Taglines: If you want peace, prepare for war.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum Movie Storyline. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is on the run for two reasons – he’s being hunted for a global $14 million dollar open contract on his life, and for breaking a central rule: taking a life on Continental Hotel grounds. The victim was a member of the High Table who ordered the open contract. John should have already been executed, except the Continental’s manager, Winston, has given him a one-hour grace period before he’s ‘Excommunicado’ – membership revoked, banned from all services and cut off from other members. John uses the service industry to stay alive as he fights and kills his way out of New York City.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is a 2019 American neo-noir action thriller film starring Keanu Reeves as the eponymous character. It is the third installment in the John Wick film series, following John Wick (2014) and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017). The film is directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams, based on a story by Kolstad. It also stars Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, and Ian McShane. In the film, which picks up minutes after the end of the previous film, ex-hitman John Wick finds himself on the run from legions of assassins after a $14 million contract is put on his head due to his recent actions.
The third installment was announced in June 2017. Much of the returning cast and crew was confirmed in February 2018, with new members joining that May. Filming began that month and lasted through November, taking place in New York City, Montreal, and Morocco. Parabellum was theatrically released in the United States on May 17, 2019, by Lionsgate. It grossed $326 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of the franchise in just 10 days, and received positive reviews from critics, with praise for the action sequences, visual style, and Reeves’s performance. A sequel, John Wick: Chapter 4, is in development and is set to be released on May 21, 2021.
About the Story
John runs through New York as time runs out on his ‘grace period’. He tuns into an alley and sees the Tick-Tock Man, one of the Bowery King’s spies. He gets into a taxi, but the roads are gridlocked. With only twenty minutes until he is officially ‘ex communicado’, he decides to get out and run again, but not before he gives the driver a gold coin to get his dog safely to the continental. He arrives at the Library and asks for a book, in which he reveals a hidden compartment containing some coins, a cross, a marker and a picture of him and his wife, which he kisses.
A large man, Ernest, corners him in the bookshelves. John tells him he still has time left, but Ernest doesn’t care: who is going to know about a few minutes? The two have a fight which culminates in John using the book to break Ernest’s jaw and snap his neck. It leaves him with a bad stab wound on his shoulder, though. So, he visits the doctor at his home address, with only five minutes to go. The doc agrees to help, but has to stop stitching halfway through. The ‘grace period’ is over.
John’s $14 million bounty is in full effect. After stitching himself up and taking some pills, John shoots the doc non fatally at his request, so the High Table believe that he obeyed the ‘ex communicado’. Then, he leaves and is immediately set upon by a wave of assassins. They corner him in an antique arms shop, so John uses the old weaponry to take them out. After a vicious throwing-knife fight, he emerges into the street and is set upon by more assassins. They follow him into some stables, where John uses the horses and their powerful kicks to kill his foes. He leaves the stables on horseback but is followed by two bikers. Of course, he takes them out and proceeds with his journey.
John’s bounty is raised to $15 million. John arrives at a theatre, where he is told to empty his pockets and remove his belt. He meets with The Director and asks for her help by presenting the cross he picked up from the library. They discuss John’s history: this is where he was raised. She takes him to the back of the theatre, past training ballet dancers and jiu jitsu wrestlers, and asks him what he wants. He wants passage to Casablanca. She agrees, breaking all ties with him and branding him with the cross in the process.
A mysterious woman enters the Continental. She slides a coin over to Charon, who informs Winston, the manager, that an adjudicator is here to see him. After asking to see Santiago’s body, The Adjudicator informs Winston that he must step down from his position due to the fact that he allowed John to live after spilling blood on Continental grounds. The Bowery King is visited by The Adjudicator. He tells her that he is honoring the ‘ex communicado’. However, she informs him that no-one is free from the High Table’s rules and that he must leave town because he gave John a gun knowing what it would be used for. He laughs in her face, claiming that he cannot step down from the throne because he is the throne.
John arrives in Casablanca. Almost immediately, he is set upon by three knife-wielding foes. One is killed in the battle but the fight is cut short by a man who informs them both that the manager has granted John amnesty. The assassin isn’t happy about this, so the man shoots him. He and John go to Morocco’s Continental, where John is taken to see the manager. He sees photos of a woman and her daughter, before two growling dogs come and stand guard beside him. Then, the manager, Sofia, steps out of the shadows and shoots him in the chest. Luckily, his suit is bullet-proof. She tells him she ought to kill him, but he presents a marker. She asks him not to, but John requests that she take him to see her old boss. Reluctantly, she agrees and goes to get ready.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Saïd Taghmaoui, Jerome Flynn, Jason Mantzoukas, Tobias Segal, Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane
Screenplay by: Derek Kolstad
Production Design by: Kevin Kavanaugh
Cinematography by: Dan Laustsen
Film Editing by: Evan Schiff
Costume Design by: Luca Mosca
Set Decoration by: Letizia Santucci, David Schlesinger
Art Direction by: Ian Bailie, Teddy Setiawan, Chris Shriver
Music by: Tyler Bates, Joel J. Richard
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive strong violence, and some language.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: May 17, 2019
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