After John Wick: Chapter 4, let’s see if Keanu’s iconic franchise has now become the best action series of all time…
What is the best action franchise? Which series of three or more movies have the most consistent quality levels? It’s pretty hard to look past that John Wickwhich has now had a run of four films with ever-higher stakes and scale.
Also, the franchise has remained consistent in terms of quality. Arguably, other franchises have reached higher heights, but there’s hardly a long-running action franchise that doesn’t have a stinker or two in its ranks.
Let’s take a look at a few racers and riders who could do battle with John Wick…
Die Hard: A good day to die hard
The original Die Hard the cinema is a masterpiece. It is arguably the greatest action film ever made and has also become quintessential Christmas viewing. Like many films that are popular and successful, it spawned sequels.
First of all, there was Die Hard 2: Die Harder which effectively repeated the same film with some more elaborate set pieces but with much less character depth. Die hard with a vengeance saw John McTiernan return to the franchise and make another stellar action film. Of course, there is no patch on the original, though revenge if ranked alongside the Wick films, it would be somewhere in the middle of the quality scale. Live free or die hard it’s 3/4 of a very decent movie, let down by a farcical ending, but the franchise was pulled from the quality control Nakatomi Square for its cute final entry. A good day to die hard. Bruce Willis could not disguise his apathy to return to his iconic role with such low material in front of him.
John Wick definitely takes the Die Hard the franchise with a burning shotgun.
Mad Max – Mad Max: Fury Road
Okay, I’ll say it up front, though Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome it’s decent No, listen to me. Maybe I’m an apologist, but the strange fusion of atypical Maxian elements with a group of lost children/Lord of the Flies that Max runs into makes for a compelling enough story and the visual splendor and action are undeniably exquisite
now, Thunderdome does not match any of the wick movies In fact, while the original film is full of Ozploitaition gold and visceral stunts and throw caution to the wind action, it also doesn’t live up to anything in the Wick franchise. That leaves a lot of legwork for the classic Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and the spectacular recent action Mad Max: Fury Road do to usurp John Wick.
If we’re just talking about vehicular carnage, George Miller’s quad would definitely blow everyone away, but that’s a wide range of action troopers we’re judging. In terms of better overall, both John Wick 4 i Fury Road could legitimately claim to be the best action movie of the 21st century, along with 2-3 other contenders. This is a John Wick dog toss to the scrotum to claim victory.
Mission: Impossible – Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Tom Cruise’s long-running franchise is arguably the closest and most consistent contender. Yes John Wick never drops below a B+ in grades, then the M: I The franchise has at least four films that also hit that mark. The problem is, it’s also a six-film franchise, and as the number of films increases, so does the likelihood of turkeys gobbling up among you.
In the case of mission franchise, the weak spots remain the second and third innings. The second film may effectively have the same plot as everything else, with everything revolving around retrieving some sort of MacGuffin/person against the clock, but it pulls it off in the most superficial way of all. That being said, it also has tons of iconic Tom Cruise moments and stunts. It’s also John Woo grazing mercilessly to the point of almost farcical and Hans Zimmer is even less subtle. But hey, if it’s not an amazingly constructed action movie with dazzling sets. More tiresome is the third film, a bit forgettable, which, if it weren’t for the best villain in the Philip Seymour Hoffman franchise, would have completely evaporated into the ether, never to be remembered again.
As for the great, the first film is still excellent and phantom protocol, rogue nation and above all Negative consequence they are immense Keanu Reeves’ tireless work rate is second only to that of Tom Cruise, whose epic stunt work remains a huge draw and an area where mission impossible usurps Wick, and probably everything else is in the amount of hands-on work that goes into the camera.
The Terminator – Terminator Dark Fate
The iconic terminator The franchise began with a one-two punch of classics. Even considering the first two, this is where it gets moot. None of the Wick films touch the first two. Not by far, but the first one terminator is as much a horror film as it is an action film and belongs in the realm of nightmare-driven cinema. As for the action show, John Wick 4 is one of the few films in the 21st century that is a short distance from a T800’s motor oil compared to T2.
However, one reason the Terminator franchise falls far short of competing with Wick is the fact that The rise of the machinesThrough Terminator: Dark Fatethe movies have been mediocre and even worse are the lows Terminator Genisys manage to achieve The Terminators may be relentless, but they’re no match for Baba Yaga.
The Also-Rans
James Bond is a long-running franchise, but if we’re being honest, the high-low, awkward nature of the beast means it levels out as B-grade at best. Highlights include From Russia with love, golden finger, Live and let die, The spy who loved me, GoldenEye i Casino Royale. The latter of which is the only post-millennium Bond that really competes as a full-blown action spectacle with the likes of Fury Road i Wick 4.
The Daniel Craig era has been erratic, sometimes personified as a distinct lack of verve and fun. The franchise’s low points have, at least often, been fun in spite of themselves, like now Moonrakerbut nothing can be done die another day watchable
Bond gets a buzzer beater with a headscissors and a pencil through the eye to the brain. Hopefully replaced by the demographic most likely to annoy middle-aged British men, because let’s face it, nothing is funnier than an enraged middle Englishman who thinks Bond might have breasts one day.
The quick The franchise hit a good peak when Dwayne Johnson joined the crew, but was let down when Paul Walker died. It’s an odd franchise because Vin Diesel, its main headliner, has often felt oddly redundant and never quite as good as he was in the first film.
From the seventh film on, what was already silly became increasingly silly, without the kind of world-building and sincerity that exists with the various high-table theaters of wick. An overabundance of CGI hasn’t helped either, especially when Tom Cruise’s franchise relies on mind-blowing practical stunts. Even in the quick The franchise is the best raging, probably only matched by the first one wick.
The John Wick franchise wins… Here’s why
There is a certain pattern film to shoot John Wick. It is a progressive escalation. Within these films, this line that rises from beginning to end is also, for the most part, matched by the progression from the first film to the most recent one.
The original wick the film had a more intimate scale. It hinted at the wider world of the high table and some of the customs, starting that world building very effectively. It’s a simple tale of revenge and takes on loss, with Keanu Reeves bringing much of the vulnerability behind the stoicism of his legendary, unstoppable hit man. The film has the greatest depth of characters in the series.
The second and third films found a great way to continue their story, while retaining Wick’s thoughtful yet ruthless demeanor. Chad Stahelski as director continually upped the ante and invited ever more stellar supporting actors and trained enemies to battle against the indefatigable Keanu Reeves. So we had Common fighting Reeves in a big fight Wick 2then Mark Dacascos and a couple of The Raid alumni pulling down with the main man at third. We’ve had plenty of character actors filling roles and chewing scenery in the histrionic, almost pantomime world of John Wick. They are the perfect antithesis of the stoic Wick.
The fourth film is long but absolutely relentless. If the two in the middle replaced emotional payoff with pure spectacle, then Stahelski made sure that the fourth film would restore the melancholy and sincerity of the first, as well as ensure that the characters’ goals were redefined as clearly as possible.
A particularly notable element of Chad Stahelski’s franchise is the glorious visuals, which especially from the second film onwards have looked as dazzling as an action film could possibly imagine. The third and fourth films delve into even more varied locations and backdrops. Wick operates in a world full of neon, atmospheric and immersive nightclubs (with rain machines, laser shows, etc.). It’s regularly in rooms full of mirrors and/or glass, and the film’s production design often combines gothic, brutalist, ancient, gritty, modern, and postmodern aesthetics as playgrounds for gun-fu, sword fights , car duels, etc. dog fights and more. I’ll just say it, no action franchise looks as good as wick. The genre has rarely felt the need to do this unless mixed with science fiction or fantasy.
And of course, Stahelski’s modus operandi has always been action and in that, wick never failed The mixed martial arts combination has always looked spectacular as it combines so many attractive striking and kicking techniques with judo throws and momentum moves (a little aikido now and then). In the middle of it all is Reeves, the Diet of the Internet. Is there anyone cuter? So, even playing a cold-blooded killer, we still root for Wick. While it’s beyond him, beyond cool guy, he’s also dedicated to his craft and Reeves’ fierce approach to training for the film in guns, fighting, driving and the choreography has been very impressive and has inspired his cast mates. , not least the wonderful Halle Berry who was immense in the third film.
Everything and everyone raises their level to match Keanu. Best of all, no one is wasted and putting Donnie Yen to good use for the first time in a Western gets the highest praise.
Is John Wick best action franchise? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Tom Jolliffe is an award-winning screenwriter and passionate moviegoer. He has a string of films around the world, including When Darkness Falls and several releases coming soon, including the big screen premieres of Renegades (Lee Majors, Danny Trejo, Michael Pare, Tiny Lister, Nick Moran, Patsy Kensit, Ian Ogilvy). and Billy Murray) and War of The Worlds: The Attack (Vincent Regan). Find out more on the best personal site you’ll ever see.
