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THE REWATCHABLES · September 17, 2024

John Wick

A 2014 action movie directed by Chad Stahelski—and decision no. 24 in the Hanks–Cruise tape.

Action2010sDirected by Chad Stahelski
John Wick2014MOVIE
Podcast episode#362No. 373 overall
Movie year20142010s release
Tomatometer87%No. 45 of 128 tracked
Metacritic68View score
Roger Ebert—No review recorded
State of the raceHanks led by 213–11 · 0 ties

FROM THE CONVERSATION

What they said about the movie

The episode argues that John Wick is one of the best original action movies of the 21st century because it is lean, emotionally clear, and visually legible. The hosts praise Keanu Reeves for turning in a stoic, funny, highly physical performance inside a carefully rule-bound underworld that expands just enough to feel mythic without becoming overexplained.
Based only on this episode’s transcriptTimes approximateSpeakers were clearly identifiedExplore the connections

WHY IT WORKS

What made it rewatchable

  1. 01The movie gives just enough world-building—coins, the Continental, rules, and codes—to hook the viewer without overexplaining. About 24 min
  2. 02The action is easy to follow because the movie uses wide shots and clear geography, especially in the nightclub sequence. About 16 min
  3. 03Keanu Reeves' restrained, funny performance makes the violence feel cool and slightly unreal but still grounded. About 16 min
  4. 04The film keeps escalating in satisfying steps, from the house invasion to the nightclub to the final confrontation. About 40 min
  5. 05The movie's emotional premise is simple and strong: leave John Wick alone, and don't touch his car or dog. About 32 min

WHAT DID NOT WORK

Their main criticisms

  1. minorThe final Vigo fight does not quite match the intensity of the earlier house and nightclub sequences. About 1:20
  2. moderateThe villains' decision not to kill Wick immediately after capturing him is a weak point. About 1:12
  3. minorThe soundtrack songs are not well-liked by the hosts and feel too on-the-nose. About 1:04 · medium confidence
  4. minorSome of the sequel scale is seen as excessive compared with the intimate appeal of the first film. About 16 min

SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO

Standout moments

positive

Gas station and car theft setup

The opening interaction at the gas station quickly establishes Wick's car, his dog, and the threat from Yosef.

About 56 min
Favorite

Viggo explains Baba Yaga

Viggo's warning to his son about John Wick becomes a signature character-introduction speech.

About 56 min
Favorite

House invasion and basement armory reveal

Wick clears his house, then reveals the hidden weapons and coins beneath the floor.

About 56 min
positive

The Continental rules and hotel code

Wick's interactions with the hotel staff and the no-violence rules build the movie's mythology.

About 24 min
Favorite

The nightclub fight

The wide, multi-stage fight across the nightclub is treated as the movie's signature action set piece.

About 1:04
positive

The church and final revenge speech

Wick's declaration that he is back and his threat to Viggo's son serves as the payoff of the revenge arc.

About 1:20

WHERE THEY DISAGREED

The biggest debates

They partly agreed About 16 min

Which John Wick film is best

Bill Simmons

Prefers the first film and says later sequels get too big.

Chris Ryan

Initially values the first, but also ranks later entries differently and likes the franchise's escalation.

Shea Serrano

Says he currently ranks them 1, 4, 2, 3 and likes the larger, operatic sequels.

They left it as a friendly argument About 1:20

Most rewatchable scene

Bill Simmons

Argues for the nightclub fight, though he is persuaded that the cop-at-the-door moment matters most structurally.

Chris Ryan

Ultimately prefers the house-fight aftermath with the cop scene because it opens the world.

Shea Serrano

Continues to favor the nightclub sequence as the marquee action scene.

They partly agreed About 1:28

Why Vigo doesn't just kill Wick immediately

Bill Simmons

Thinks it is a clear flaw that the villains capture rather than finish him.

Shea Serrano

Suggests Vigo may have wanted Wick back on his team.

Chris Ryan

Agrees it is a flaw but frames it as ego and bad decision-making.

They agreed About 16 min

How original John Wick is versus other action movies

Bill Simmons

Places it among the best original action movies of the century.

Chris Ryan

Says it helped revitalize action movies in the mainstream.

Shea Serrano

Says it feels like it comes from another world and belongs with The Raid.

18 People discussedActors, directors, writers, and producers
very favorableKeanu ReevesBill Simmons: Praised as an all-time action star who can disappear for years and then return with a new defining role. Opening minutes
neutralMark LasantiBill Simmons: Mentioned as the former Grantland colleague who strongly recommended the movie. Opening minutes
favorableLance ReddickBill Simmons: Praised as a perfect concierge whose presence helps define the Continental. About 32 min
favorableIan McShaneBill Simmons: Admired as Winston, one of the movie's key world-building figures. About 48 min
favorableAdrian PalickiBill Simmons: Highlighted as Miss Perkins and as one of the movie's most 2014-casting choices. About 48 min
favorableWillem DafoeBill Simmons: Praised for his sniper role and for helping Wick at key moments. About 48 min very favorableJohn LeguizamoShea Serrano: Lauded as someone the movie should have used even more, with especially strong comic energy. About 1:36
favorableDerek KolstadBill Simmons: Credited as the screenwriter who combined revenge-movie and western influences. About 32 min
favorableChad StahelskiBill Simmons: Recognized as one of the Matrix stunt coordinators who directed the film. About 1:20 favorableDavid LeitchBill Simmons: Recognized as the other Matrix stunt coordinator behind the directing team. About 1:20
mixedAlfie AllenBill Simmons: His character is mocked as a loser son, though the performance is effective for the role. About 48 min · medium confidence
mixedMichael NyqvistChris Ryan: Seen as a solid character actor whose villain speech works, even if the character is a bit over the top. About 1:04
mixedDean WintersBill Simmons: Mentioned as Viggo's attorney and later as a notably underused 'that guy' presence. About 40 min
neutralToby Leonard MooreBill Simmons: Noted as the actor playing Yosef's ally Victor, recognized from Billions. About 1:36
favorableJohn WooChris Ryan: Cited as a major influence through The Killer and Hard Boiled. About 32 min neutralClint EastwoodBill Simmons: Referenced as an original inspiration for an older version of the Wick character. About 48 min · medium confidenceneutralPaul NewmanBill Simmons: Referenced as another original inspiration for the Wick character concept. About 48 min · medium confidencefavorableChris RyanShea Serrano: Shea recalls Chris recommending the movie by message and insisting it was incredible. Opening minutes
10 Conversation takesSpeakers shown only where the transcript identifies them
Bill SimmonsLoved it

John Wick as an original action movie

Calls it one of the great action movies of the 21st century and a banger worth bringing Shea back for.

Opening minutes
Chris RyanLoved it

Keanu Reeves as an action star

Argues Reeves repeatedly reinvents action movies and belongs among the all-time stars.

Opening minutes
Bill SimmonsLoved it

The house attack after the dog is killed

Sees the home-invasion sequence as the moment the movie proves Wick can do impossible things inside a very grounded framework.

About 8 min
Chris RyanLoved it

Wide-shot action staging

Credits the film's wide framing and clear geography for making the action so satisfying.

About 16 min
Shea SerranoLoved it

John Wick's house fight introduction

Says the first major fight is the moment the audience realizes Keanu can actually do this version of action filmmaking.

About 16 min
Bill SimmonsLoved it

The Continental world-building

Likes how the movie hints at a larger secret world through rules, coins, and coded behavior.

About 24 min
Chris RyanLoved it

The nightclub action sequence

Treats the nightclub fight as one of the best sustained action sequences in the genre.

About 1:04
Shea SerranoLoved it

The nightclub action sequence

Agrees it is extraordinary and says the movie's action feels beamed in from another world.

About 1:04
Bill SimmonsLoved it

John Leguizamo's casting

Thinks Leguizamo is so good here that he should have been used more often in movies.

About 1:36
Chris RyanLoved it

Practical gun handling

Notes that his father, a former cop, thought the weapon handling was among the most accurate in action movies.

About 1:44
5 ThemesThe larger ideas in the discussion

Action-movie world-building

The film creates a secret criminal ecosystem with coins, rules, the Continental, and coded language that feels immediately memorable.

About 24 min

Stoic heroism

John Wick works because Keanu plays him as a silent, controlled killer rather than a quippy action lead.

About 16 min

Revenge as clean premise

The movie's emotional engine is simple: he loses his wife, dog, and car, then becomes unstoppable.

About 32 min

Practical stunt filmmaking

The wide framing, hand-to-hand choreography, and believable gun handling are treated as key to the film's impact.

About 8 min

Action-genre renewal

The hosts frame John Wick as part of a broader moment when action movies needed a fresh mainstream template.

Opening minutes
25 Facts and referencesProduction notes and other movies mentioned

Production note

The film was originally called Scorn during most of production.

About 1:20

Production note

The movie had no distributor as late as August 2014 before Lionsgate stepped in.

About 56 min

Production note

The production had to reuse stunt performers multiple times because of budget limits.

About 32 min

Production note

The red-circle nightclub is named after Le Cercle Rouge.

About 1:44

Production note

Keanu Reeves trained for months in multiple martial arts and tactical gun work.

About 1:44

Production note

Alfie Allen reportedly researched Yosef by going to Russian bathhouses.

About 1:44

Production note

The car was a 1969 Boss 429 Mustang, and the production used fake substitutes for some stunts.

About 1:44

Production note

The film's kill count is discussed and finally identified as 84 by Shea.

About 1:44

Production note

A late-film title card/line reading 'I'm thinking I'm back' becomes a major quote candidate.

About 1:20

Production note

The hosts say the movie was made for about $25 million and earned about $85 million.

About 56 min

The Raid

Used as a point of comparison for world-class action choreography and relentless violence.

About 24 min

Taken

Cited as a key modern action template and a simpler revenge premise.

About 16 min

Man on Fire

Listed among the most satisfying revenge-action movies.

About 16 min

Fast and Furious

Used both for comparison and as a franchise model of escalating sequels.

About 16 min

The Matrix

Referenced as Reeves' earlier action-defining role and as a style influence on Wick.

About 8 min

Point Break

Referenced as another essential Reeves action role.

About 8 min

John McClane

Used to explain the value of visible injury and a grounded action hero.

About 16 min · medium confidence

Better Tomorrow

Named as an influence on the film's action style.

About 1:20

Hard Boiled

Cited as a major stylistic ancestor for the film's action set pieces.

About 1:20

Bourne

Compared to the stealth-recruitment and coded-assassin worlds in Wick.

About 32 min

The Equalizer

Mentioned alongside other satisfying revenge-action movies.

About 16 min · medium confidence

Miami Vice

Referenced as a soundtrack and style benchmark that the hosts admire.

About 1:04 · medium confidence

Top Gun Maverick

Used as an example of an expected romantic-history setup for a bartender/lead trope.

About 56 min · medium confidence

John Wick 2

Referenced as the sequel that expands the world and continues the story.

About 1:28

The Wire

Mentioned as a source of recognizable supporting-cast faces.

About 48 min
10 Running jokes and short linesRecurring bits captured from the conversation

Theon Lovejoy

The hosts repeatedly misname Alfie Allen's character as 'Theon Lovejoy,' turning it into a running joke.

About 48 min

Baba Yaga pronunciation jokes

They repeatedly joke about saying and mispronouncing 'Baba Yaga' when discussing Wick's nickname.

About 56 min

Seanathan / Christopher

Bill and Shea joke about formalizing each other's names for weight and history.

About 1:04 · medium confidence

Fantasy-draft / football analogies

The hosts keep comparing characters' choices to fantasy football or sports logic.

About 1:36 · medium confidence

John Wick as a 'whiff' joke

They joke that Wick being a target of Vincent's corner or other sports analogies is absurd.

About 1:44 · medium confidence

Chris Ryan

“the one you sent to kill the fucking boogeyman”
About 56 min

Bill Simmons

“I'm thinking I'm back”
About 1:20

Chris Ryan

“That's all you need”
About 56 min

Bill Simmons

“Don't fuck with another man's dog”
About 1:44

Chris Ryan

“John Wick is a man of focus”
About 56 min

MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT

Where to watch

UNITED STATES

Checking where John Wick is available…

WHAT TO WATCH NEXT

Movies to watch before and after.

Three movies to watch before John Wick, and three to watch next.

Finding six movies…Three to watch first and three to watch next.
Includes a Rewatchables episodePosters from TMDB.

ON THE MIC

3 voices made the call

Bill Simmons headshotBill Simmons125 tracked appearances · 56 H / 64 C / 5 ties
Chris Ryan headshotChris Ryan77 tracked appearances · 36 H / 38 C / 3 ties
Shea Serrano headshotShea Serrano1 tracked appearances · 0 H / 1 C

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