Keanu Reeves in John Wick one of the best-crafted action films of the year

REVIEW: Keanu Reeves is a ex-hitman out of retirement and out for revenge in the defiantly trashy thriller movie John Wick.

John Wick (MA15+)

Directors: David Leitch, Chad Stahelski

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki.

Rating: ***

No wife + no wheels + no hound = no rules.

Meet John Wick. He is played by Keanu Reeves, but that’s not important right now.

What is important is that John Wick is having a bloody tough time of it as the film bearing his name begins.

Beloved and adorable puppy ... Why John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves, is sparked back into a killer mode in thriller John Wick. Picture: AP Photo / Lionsgate / David Lee

His beloved wife has just died. His beloved car, a classic 1969 Mustang, has just been stolen. His beloved pet, a late-model adorable puppy, has just been assassinated.

While an incurable disease was responsible for the first tragic event to beset John, the same set of Russian mobsters is to blame for the next two.

Though now without spouse, transport or canine companion, Mr Wick is not about to take any of this lying down. It is just not his style.

So what is his style, you may well ask? Let’s allow a former associate to answer that.

“John is a man of focus,” reveals his old pal. “I once saw him kill three men in a bar with a pencil.”

Not going to put up with it ... Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick in a scene from the film of the same name. Picture: AP / Lionsgate / David Lee

John used to rub people out on a professional basis, you see. Gave up that line of work when he first met the late wife. Now she’s gone, he doesn’t have to play nice no more.

And in what can only be bad news for the Russians, John did not throw away any of his old tools of the trade.

He will be spending the rest of this motion picture running after and gunning down every last hired goon he can link to his missing car and dead pooch.

Natural born killer sparked out of retirement ... Keanu Reeves as John Wick wants revenge for the death of his pupopy dog and theft of his beloved car. AP / Lionsgate / David Lee

If this all sounds too much as if Keanu Reeves is tearing a leaf out of Liam Neeson’s revenge-movie manual, you will be reading John Wick all wrong as a movie.

Though defiantly trashy in nature, this is actually one of the best-crafted action films of the year. Some inspired fight choreography and innovative camera work infuse the pulpy proceedings with a controlled aggression that grabs the attention of a viewer and simply never lets go.

Violence sinks into the dark-red zone ... Keanu Reeves plays avenging hitman John Wick in a scene from John Wick. Picture: AP / Lionsgate / David Lee

Yes, the violence levels struck by John Wick do go disturbingly deep into the dark-red zone on many occasions. However, any accusations of excess without an excuse are silenced by the film’s cunning sense of humour, and some bonus plotting that exploits these relatively ‘lighter’ moments to the hilt.

The film’s knockout combo of the worrying and the wacky packs real punch in a rolling series of scenes staged at a swank hotel, where the clientele is comprised entirely of hitmen on vacation between jobs.

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Originally published as Keanu Reeves in John Wick one of the best-crafted action films of the year