‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ Movie Review: A Blood-Soaked Sequel

Director Chad Stahelski is at it again with this third installment in the franchise, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. The R-rated franchise starring Keanu Reeves as John Wick, the greatest one-man-army assassin in history, is back. In this third installment, John Wick 3 delivers on the success of its predecessors with three times the violence, the blood, the gore, and headshots we’ve come to love from the franchise.

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Who is John Wick?

Five years ago, when things were much simpler, legendary hitman John Wick retired from his killing days after marrying the woman of his dreams, Helen. But her sudden death takes a toll on Wick. When mobster Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) and his gang steal Wick’s prized car and kill the dog that was given to him by his late wife, Wick unleashes his inner demons and seeks vengeance.

In John Wick: Chapter 2, John is declared ‘excommunicado’ by the Continental (a neutral territory for members of the criminal underworld). A bounty of $14 million was placed on John. This was announced globally after the unsanctioned killing of crime lord Santino D’Antonio (played by Riccardo Scamarcio). Before leaving in the shadows, Wick says, “whoever tries to come after me will be killed.”

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum. Read at your own risk.

John Wick 3: Staying Alive

With new places and old faces, Parabellum picks up where the last one left off, with John Wick on-the-run in Manhattan as the global hunt for his head is on. Wick tries to stay alive, murdering many people as he can while trying to get to the Director in hopes of getting safe passage to Morocco.

The Director (Anjelica Huston) is a member of the Ruska Roma and a trainer of ballerina-turned-assassins. She was also John Wick’s former protector and trainer who instructed him as a child, explaining where all his skills come from. Thus, although she hesitates, The Director obliges and gives him safe passage.

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So why Morocco? It turns out that John Wick has a friend with whom he has a deal with, and he is here to collect. All the way from John Wick 1, we know that John is called Baba Yaga (Boogeyman) because he was the one who killed the so-called Boogeyman. While doing his ‘work,’ John spares some of his foes along the way—people he can rely on when he needs help. That’s why he goes to Morocco to see Sophia (Halle Berry), a friend and owner of the Casablanca Continental to ask for help. Sophia owes John that much for helping her protect her family. One of the iconic scenes in the trailer of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is Sophia with her dogs and John fighting off bad guys.

John simply desires to live the life his wife wanted for him and it’s hard to empathize. This is where John Wick 3: Parabellum shows that there is more to the story and characters rather than killing. John doesn’t care about the money nor the headshots. He just wants to settle down and live his life with his dog. But, before all that can happen he has to fight his way through.

Meanwhile back in New York, people who associated themselves with John are brutally being punished by the Adjudicator for the High Table (Asia Kate Dillon) and assassin Zero (Mark Dacascos), including the Director and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne). The Bowery King did help John when he gave him a gun, so now he’s paying for his sins. This is where the movie features one of its most gruesome scenes, as we see the characters brutally mutilated.

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When John finally gets the chance to talk to Winston, he’s torn between killing him (as he’s tasked to do so) or sparing his life because he’s an ally. After John killed Santino in Chapter 2, John was supposed to be executed, but Winston gave John an hour to at least run before he posted the international manhunt.

As a consequence, the Adjudicator deconsecrates the Continental. With the war in play, John and Charon (Lance Reddick) the concierge fight off the High Table enforcers. This is where we can see the old John when he spares two of Zero’s students. John still has that side of him where he can be both deadly and reasonable at the same time.

It so happens that Winston betrays and shoots John Wick, after being deemed a threat. But who knows what goes through the mind of Winston? Being discovered by the Bowery King, both men plan their revenge, thus ending John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum Overall Verdict

The third installment of the R-rated, blood-soaked, and thrilling John Wick franchise is the most ambitious and entertaining chapter to date. The final scene in Parabellum shows The Bowery King and John in agreement about revenge. Parabellum has viewers confused and excited at the same time for what’s to come. What was Winston thinking about betraying John? Will John finally be at peace and just live his life?

The story of John Wick isn’t over yet, as the studio has greenlit the production of a fourth sequel set for a May 2021 release. Just after the release of John Wick 3, it was quite a shock to see a John Wick 4 release date. With not many details about the cast and news of any trailers, we might as well wait. Sadly, we may not expect a happy outcome. Who kills more than a hundred people and walks away a free man, after all? Things are just not that simple.

The Baba Yaga will be back, and it will definitely be something worth looking forward to.