John Wick Parent Guide

Following his wife’s (Bridget Moynahan) tragic death, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) receives a final gift from her: a puppy. But the dog isn’t going to console him for long. During a home invasion, Iosef (Alfie Allen), the son of powerful Russian gang boss Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist), steals his car and kills the dog.

Iosef sees nothing wrong with this behavior until he tells his father who he stole the car from – the most dangerous killer in the country, a man who worked for his father until he got out of the organization to marry the woman he loved, and a man who will stop at nothing in his quest for vengeance. Refusing to let his son be butchered, Viggo has Iosef surrounded by security and puts a 2-million-dollar contract out on John… but it’s going to take more than that to stop the man once known as Baba Yaga – “The Boogeyman”.

Action movies are typically a pretty stagnant genre. They’re built on cartoonish levels of violence, high speed car chases, gunfights – the usual. What makes John Wick stand out is the level of care the production takes to make sure that those are as dynamic as possible. The gunfights are visceral and kinetic, the fistfights brutal and creative, and the dialogue is limited to what is needed to tell the story. This is high octane excitement.

What this film does best is giving the audience a clear understanding that John Wick is absolutely not somebody to be trifled with. That’s largely possible because of the incredible supporting cast, which includes John Leguizamo, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and the inimitable Willem Defoe. As John descends into New York’s elaborate criminal underworld, these characters all reinforce that fundamental premise: John Wick is a scary guy.

Obviously, this isn’t a movie for kids. This is one hundred minutes of murderous revenge, and the stack of bodies is high enough to get snowcapped by the time the credits roll. We’re also averaging an f-bomb about every 2 and a half minutes, which might discourage some audiences. There is, however, hardly any sexual content and extremely limited drug use, so if that’s what you’re worried about, you can rest easy.

If you’re an action fan (and you’re an adult with a high tolerance for violence), you can’t skip John Wick. It is so exciting and innovative with its action choreography, and Reeves and the stunt team are so well prepared that you’re unlikely to find better choreographed fight scenes anywhere. And if you’re not an action fan, this movie is likely to produce so much adrenaline that it could replace your morning cup of coffee.