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John Wick

year 2014decade 10sdirector Chad Stahelski
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

John Wick | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Shea Serranoproducer Craig Horlbeck
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Most Rewatchable Scene

Nightclub fight; Jimmy’s post-fight visit alternative

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:16Read transcript
  • The gas-station confrontation establishes the conflict over Wick’s car.
  • The garage owner’s explanation and the father’s brief reaction establish Wick’s reputation.
  • Viggo explains to his son why John Wick is feared.
  • Viggo’s warning is intercut with Wick breaking open the floor to recover guns and coins, elevating him beyond the boogeyman.
  • The home invasion ends with a deliberately slow knife kill; the kill-count guess is corrected from fourteen to twelve.
  • The dinner-for-twelve cleanup is nominated and jokingly imagined as Winston Wolfe’s franchise.
  • The nightclub sequence moves from the doorman and bathroom through baths, dining area, dance floor and balcony fall.
  • Miss Perkins attacking Wick in the hotel is nominated.
  • The church robbery and fire are nominated.
  • The captured Wick’s return declaration is nominated.
  • The final killings and Wick finding another dog are nominated.
  • The nightclub remains favored, but the police officer’s calm departure after the house fight is argued to be the key scene on repeated viewings.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Palicki and television cast; mobile technology; Spurs title; neon and house music

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:01Read transcript
  • Working together while Serrano was still teaching is the first personal 2014 answer.
  • Adrianne Palicki and the familiar television cast feel particularly 2014.
  • The level of mobile technology fits the era without ubiquitous filming and security footage.
  • The Spurs raising their championship banner the release week is another period marker.
  • Neon, house music and rave-style nightclub action are a late 2014 selection.

What’s Aged the Best?

Baba Yaga; Continental; Perkins; lean plot; flash-forward; body blow; Jonathan; bartender; Winters; watch; Allen; Viggo; human shield

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:08Read transcript
  • Baba Yaga is praised as a nickname, despite pronunciation jokes and its failure to become a sports nickname.
  • The Continental remains a strong element.
  • Perkins’s fearless rule-breaking and willingness to insult Wick make her memorable.
  • Omitting a police-investigation subplot keeps the film lean and focused on revenge.
  • Opening with a later scene before circling back is praised.
  • The son vomiting after a stomach punch effectively sells the blow.
  • Winston calling Wick Jonathan suggests history and weight.
  • The attractive bartender with a romantic history is recognized as a familiar action trope, with jokes about how soon she flirts after the wife’s death.
  • Dean Winters’s battered adviser is compared with his insurance-ad persona, correcting the company to Allstate.
  • Wick turning his watch inward is admired as a small practical detail; a military explanation is also offered.
  • Alfie Allen is praised as a thoroughly unlikable son, strongly associated with his television persona.
  • Viggo’s speech turns John’s wife dying into a story about himself; the speech is praised as awesome.
  • The son using a woman as a human shield is moved from an aged-worst thought to an appreciated villain trope.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Police lights; nightclub; son’s death; warehouse wide shot; cemetery

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:15Read transcript
  • The red police lights pulsing into Wick’s house are selected.
  • The nightclub dance-floor imagery is another cinematic-shot candidate.
  • The low-angle slow-motion approach to killing the son is nominated.
  • A wide warehouse image makes the hooded Wick look tiny and trapped.
  • The cemetery image of Wick and Marcus is another choice.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Capturing Wick instead of killing him; ego and recruitment defenses

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:15Read transcript
  • The villains capture Wick instead of killing him immediately despite his demonstrated danger.
  • A countertheory suggests Viggo hopes to recruit Wick again to rebuild the organization he has destroyed.
  • Viggo’s ego and need to deliver a speech offer another explanation for not immediately killing Wick.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Moynahan’s script approach; insufficient blood; Killing Strangers

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:49Read transcript
  • Moynahan reportedly read only her scenes to avoid other impressions of Wick; the approach is mocked for such a brief role.
  • Wick should be far more covered in blood after close-range killings; the response notes his bloody shirt and dark suit.
  • Repeated Killing Strangers needle drops are criticized as obvious and weak; replacing the music on a remaster is proposed.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

More Leguizamo; karma; revenge as boredom and overreaction

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:09Read transcript
  • John Leguizamo should have far more screen time because his brief performance is so effective.
  • His career use is questioned; a recurring phone-support role like Al in Die Hard could expand his part.
  • Viggo’s claim that their violent deeds bring consequences is provocatively defended as a karmic reading of Wick’s losses.
  • Wick’s revenge is called an overreaction that may conceal boredom and an existing void; the recent death of his wife is raised in objection.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

David Patrick Kelly; Toby Leonard Moore alternative

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:26Read transcript
  • Reddick, Peters, Palicki and Winters are considered too identifiable by name for the category.
  • David Patrick Kelly as the cleaner is favored over the son’s actor.
  • Toby Leonard Moore is raised as a potentially better recent that-guy choice.

Apex Mountain

Fictional hotel universe; finishing headshot; Russian boogeymen; criminal nepo babies; buried-career arsenal

In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:12Read transcript
  • Reeves is rejected in favor of The Matrix.
  • Revenge movies are rejected.
  • A fictional hotel universe is affirmed, followed by jokes about loyalty rewards.
  • Palicki is rejected in favor of Friday Night Lights.
  • The extra finishing headshot is affirmed as Wick’s signature.
  • Russian boogeymen are affirmed.
  • Russian mafia villains are rejected in favor of Eastern Promises.
  • Criminal nepo babies are positively received.
  • Dafoe is rejected.
  • Robbery followed by burning the loot is discussed without a firm selection, with The Dark Knight recalled.
  • The name Viggo is rejected in favor of Viggo Mortensen.
  • Burying and excavating a former career beneath concrete is affirmed.
  • The best Wick film is disputed between the first and third.
  • Twenty-first-century action is discussed as revitalized, but the modest theatrical performance draws an explicit rejection.

Cruise or Hanks?

Cruise

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:29:41Read transcript
  • Cruise wins easily, with Collateral’s Vincent cited as evidence and a crossover imagined.