Now that John Wick 4 and 5 are well into production, it’s a good time to take a look back on the first three movies in the franchise. Though it might not be as obvious on initial viewing, most likely due to the kinetic, often shocking action of the movies, but there is a lot of humor peppered in there as well. It might even be enough that they can be called more than just action movies, but action/comedies.
Typically, when one thinks about the genre of action/comedy, the usual fare comes to mind: Beverley Hills Cop, 21 Jump Street, The Other Guys, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, and the Rush Hour movies, among others. These movies are all heavy on humor, and while they do contain plenty of action, it is safe to say that they are, first and foremost, comedies.
On paper, John Wick sure sounds like a comedy. Man’s dog is killed by evil Russians. Man goes on rampage to avenge dog. Man kills hundreds of people. Man gets new dog. But this is where the Wick movies differ from other action/comedies: they realize and acknowledge their ridiculousness, but still maintain a degree of drama and stakes. Comedies like the Jump Street movies need to have a certain amount of laughs in each scene or they fail. There are plenty of scenes in the Wick movies where there isn’t a single laugh, but then there are also many scenes that are surprisingly funny, especially the action scenes themselves, which cause the audience to laugh through their fingers as they cackle at Wick as he violently dispatches scores of thugs in increasingly creative fashion.
The second and third movies even beg direct comparison to Buster Keaton, with both openings featuring shots from Keaton movies of the 1920s. Keaton is best known for his films that centered around physical comedy and ridiculous stunts, all while maintaining an indifferent, almost stoic expression. Sound familiar? Even the poster for John Wick 2 seems to be a reference to a short comedy from 1918 called Two-Gun Gussie featuring Harold Lloyd, another well-known comedian and stuntman from the era. The violence in the Wick movies is intense, no doubt, but there is often a funny side to the deaths.
Whether it be Wick partially killing someone, only to pause for a quick reload and then pop the final round, or killing an insanely tall assassin with a book-punch to the mouth, or slapping a horse so that they kick the thug behind them into the next week, there is always a deliberate ridiculousness to the deaths, bordering on slapstick like Keaton and Lloyd a hundred years ago.
Another undeniable comedic influence on the Wick movies is Jackie Chan. While Chan was also clearly influenced by the physical humor of Keaton and Lloyd, the action of his movies is based around martial arts (obviously) as opposed to the more clown-like gags of the 20s. His gags revolve around the use of unusual objects for fighting. While Wick rarely uses anything other than guns, and Chan never uses guns at all, the moments where Wick is forced to improvise with whatever is around him are very reminiscent of Chan’s movies, and the audience is always caught laughing and wincing at the same time.
Another big similarity between Chan and the Wick movies is the framing of the action. Chan’s movies consistently use wide angles to help the audience not only see every single punch and kick, but also their impact and effect, whether that be on Chan or the goons. The Wick movies differ from typical Hollywood action movies because they take the same approach. Long, wide extended takes not only show the physicality and talent of Reeves and his team, but it also allows for the jokes to land with the punches. And like Chan, Wick gets visibly worse for wear as his movies charge forward. A bloody and bruised face, stab wounds, gunshots to the belly, it all adds up.
Sure, it still isn’t all that realistic, but it’s far more realistic than the invincible action heroes typical of Hollywood. Reeves might not have as expressive of a face as Chan, but the scenes where he takes a moment to react to his situation, whether it be standing back up and motioning for a moment to prepare his belt as a weapon, realizing he is in a hall of knives with men trying to kill him, or just jumping on the back of a sumo wrestler and filling him with lead from the top down, all these moments are deliberate and successful comedy. He is always touted as an invincible and unstoppable assassin, so these moments of humility are refreshing, and inject a dose of irony to a franchise that could’ve easily taken itself too seriously.
While the fourth and fifth movies still await a release date, at least one thing is certain in these tumultuous times: the John Wick movies are the perfect choice when looking for action that’s not only slick and stylized, but also funny as hell. The franchise wears its comedic influences on its sleeve, even if that sleeve is ripped and spattered with blood.
