Wick Is Pain

If you love the John Wick films as much as I do, the new documentary WICK IS PAIN packs a great punch. Informative, funny and fascinating, the saga behind the legendary action film series is two hours of insider fun.

The film is driven by on-camera interviews with most of the creators and many of the actors involved.

Front and center are Keanu Reeves and creator/Director Chad Stahelski. The two share that rare language of decade long creative collaborators. Their unfiltered banner is a blast, like sitting in a lounge with the two of them telling war stories.

I loved their retelling of creating the first film.

Reeves was just off a major flop, "47 Ronin" a $175 million dollar film that grossed under $40 million at the US box office. Just as Wick was about to go into production, investors got nervous, Reeves was no longer a sure thing at the box office and he needed something to re-establish his action star cred.

The original "John WIck" seems cursed, barraged by everything that could possibly go wrong. Within an inch of becoming a direct-to-video flick, some last minute magic provides financing and the series was off and running.

While Stahelski and David Leitch were co-producers and directors on the film, their creative differences, driven mostly be vastly different styles, were legendary.

Both men offer up new, transparent observations about that time and their role in it.

After the massive success of 2014's "John Wick" ($86 million at the box office on a $20 million budget), Lionsgate, Reeves and Stahelski were ready to revisit and expand the World of Wick. But Leitch wanted out. He was all in on making the Charlize Theron film "Atomic Blonde" first.

He went on to direct some huge hits, including "Deadpool 2" and "Bullet Train", but never returned to the Wick family.

It's great to see the behind the scenes with the creative team, seeing footage from that time as they explore exactly what's going to happen next. Watching them develop The Continental, the assassin's code and The High Table is really enjoyable.

2017's "John Wick 2" cost twice as much at $40 million and grossed more than twice as much as the first film, bringing in $174 million! Part 3 was assured.

But what now?

Halle Berry's commitment to training for the third chapter is impressive. Expanding the filming to Morocco, the crew battles everything in their path, but once again, they build to bigger success.

"John Wick 3: Parabellum" nearly doubled the budget again to $75 million and blew up to an even bigger audience, earning $328 million in ticket sales!!

After Part 3, I didn't know how they could go bigger, but damned if this team doesn't pull it off, creating JW4, which, for me, is one of the greatest action films of all time. It's Wick on a David Lean, "Lawrence of Arabia" style canvas. The overhead "Top Shot" shootout is Brian DePalma on steroids. The roundabout car chase/hand to hand battle in Paris is a thing of legend. It will be difficult to top in my lifetime and one of the rare times I clapped in a theater in the middle of a movie. It is JAW DROPPING.

I LOVED seeing how they filmed those sequences. These stunt men and women are amazing.

JW4 cost $100 million and hit even BIGGER heights, shooting its way to $440 million at the box office.

What an amazing series.

Think back to the greatest film series of all time. While there have been those rare exceptions like the James Bond films and the Harry Potter series, most studios cut the budgets of every sequel, turning a legendary first film into B movie mush. The "Planet of the Apes" series in the late 60's and early 70's and the "Jaws" films of the 70's come immediately to mind.

WICK IS PAIN teaches you a lot about that theme. Reeves commitment to the role and the physicality of the part is beyond impressive. The filmmakers devotion to improving each film for the audience is relentless.

It created "Gun Fu", the anime and graphic novel influences on its photography and visuals are undeniable, as are its attributed stylistic choices that echo everyone from Sergio Leone and Kurosawa to Steven Spielberg.

There's talk of a John Wick 5 and we have "Ballerina" hitting theaters next month.

Until then, we have this superb documentary that captures a massive series from its unknowing start, through a decade of discovery to its current status.

It's a bloody bullseye.

WICK IS PAIN gets an A.