John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum is blowing up the box office this weekend with a projected $56.8 million opening. No sequel is likely to match the lean, mean, revenge-filled fury of the original film, but Parabellum comes close. Director Chad Stahelski knows exactly what his audience wants. This third installment advances the assassin's underworld mythology while stringing together a series of spectacularly choreographed fight sequences showcasing some of the finest stuntwork you're likely to see onscreen.
(Spoilers for first two films and mild spoilers for Chapter 3 below.)
For those who missed the first two movies, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is a legendary hitman (known as the Boogeyman or "Baba Yaga") who tried to retire when he fell in love and got married. Unfortunately, he's drawn back into the dark underground world by an act of senseless violence after his wife's death. Nothing will stop John Wick from seeking retribution. The first John Wick grossed more than $88 million worldwide for a film that cost around $30 million to make, and it was praised for its brisk pace, heart-stopping action sequences, and stylish noir feel.
So naturally, there was a sequel. In John Wick: Chapter Two, Wick takes on a whole slew of Russian baddies but finds himself honor-bound (per the professional hitman's code) to go on one last assignment. Of course he succeeds—he's John Wick—but the client, Italian crime lord Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), tries to cover his tracks by posting a bounty on Wick's head. Wick ends up killing Santino—newly named to the High Table—inside the Continental Hotel in New York, which is supposed to be a safe space for assassins, and is declared "excommunicato," cutting him off from all the resources the hitman underground usually provides.
And that's where John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum picks up, with Wick scrambling to find allies (and ammo) to fight off pretty much the entire underworld of assassins, all of them very eager to claim the $14 million bounty on his head. The title refers to the old adage, Si vis pacem, para bellum: "If you want peace, prepare for war." Wick has essentially declared war on the High Table, and the escalation plays out exactly as you'd expect when everyone's favorite dog-loving hitman is involved.
Parabellum continues to flesh out details of the inner workings of the High Table and its global network of highly trained assassins—one of the most fascinating aspects of the franchise. Yes, it's a criminal enterprise, but there has always been a strict code of conduct. A High Table representative known only as The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) is intent on enforcing that code, targeting not just Wick but anyone who offered him even the slightest bit of assistance. That includes Winston (Ian McShane), manager of the Continental Hotel; an underground crime lord known as the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne); and The Director (Anjelica Huston), who reluctantly grants Wick safe passage to Casablanca. (The Director also reveals a hint of Wick's own mysterious origins.)
Ultimately, it's all about the fight sequences, and on that score, Stahelski really delivers. He's a former stunt choreographer who worked with Reeves on The Matrix movies, after all, and he brought all those years of expertise to bear when he blocked out the fight sequences forParabellum. They're stylish, intense, inventive, and occasionally witty, and Stahelski doesn't limit his repertoire to so-called "Gun-Fu." There are plenty of knives and assorted antique weaponry, numerous styles of martial arts, and a memorable sequence set in a stable where Wick enlists the aid of a horse to deliver some perfectly executed kicks with its hind legs (Horse-Fu!).