JOHN WICK

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen
Writer: Derek Kolstad
Director: Chad Stahelski

Retired hitman and titular character John Wick (Reeves) is drawn back into his previous lifestyle after the son (Allen) of his ex-boss Viggo Tarasov (Nyqvist) brutally attacks Wick in his home, steals his Mustang and kills his dog. Sounds like a tenuous excuse for an enormous body count? Well, Wick loves his car - I mean he really, really, REALLY loves his car - and the dog was a present from his wife which arrived at his door shortly after his wife tragically passed away. Everything he valued has been taken from him and now he means to take his revenge.

Meanwhile, Nyqvist has to stop Wick from taking out his son, regardless of how much an idiot his offspring has been. After a dozen of his guys head to Wick's place and fail to take out their target (all of them becoming extremely dead in the process), Wick checks into the Hotel Continental, owned by assassin-friendly Winston (Ian McShane). The Continental is like a UN building for hired killers and within its walls they are safe from others, which gives Wick time to plot his next moves.

Directed by stunt performer and co-ordinator Stahelski the flimsy story is nothing more than a glorious excuse for a series of inventive, beautifully choreographed, balletic action scenes. Reeves shoots, punches, kicks, stabs and throws the bad guys in breathless, brilliantly crafted sequences which fans of the genre will absolutely love. Yes, this is very, very violent stuff but it's also so implausible that you'll be allowing yourself quite a few giggles at the sheer audacity of it all.

For a film that's so much fun, it's good to see that the cast seems to be enjoying themselves to the full as well. Reeves is well suited to the main role, handling the stunts with aplomb and not walking into the scenery when he has to act, whilst Nyqvist makes a smart, menacing bad guy. The supporting cast is right on the money too. In addition to McShane, Adrianne Palicki hits the target as convincingly twisted fellow assassin Ms. Perkins, Willem Dafoe makes a brief but telling contribution as an old associate of Wick's and Lance Reddick steals every scene he's in as the unfailingly polite and efficient manager of the Hotel Continental. Also, it's great to see David Patrick Kelly (from, amongst other things, Commando, in which Schwarzenegger lies about killing him last) in an all-too-brief appearance as a clean-up expert who makes sure the pools of blood and the bodies vanish after guys like Wick ply their trade.

At just over an hour and forty minutes, John Wick the movie is very much the John Wick the character. It knows what it has to do, it gets in there, it does the job as quickly and efficiently as it can and then it gets out of there. For action movie addicts it's a bonafide treat and although the film doesn't especially lend itself to a sequel I'd be surprised if we've seen the last of John Wick.