John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum review – franchise bloat for Keanu Reeves’ hitman
Third chunk of the ultraviolent series has its customary of balletic violence and delusional grandeur, but its no longer so light on its feet
Parabellum. That’s Latin, innit? And like everything about Keanu Reeves and stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski’s neck-snappingly violent franchise, starring Reeves as an ex-hitman, the title smacks of delusional grandeur and a faintly ludicrous baroque pulpiness.
This is the only action movie you’ll see this year featuring the death of a bad guy battered to death with a rare volume of 18th-century Russian folklore in the aisle of a library. As per the two previous films, Stahelski cranks up the body count with a string of fight sequences so balletic you might forget you’re watching violence – until Reeves sinks a knife into a man’s eye. But, three movies in, franchise bloat is beginning to set in; the dead dog jokes are definitely wearing thin.