car, and kill Daisy.

Iosef takes the Mustang to a chop shop to have the VIN changed. Aurelio, the shop's owner, recognizes the car and deduces that it was stolen from John. He punches Iosef and throws him out. Aurelio is visited by John, who identifies Iosef as the son of Viggo Tarasov, the head of the Russian crime syndicate in New York City. Aurelio relays Iosef's activities to Viggo, who beats and berates Iosef before explaining to him who John Wick is: a famed assassin, formerly in Viggo's employ, nicknamed "Baba Yaga". When John wanted to retire and marry Helen, Viggo gave him an "impossible task," implied to involve multiple high level assassinations in a short period of time. John succeeded, and his efforts were key in establishing the Tarasov syndicate. After warning Iosef of his impending doom, Viggo tries to talk John out of seeking retribution, but John refuses to even talk. Viggo sends a team of hitmen to John's house, but John kills all of them and enlists an underworld cleaning service to dispose of the bodies and evidence.

Unsurprised, Viggo places a $2 million bounty on John's head and personally offers the contract to John's mentor, Marcus, who accepts. John seeks assistance from the New York Continental Hotel, which caters exclusively to the criminal underworld and permits no assassinations on its premises. Viggo doubles the bounty for those willing to break this rule to kill John. Winston, the Continental's manager, informs John that Viggo has Iosef under guard at his nightclub, the Red Circle. John enters the Red Circle and kills a horde of thugs to reach Iosef, who narrowly escapes after Viggo's lieutenant Kirill manages to incapacitate John. John retreats to the Continental to have his injuries treated. Ms. Perkins, an assassin and former acquaintance, sneaks into John's room to kill him. Marcus alerts John, allowing him to subdue Perkins, who is forced to reveal the location of Viggo's front. He knocks her unconscious and leaves her with Harry, a fellow assassin, to await punishment, but she frees herself and kills Harry. John travels to a church in Little Russia which serves as Viggo's front and destroys his cache of money and blackmail material. When Viggo and his henchmen arrive, John ambushes them, but he is subdued and captured. Viggo taunts John for thinking he would be able to leave his old life behind. Before John can be killed, Marcus intervenes again, allowing John to free himself, kill Kirill, and accost Viggo, who reveals Iosef's location. John then travels to Iosef's safe house and kills him and his bodyguards.

Perkins learns that John and Marcus have been in contact and informs Viggo, who has Marcus beaten and tortured before executing him in his home. Viggo calls John to report this, planning to have Perkins ambush him. While waiting for John, Perkins is summoned to a meeting with Winston, who orders her executed for killing Harry on Continental grounds. Winston calls John to inform him that Viggo is planning to escape by helicopter. John races to New York Harbor, where he kills Viggo's remaining henchmen before fighting Viggo on the dock. Viggo pulls out a knife, and John allows himself to be stabbed, then disarms and fatally wounds Viggo. John breaks into an animal clinic to treat his wounds and releases a pit bull puppy scheduled to be euthanized. John and the dog walk home along the boardwalk where he had his final date with Helen.

• Keanu Reeves as Jardani Jovonovich / John 'The Boogeyman' Wick:
  A former hitman who returns to the underworld he fought to leave behind.[16][17] On accepting the role of Wick, Reeves explained, "Basil and Peter Lawson of Thunder Road brought the script to me with the idea that I would be a part of such a great collaboration. We all agreed on the potential of the project. I love the role, but you want the whole story, the whole ensemble to come to life."[18][19] On the character of John Wick, Reeves stated, "When we first see him, he's a guy grieving for his lost wife. But it turns out he has lived in two worlds: one in which he's a happily married man and one in which he's an assassin. He has tried to bury his past, but without his wife, he is lost." Reeves also compared Wick's story to "a kind of Old Testament revenge story" adding that, "When someone takes the things he cherishes, violence erupts and John can't temper it."[17][20] In the original script, the character of John Wick was written with "a man in his mid-sixties" to play the role, given the title character's fabled reputation, ergo, the filmmakers had initially imagined an older actor. However, head of Thunder Road Pictures Basil Iwanyk decided against this, stating, "Instead, we decided to look for someone who is not literally older, but who has a seasoned history in the film world."[17][21] Both Stahelski and Leitch were adamant that Reeves wouldn't learn any forms of martial arts that he'd learned before; for the role, Reeves spent four months learning Judo, Japanese ju-jitsu, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu from "some of the toughest guys" both Stahelski and Leitch have encountered, which included their "LA SWAT and Navy Seal friends"[22][23][24] due to willingly wishing to undergo intense training regimens.[25] Of Reeves' training, Stahelski spoke of developing a new style of close-quarter combat that mixed grappling martial arts with guns.[26] The name John Wick is a name Kolstad had used as a reference to his grandfather, the founder of Wick Building Systems. Wick stated, "I was tickled by Derek using my name for a movie, and the hit man character was frosting on the cake."[27] The character was written with Paul Newman in mind.[28]
• Michael Nyqvist as Viggo Tarasov:
  The head of the Tarasov family and an enterprising businessman with questionable roots.[17][29] On taking the role of Viggo, Nyqvist mentioned, "I found the relationship between John and Viggo to be interesting. Viggo has always liked John because he was brilliant at his job. They have the kind of love and respect you might see between a father and son, but it breaks down when John comes for Iosef." [18] Stahelski stated that the role of Viggo had been decided after a great many meetings due to the importance and complexity of the character and that Nyqvist brought both odd and interesting qualities to the character,[19] also adding that "[Nyqvist's] quirkiness is a good match for Keanu's stoicism." The filmmakers were most determined to attempt bypass the stereotypical Russian mobster characterisation.[19] Iwanyk stated that Viggo needed to be played by someone who would be "believable as this ultra-bad guy, but was still very, very charming." adding that, " [Michael brought the character a kind of humanity." For the role of Viggo, Nyqvist was given a style of fighting based on the Russian martial art of Sambo to which he started training in Stockholm, Sweden at the request of Stahelski and Leitch, as he stated, "I did this Russian style of jiu-jitsu called Sambo a lot. I did Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing a lot. [...] to get closer to the character. [...] the guys I worked with, back home in Stockholm, were Russians, so [I] got closer to them. It was a little bit like [method acting]." [30][26] Of Viggo's background, Kolstad revealed, "A street brawler raised in the slums of Kiev, Viggo has worked his way up the underworld food chain. Now, he is in the process of transitioning to respectability." [19] Director Stahelski stated of Nyqvist, "[Michael], he is not your stereotypical Russian bad guy. He is a quirky guy, how he gives his reads." With David Leitch stating, "We had great performances and input from Michael Nyqvist who played it straight and he was excellent. He was a quirky villain. And we took time with the script and found those humorous moments and made sure we paced them correctly with the ultra-violence." [31]
• Alfie Allen as Iosef Tarasov:
  The arrogant, entitled, and foolish son of Viggo Tarasov.[17][32] Allen found it "invigorating" to play a Russian villain and shoot outside of Game of Thrones's Belfast set,[33] and on accepting the role of Iosef, he was attracted by the idea of speaking with a different accent, i.e. the New York accent, as well as citing both Stahelski and Leitch's involvement as an incentive for drawing him to the piece.[34] While in New York, Allen visited Russian public baths to develop and hone the Russian accent to which he developed for the film.[34] Regarding the inspiration for the character of Iosef, Allen stated, "I guess, I found the relationship between [my character] and his father, and there was a backstory about the mother that I found quite interesting [...] Of the challenges he faced learning the Russian language, he remarked, "learning the Russian was pretty tough".[34] On the character of Iosef, Kolstad described him as, "a dinner-theater version of his father. Iosef is a rich kid who imagines himself a tough guy; but without his father's muscle, he's a punk. In his mind, he has the scars of battle. But the reality is he's one spoiled kid." [19] Kolstad spoke of Allen's admiration for his to-be colleagues, which charmed the writer, stating as follows, "When we had the first cast-and-crew dinner, I was talking with Alfie and suddenly he just froze. He just said, 'Oh my god! It's Willem Dafoe.' He's a great actor, but he's also a fan like everybody else." [19] Allen spoke of his fellow actor Reeves with both respect and praise, stating, "He's amazing. He's such a great guy. He's a very giving, generous actor as well and just kind of relaxes you on set. If you're nervous, he just kind of chills you out. You know I didn't know that he was a director before I started this. He's made a documentary about encouraging people to make films. I think that's fantastic." [35] Asked on what he hopes the audience take away from the film, Allen said, "It's kind of a crazy love story in there somewhere. It's not like any other love story I've seen. I think the theme [...], is that, all men can change. And who is the bad guy in it, really?" [34]
• Adrianne Palicki as Ms. Perkins:
  A distinguished female contract killer in the world of assassins, and a former acquaintance of John.[17][36] About the character of Ms. Perkins, Palicki said, "Ms. Perkins is what you think the quintessential assassin would be. She's cold, heartless, conniving, badass and I think that she has fun with what she does. She enjoys it. I think that she'd clearly do it for a dollar. Ultimately in the film she's doing it for four million, so it's a little different."[37] Originally the character of Perkins was envisioned as a man in the original scenario, but the decision was reversed during a brainstorming session and the desire to create "an authentic female action character." Leitch stated, "You believe this woman could come in and give John Wick a run for his money," so Stahelski, Leitch and Iwanyk changed it and offered the role to Adrianne.[19] Palicki spoke most highly of working with Reeves and the inclusion of stunt work on her part, stating, "Chad wanted to make sure I would be willing to do my own stuff in the huge fight sequence that I have with Keanu—and I was all game." Palicki spent months of training learning Judo and Jujutsu.[38] After the film's release Palicki revealed background information, "I also think we talked about a backstory. It's likely [Ms. Perkins and Wick] had a history as well, pre his marriage. She may have a personal vendetta as well as the money. I think there's an enjoyment on multiple levels."[37] On what she hopes for with regard to the fan response, "It's a lot of fun. They're going to want to see what happens next. Most importantly, I hope they're rooting for John Wick the way that I did when I read the script."[19][39]
• Bridget Moynahan as Helen Wick:
  The beautiful wife of John Wick.[17] On the character of Helen, Leitch stated, "Helen's the crux of the movie, so to have an actress like Bridget come on board in such an important role was gratifying. She's got an elegance that is captivating." Leitch spoke very highly of Bridget's acting talents and when cast in the role of John's wife she decided not to read the screenplay, believing that the limited amount of information would serve the story well. Moynahan stated, "There was a large portion of the story that I didn't want to be informed about. I didn't want or need to know that side of John. Helen brought love and light and joy into his life. Knowing the other side of it would make it a different story for me." [18][19] Iwanyk shared Moynahan's sentiments, adding, "Helen probably thought John had some skeletons in his closet, but it wasn't important. All we know as an audience is that the moment he met her, he became a different person. Love changed him."[17]
• Dean Winters as Avi, Viggo's right hand, the second in command, who has been Viggo's lawyer for many years.[17] On the role of Avi, Stahelski stated, "As the part was written, he was just Viggo's lawyer. But then Dean came in and made it funny and edgy. The scenes between him and Michael Nyqvist are some of my favorites." Winters spoke most highly of his colleagues on set, stating, "I got to work with Willem Dafoe and Keanu Reeves. We've got John Leguizamo, Michael Nyqvist and Bridget Moynahan. I mean, it's a really good cast and I got a front-row seat." [18][19] Additionally Winters praised Stahelski and Leitch's use of real sets in the action sequences sans the involvement of green screen and special effects, adding, "Their stunt and action experience paid off." Winters stated, "It was like a front row seat to watching just incredible, incredible filmmaking," adding, "This was just straight up in your face, not computerized, old school stunts. I really felt like I was in the front row of like a master class." [40]
• Ian McShane as Winston:
  The enigmatic owner of the Continental Hotel.[17][41] About the character of Winston, McShane said, "Winston is mysterious and enigmatic." He took the role due to his curiosity on the possibilities of the character, as well as his fondness for modern noir films.[19] Writer Kolstad stated, "[Winston] doesn't say a lot, but when he does, the earth moves. If John and Viggo are the gods of New York, Winston is the titan." On the film itself, McShane added, "The writing, the acting and the visuals all have a mythical quality. And every character has an important part to play in a puzzle that comes together gradually."[17]
• John Leguizamo as Aurelio:
  The proud business owner of Aurelio's Garage, a high-end chop shop.[17][42] About the character Aurelio, Leguizamo stated, "When a Russian mobster's son shows up with John Wick's car, I know there's going to be trouble. I'm going to have a problem either with the Russian mobster or with John Wick, but I'm not going to win either way."[19] Leguizamo believed that the costume design of the character created a big boost, and had a great impression on the actor, with him stating, "Mine is pretty slick, and that adds a lot of character. I'm walking through the set and all of a sudden I start feeling a little cocky, like I'm somebody. It all helps."[17]
• Willem Dafoe as Marcus:
  A member of the old guard of assassins who is battle hardened, reliable and amongst the elite.[17][43] About the character of Marcus, Dafoe said, "Marcus is an assassin on a very high level. It's clear that he and [John] have a history and he's something of a mentor to him. They're friends, but it's a friendship that was made in a very dark world." [19] Of Marcus' psychology he said, "He seems pragmatic; he seems fatalistic, which you would have to be in that line of work." Writer Kolstad stated, "Marcus is a father figure. But he's a father in the sense that he's the king of the pride. When a new lion takes over a pride, he slaughters all the cubs. Marcus is that guy." On taking the role, Dafoe was very impressed with "leanness" of Kolstad's original screenplay, to which he stated, "The story is expressed mostly in action. That seemed to work well with Chad and David's history." He praised the "enthusiasm, freshness and eagerness" displayed by both Stahelski and Leitch within the filmmaking process.[17] Dafoe said that the screenplay and overall project caters to his "particularity that makes them feel special" and the character-driven nature within the setting of New York City was "something that I haven't really experienced." and additionally the chance of working with Keanu on the piece.[44] On the style of directors Stahelski and Leitch, Dafoe stated, "[...] style is reminiscent of John Woo's signature gun fu combat. The action is a real nice mix of martial arts and gunplay — you have the grace of martial arts, but then the bang of the gun,"[45] also adding, "The choreography isn't the same old, same old, or built around set pieces or a gag. It's really integrated into the story. [Stahelski and Leitch], they aren't just stunt people, they're filmmakers."[46]

Other cast members include David Patrick Kelly as Charlie, the "cleaner"; Randall Duk Kim as a doctor with a select clientele; Lance Reddick as Charon, a concierge at The Continental Hotel who always seems to know what the client needs; Munro M. Bonnell as a Russian Orthodox priest who protects the vault where Viggo stores his valuables;[47] Omer Barnea playing Gregori and Toby Leonard Moore playing Victor, Iosef's friends and bodyguards;[47] Matt McColm as a club goon;[48] Daniel Bernhardt as Kirill, Viggo's henchman;[49] Bridget Regan as Addy;[47] Keith Jardine as Kuzma;[49] Tait Fletcher as Nicholai;[49] Thomas Sadoski as Jimmy;[49] Clarke Peters as Harry;[47] Kevin Nash as Francis, a bouncer at the Red Circle night club;[50][51] Gameela Wright as a delivery woman;[49][52] Vladislav Koulikov as Pavel;[49][52] Pat Squire as an elderly woman;[49][52] Vladimir Troitsky as a Team Leader;[49][52] and Scott Tixier as a violinist.[53][54]

The musical score to John Wick was composed by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard, with on-screen violin music performed by Scott Tixier.[121] The film features a few pieces of additional music such as Marilyn Manson's "Killing Strangers" and T-Bo and Bengie B's "Get Money". The original soundtrack album, John Wick: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, was released digitally on October 21, 2014 and received a physical format release on October 27 by Varese Sarabande Records.[122] In addition to Bates and Richard's score, the album features music by artists such as Ciscandra Nostalghia, The Candy Shop Boys, and M86 & Susie Q. Le Castle Vania provided additional music for the score.[121][123]

Director Chad Stahelski said influences on John Wick included; The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966), Point Blank (1967), Le Cercle Rouge (1970), and The Killer (1989).[124] Stahelski said about The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, "Look at Clint Eastwood in [the film] —there is so much back-story unsaid there. We're big fans of leaving it to your imagination. We just give you some gold coins, and then it's, "Where do the gold coins come from?" We'll get to that. Have your imagination do some work there." [25] He also said Point Blank (1967) influenced John Wick: "One of the biggest inspirations for the film was Point Blank. We watched it on a loop in our office and there are a couple homages to that [in John Wick]." [125] Park Chan-wook's The Vengeance Trilogy (2002-2005) and Lee Jeong-beom's The Man from Nowhere (2010) influenced the film due to "[their] minimalist composition and graphic nature." [126]

For screenwriter Derek Kolstad, both Alistair MacLean and Stephen King were huge influences in the creation of the story of John Wick in terms of characterisation and world-building, stating, "MacLean could build a world, and King could surprise you by what the main character truly was capable of." [127] Outside of films, Stahelski and Leitch drew inspiration from the visual stylings of the 60's and 70's as well as cinematic influences, including Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, Steve McQueen, Lee Marvin, William Friedkin and Sam Peckinpah.[25] With Stahelski himself stating, "All the way back to Kurosawa up to Sergio Leone. We like the spaghetti western sensibility there, some of the composition." Albeit inspiration and emulation from the noir film genre, Stahelski too added that, "Noir maybe was sort of less impactful for us than the other sort of westerns and Kurosawa and things like that. I think we wanted to make this hard-boiled character." [125][124][128]

The official website for John Wick debuted on August 15, 2014 introducing a marketing campaign and interactive layout to promote the film. The website streamed an audio file and contained interactive games such as "The Red Circle Club" and "Revenge Ride".[129] Lionsgate provided information on the cast and crew along with a gallery and video section.[130] The first images debuted on August 21, 2014 featuring Reeves' as Wick.[131] With the release Lionsgate confirmed the film being set for a "sudden release" on October 24, 2014.[132] On September 10, 2014, the teaser poster was released with the confirmation date of the expected teaser trailer.[133] The teaser trailer for John Wick debuted September 12, 2014.[134] The theatrical release poster and the final theatrical trailer were both released on September 30, 2014, by Stahelski and Leitch on an 'Ask me anything' Reddit session.[135]

Lionsgate had provided Collider and Moviepilot, on October 2, 2014, with a prize pack to give away to various readers, which included Assassin's Creed Unity, a $25 Fandango gift card, a Lionsgate DVD 3-pack with Dredd, Gamer, and Rambo, and a John Wick poster and T-shirt.[136][137] On October 6, 2014, the official website for John Wick had been updated to include three trailers, photographs with John's story, individual cast photos, and mini-biographies.[138] The IMAX TV spot trailer for John Wick debuted October 6, 2014, featuring new footage of the film.[139] Carl F. Bucherer was the official partner of the John Wick premiere in New York City on October 13, 2014. Keanu Reeves sported a Manero AutoDate with a light dial, Willem Dafoe wore a Manero AutoDate in classic black, and Daniel Bernhardt with a Patravi ChronoGrade.[140] An IMAX featurette was released on October 22, 2014 with clips relating to the film accompanied by statements by Reeves, Stahelski, and Leitch.[141]

On October 16, 2014, John Wick was featured on the week's issue of Entertainment Weekly.[142]

As part of a cross-promotional deal with Overkill Software, Lionsgate and Thunder Road Pictures, on October 21, 2014, John Wick was added as a playable character in the online game Payday 2. Other elements from the film were included, such as Wick's signature weapons and skill tree that allowed for dual-wielding of certain firearms.[143] Fandango offered people who purchased tickets online at select theaters a free download of Payday 2 through Steam.[144] Variety described Liongate's deal as a "pretty imaginative marketing move".[145] Danielle DePalma, Lionsgate's EVP of digital marketing, stated, "We're big fans of Payday 2 and the team at Starbreeze, and we're thrilled to kick off our partnership with such a cool movie".[146] Bo Andersson Klint, Starbreeze CEO, stated, "We've finally got a real hitman on our team. Being able to play as John Wick in Payday 2 ahead of the movie's release is a great reward for our loyal Payday 2 community."[146]

The ArcLight Hollywood in Hollywood, California hosted the film's Los Angeles premiere.

John Wick premiered at the Regal Union Square Theatre, Stadium 14 on October 13, 2014 in New York City.[147] It had an earlier screening at the Austin Fantastic Fest on September 19,[148][149] where it opened the official sidebar section, Special Gala Screening, to an astounding reception.[150] It opened in Los Angeles at the ArcLight Hollywood on October 22, 2014.[151] John Wick had its television premiere on the USA channel on March 12, 2017.

On August 7, 2015, Lionsgate and Starbreeze Studios announced a partnership to develop a first-person shooter virtual reality game based on the film for the HTC Vive/Steam VR. Development was to be headed by Grab Games, with Starbreeze set to publish. WEVR was to develop an introductory experience for the game. The game was released on February 9, 2017, with the name John Wick Chronicles.[206] and have a standalone narrative based on the Continental Hotel.[207][208] Additionally, John Wick content – a free Character Pack and a chargeable Weapons Pack – was released for the Payday 2 games on October 20, 2016, as cross-promotion.[209][210]

"The Reaper" character skin in Fortnite Battle Royale was often referred to as John Wick.[211] There has since been an official John Wick skin released alongside a limited game mode titled "Wick's Bounty."

John Wick Hex is a tactical third person mobile game set in the John Wick universe, just before the trilogy's events. It has been relatively decently received, with an 80% rating on PC Gamer.[212] It makes use of a timeline and movement budget, as well as a replay function that stitches together a level the player completed into an action sequence.

A sequel was released on February 10, 2017,[213] and at the 2016 CinemaCon, Reeves hinted that more sequels had been planned.[213] Following the release of John Wick: Chapter 2, a third movie was released as of May 17, 2019 by the name of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.[214][215] A fourth installment, John Wick: Chapter 4, is in the works, and is set for release on May 27, 2022. A fifth film is intended to follow, being filmed simultaneously with the fourth film. Filming of Chapter 4 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2017, a prequel series titled The Continental was in development focusing on the hotel chain that acts as a neutral ground for assassins.[216]

• List of films featuring home invasions

Wikiquote has quotations related to: John Wick

• Official website
• John Wick at IMDb 
• John Wick at AllMovie
• John Wick at the Internet Movie Firearms Database