Movie Review: John Wick 3 - Parabellum

Written By: Agent Bunnie & Agent Afronaut

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT CONTINUE ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS!

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Movie Poster

twoWe're going to keep this review short and simple. By now, just about every [adult] has gone to the theaters to see John Wick 3, and let's be honest- most of you didn't know it was called "Parabellum" until just now. Keanu Reeves has done an excellent job at making John Wick not only a memorable character, but also a name that we care only to hear when referencing this series. So much so, that everybody seems to only know this movie as "John Wick 3" and some even skip the number altogether!

Afronauts has watched the first 2 movies, and while we were impressed with the 1st one and we generally liked the 2nd, we were left wondering if they could even make a 3rd that lived up to the hype and improve the story already set in motion. While John Wick 3 has already grossed more than the first two movies and has set a 4th film in motion already, while receiving mostly positive reviews, we here at Afronauts were not thrilled with it. Everyone we have talked to loved this film and gave it praise; It is the general public we most closely give our attention to, but we just can't agree. - Why? - Overall, the film lacked a story line that improved the line of films and why make more if they're not going to add to something?

The movie follows John Wick, of course, but this time he's being hunted by everyone who wants a bounty in exchange for his life. The movie jumps right into action from the last one and you would think that would mean we're going to get to some really good material straight out the gate, but it never actually comes. John Wick eventually leaves NYC and meets up with Hallie Berry's character, and the entire scene with her could have been cut out and we would still have the same movie. Then he goes to the desert to find the man who is in charge of this whole assassin's organization. He loses a finger, but is told he can be reinstated simply by killing his friend and the man who put the bounty on his head in the first place, Winston. And we had to ask ourselves again, why was this in the movie? Seemed quite pointless.

So, we find John Wick back in NYC, but now Winston is in the same position as Mr.Wick and the two join forces to stand against the assassin guild known as the High Table. It's a shoot out, followed by a one-on-one, and then there's a bit of surprise when Winston turns on John to regain his position at the NYC Continental. It ends with the Bowery King, played by Laurence Fishbourne, who has also been exiled from the High Table, recovering John Wick and leaves us believing the two of them will join forces in the 4th installment.

We already felt the series slipping down slope in the second movie, and this one actually slid pretty far down. Even the secondary story line with The Adjudicator, played by Asia Kate Dillon, is flat. She goes around from place to place "punishing" anyone who helped John Wick or failed to kill him when they could have, even before he was announced "excommunicado", which is really just her slicing them a bit with a knife and/or removing them from the High Table and in the end she essential does nothing to end Mr.Wick. The antagonist in the second movie, Santino D'Antonio, was at least a badass who outsmarted John Wick in the end. The main adversary, Zero, in this movie has a good sense of humor, but overall comes up short and a bit cheesy. The hunter in the previous installment play by Ruby Rose and known as "Ares" was much more suspenseful and clever. To top it off, the bounty amount didn't even seem high enough for the supposed high stake situation.

The best of the movie can be summed up as: Artistic Fight Scenes. The choreography and action scenes are top notch and they definitely went all out and put their best efforts into giving us creative and in some parts even elegant action. We can't argue with the praise given for that. Yet, that's not enough for us here at Afronauts to give praise to this film as a whole.

Like we mentioned before, John Wick 4 has already been announced with a release date of May 21, 2021. Afronauts will probably see it, but we won't be in a rush. Let us know your thoughts on John Wick 3 and the series altogether! Are you excited for the next installment? John Wick 3 is still in theaters if you haven't watched it, but unless you like action we would suggest you skip it.