The story doesn’t do justice to the parade of non-stop action that lasts for almost three hours. Director Chad Stahelski, who started out as a stuntman before climbing the ladder, pushes his actors and stunt doubles to the limits of human endurance. Never mind the fact that people aren’t actually being hit by speeding vehicles or falling from three stories above a car. It all feels so authentic that the audience gasps and groans, as if they are physically feeling the pain. Some ideas are far beyond this world. Watching Scott Adkins kick ass in a prosthetic suit that inflates him to sumo proportions is pretty weird. And what’s even more daring is that Donnie Yen plays a blind assassin who is almost better than John Wick despite his disability. It’s almost as if someone gave Ip Man Jedi powers. Donnie Yen playing a blind man dodging a hail of bullets asks for complete suspension of disbelief, but you can’t take your eyes off him when he’s doing it. There were rumors that we were going to see a crossover between the John Wick universe and the Nobody universe. Well, that hasn’t actually happened, as Bob Odenkirk, who plays the lead character in the 2021 film, is not a part of the film. But we have a character called Mr. Nobody, played by Shamir Anderson, who is kind of a wildcard here. He and his canine companion bring their own dose of action and introduce another layer to the proceedings.
This film can be seen as a tribute to Keanu Reeves. Be it The Matrix (1999), 47 Ronin (2013), or his directorial debut, Man of Tai Chi (2013), we see echoes of previous films in it. John Woo has been credited as the father of gun fu, where gun fighting is combined with martial arts elements. And much of John Woo’s early work is reflected here, from A Better Tomorrow (1986), Bullet in the Head and other films. Chad Stahelski may have idolized Wu growing up, and one could say the student has surpassed the master here.
Donnie Yen is 59 and Keanu Reeves is a year younger and yet both make the action look so easy even at this age. They have great chemistry and it is a treat to see two great action stars coming together and mesmerizing the audience with their distinct fighting styles. Although their individual scenes are worth watching, their scenes together really elevate the film. Watching them together is like seeing poetry in motion and kudos to the director and his team for bringing the lyrical quality into action.
Overall, watch the film for its never-before-seen action sequences, as well as for the pleasure of watching two action masters, Keanu Reeves and Donnie Yen give their all in the film.