Goes so absurdly full tilt into setting up a Cool Assassins Cinematic Universe that it ends up feeling like a sequel to a totally different movie. Who are these people? What happened to john leguizamo?
The action continues to feel bigger per usual but not so consistently better. The Japan hotel sequence is really the peak and it comes far too early, to the extent that a lot of the silly shit later like the traffic fight and the hotline…
I think you can definitely trim some fat here, but the slower middle third when it goes full worldbuilding mode is easily forgiven when it's bookended by some of the greatest action filmmaking of the 21st century. Seriously, how fucking cool is it to watch john wick dump rounds in the visors of dudes with max level plate armor, only to realize that he still hasn't even fought the raid guys yet?
Mainlining all three movies in a night really nails home the way these movies were able to transcend. From redbox sheen to straight up hitman level setpieces. Sublime.
Some pretty neat visuals, and dev patel is very cool, but the mental image of an a24 arthurian fantasy movie I had in my head walking into the theater is pretty much exactly what I got, for better or worse. I wish the a e s t h e t i c sensibilities of these movies allowed for a wider emotional range than "damn...." in varying tones and inflections. lowery comes closer than most to wringing some real feeling out…
