Gibnerd’s review published on Letterboxd:
who knew JOHN WICK would be the one the best action movies of the year (i'd say right beside The Raid 2) and one of the freshest, most refreshingly great movies i've seen all year. The premise is so beautifully simple. Keanu channels the ghost of Bronson as he plays John Wick, the world's greatest badass dude with a bloody past. So BAM! right away in the movie his wife dies. His dead wife got Wick a dog before she left and Russian mafia goons kill lathe dog and then Wick kills everybody. along the way a wild cartoon like culture of badasses is developed where badass people can stay at this hotel where no bad ass can kill each other and everyone pays for stuff with giant gold coins. THIS HAPPENS. NO JOKE. AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL.
The movie is gloriously insane and a shitload of fun. this is also as close to as a movie made in 2014 and starring Keanu Reeves can come to being a loving tribute to classic John Woo Hong Kong action. There are epic, long take, bloody shootouts that haven't been seen on this level for many, many years. John Wick is a real unexpected beam of bloody sunshine movie and i hope action fans get to see it on a very loud and big screen.