The original John Wick feels different ten years after its release, especially when comparing it to its three highly successful sequels.
SUMMARY
The original John Wick movie was unexpected in its success, becoming a cult classic and the foundation of a billion-dollar franchise.
Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski’s contributions are major factors in the appeal and success of the John Wick films.
The original John Wick movie feels quite different nowadays, especially in comparison to its multiple sequels. The first John Wick was released back in 2014 and wasn’t initially expected to turn into the highly profitable Keanu Reeves action shoot-em-up franchise that it is today. The film quickly became an instant cult classic and would become the impressive first installment of a billion-dollar box office franchise after just four movies.
A great deal of John Wick’s appeal and success is due to Reeves himself, whose incredible effort as an actor and stuntman has made the John Wick films some of the best of his lengthy Hollywood career.
The franchise director Chad Stahelski also plays a major role in the John Wick movies and is the perfect fit for the stunt-heavy franchise since he was Keanu Reeves’ stunt double for The Matrix movies. Although each of the John Wick movies seems to be better than the previous one, the original John Wick feels like a bit of an outlier of the entire franchise.
John Wick Is Actually Pretty Different To The Sequels
Compared to the other John Wick movies, the original John Wick feels different from the others mostly due to its relatively small budget. The budget for the first John Wick movie was reportedly $30 million while the budget for John Wick: Chapter 4 was $100 million.
Each John Wick movie ups the ante in just about every category, from the budget and action sequences to the runtimes and kill counts. Because of this, the latter, and arguably better, John Wick movies feel like great but different revolutions from the original’s foundation.
The plot of the first John Wick movie is actually really pretty simple and the scope is relatively small, which can’t be said for any of the sequels.
The most glaring difference is in the action components, which John Wick: Chapter 2 enhanced with a greater variation of fighting styles. The same can be said of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which also saw significant enhancements in the world of John Wick. John Wick: Chapter 4 added some stylized elements of classic kung fu movies as well.
John Wick’s Sequels Lost Some Of What Made The First Movie So Good
Outside of the obvious updates to the action styles and sequences in the John Wick movies, another major difference between the sequels and the original film is the narrative.
While the action expanded and got better in the sequels, the first film still has the best story in the John Wick universe.
This is pretty standard for many franchises, particularly action and horror films, which have excellent stories in their first installment only to lean into the tropes of the genre more heavily in the latter installments. While John Wick is different from its sequels, it is also arguably better for that reason.
News
Reacher Season 3 Gives Us First Look At The Dutch Giant, Olivier Richters, On Set And He’s Already Messing With Alan Ritchson
Clash of the (literal) titans! (Image credit: Marvel Studios) Paulie is a character that Reacher fans have been curious about ever since it was confirmed that Reacher Season 3 – the hit show available with an Amazon Prime Video subscription – would be adapting the…
Gerard Butler’s Den of Thieves Sequel Finally Sets Theatrical Release Date
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera has finally gotten its theatrical release date. A date has finally been put on the board for Gerard Butler’s upcoming action sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. A sequel to 2018’s Den of Thieves, the new film has been…
Gerard Butler is in Talks To Star in The Action-Thriller Comedy EMPIRE STATE
Gerard Butler is in talks to star in an upcoming comedic action-thriller titled Empire State, which is about the Empire State Building being attacked. Butler will re-team with Den Of Thieves director Christian Gudegast on the project, which will involve two first responders who don’t…
Gerard Butler’s ‘Den of Thieves 2’ Finally Sets a Release Date After 6 Years
Butler will star opposite O’Shea Jackson Jr. for the sequel to the hit heist film. Image via STXfilms THE BIG PICTURE Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is set to release on January 10, 2025 with the original cast returning for another heist…
Kriti Sanon Reveals Her Fangirl Moment With Gerard Butler, Calls Him Humble: ‘I Was Like Oh My God’
The Crew actress mentioned that the incident took place when she was shooting for her Telugu film with Mahesh Babu in London. Kriti Sanon is gearing up for her next release Do Patti with Kajol. Well, recently the teaser was…
The Top 10 Films Featuring Gerard Butler, According to Critical Acclaim
Known for his commanding screen presence, Gerard Butler has secured his place among the luminaries of the film industry. From his early beginnings with a background in law to becoming a standout performer in film and television, the 54-year-old Scottish veteran has…
End of content
No more pages to load