in that even though he’s a ferocious
killer, he’s still lovable.
The paradox of Parabellum is that
what poor Wick suffered through dur-
ing the past few weeks — as depicted
in the first and second movies — is far
from funny. His wife is painfully dying
(which is the reason he left the world
of assassination). His car has been
stolen. His house has been blown up.
And he watched his dog get killed by
Russian thugs (which is the reason
he’s back in the world).
THE THIRD MOVIE BEGINS where
the second ended. Hours after Wick
broke the cardinal rule of the assas-
sin’s code, he’s excommunicated from
the organization and a $14 million
bounty is slapped on his head. Now
every assassin and his pet cat will
want to scratch him out!
On a dark, rainy night
when the clock strikes
6, apocalyptic action,
mesmerizing mangling
and grisly grappling
are only moments away,
and Stahelski grandi-
osely delivers with an
exquisite 15-minute
combative dance that’s
worthy of any ballet
company.
Watching the fights
of John Wick 3 is like
watching a villain get-
ting kicked in the groin.
Then, as the groin kicks
become more stylized and gritty, you
can’t help but laugh because it’s so
outrageous.
The most impressive action
sequences in the third film are the
opening 15-minute use of book
knowledge, the flying blades of
death, the barnyard dance and the
motorcycle chopfest inspired by
the 2017 Korean film The Villainess;
Sofia and John’s crazy gun fu–infused
fight; and the last 20 minutes, which
feature more bullets than a Rambo
film, shattering-glass shenanigans,
a karambit crunch with two silat
stylists in which the whole affair
climaxes when sushi chef Zero (Mark
Dacascos) battles Wick.
WHEN I FIRST MET JACKIE CHAN
on the set of Drunken Master II, he
three to four shots. Live shows that
take place onstage — like in Beijing
opera — have fight sequences that are
even more amazing: one long take.
“It immerses audiences into the
action,” Stahelski said. “With wide
angles, you can’t hide the hits or
misses when guys are swinging,
punching and kicking. We do grap-
pling and gun fu, so I can show you
angles that most fight guys don’t
because I don’t have to hide as much.”STAHELSKI IS THE ONLY American
director I know who includes the
cameramen in the fight rehearsals.
In John Wick 3, they worked with
the stunt team for several months,
learning their own kind of choreog-
raphy. “If the camera guy doesn’t
know the moves, what good is it?”
Stahelski says. “Best way to fake
good is to be good.”
For this reason, Reeves spent five
months honing his martial arts
skills and engaging in intense train-
ing sessions with the handgun, rifle
and shotgun, which included shoot-
ing and moving with each weapon.
Evidence of his diligence can be
found in the movie’s combat scenes,
when Wick shoots and reloads,
sometimes swapping five or six
magazines in one take. Even more
impressive are the rapid-reload
sequences with the shotgun.
For Halle Berry’s role as Sofia,
an old friend of John’s, it wastold me that fight choreography is
like a dance and that you have to
know how to move the camera like
a dancer. Over the years, Stahelski
has fervently tapped into this energy
through his passion for ballet danc-
ing and his respect for the long hours
of training that ballerinas go through.
He gives a nod of grand reverence to
these dynamic ladies in John Wick 3.
“It looks like martial arts, it looks
like fights, but it’s really dance,” Sta-
helski said. “Ballerinas and gymnasts
are some of the toughest athletes
I’ve met. For my choreography team,
I insist they study from dance. You
need an incredible memory to do it.”
That’s part of the reason John Wick
3 is a step above every American film
that uses aggressive camerawork,
quick cuts and close-ups to obscure
the action and hide the
fight-challenged actors.
In contrast, Stahelski’s
fights have less edit-
ing, use many wide-
angle shots and, most
impressively, feature
frequent use of long
takes that often include
20 to 25 techniques
per shot. This kind of
fight is quite close to
dancing. Watch the old
black-and-white Fred
Astaire films in which
two- to five-minute
dance routines use[Keanu] Reeves
spent five
months honing
his martial
arts skills and
engaging in
intense training
sessions with the
handgun, rifle
and shotgun.OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 BLACKBELTMAG.COM 33