John Wick franchise has turned action into a visual spectacle, with Keanu Reeves single-handedly acting as a killing machine over the course of the past three films (and still going). The staggering camera work and transitions make those blood-gushing fight sequences enthralling. And more importantly, they look more thrilling because of Keanu Reeves taking it upon himself to execute them instead of having a stunt professional taking his place.
And if you’ve noticed, sequences have a thing in common which have carried on two the further installments of the franchise. John Wick films’ majority of action sequences are primarily shot in one angle with occasional transitions to close-ups before going back to wide-angle super fast, giving those scenes a more enticing pace. That adds up to the intensity of the action, making them look more visually aesthetic. But there’s another reason to do that, and that’s Keanu Reeves himself.
Speaking to Collider, the film’s cinematographer Dan Laustsen revealed how he allows Reeves to execute those sequences per his knowledge in a wide-angle shot and then uses close-ups to fill in on his expressions and neutralize flaws if any, creating a perfect blend of a variety of action artforms. In his own words:
In the John Wick films, Keanu Reeves performs all of his action sequences himself, training hard in martial arts and other forms of fighting to be sufficiently agile to look the part. But despite being an experienced actor in the action genre, Reeves has his own limitations relatively against a stunt professional. So these combination shots allow Reeves to be himself on set while allowing Laustsen to make the sequence more seamless and continuous. Reeves has earlier clarified how he performs his own action sequences, including combat scenes, gunfights, and highly active movements, which signifies the characters’ acute persona as that of a trained assassin. However, he’ll still prefer to have a stuntman take his place when he has to get hit by a car.
John Wick, in many ways, has revitalized action cinema with its nearly realistic depiction of combat and gun battles. The franchise has spun three films with two more in the making, along with a spin-off television series in early development. And Reeves is headlining all five films keeping the franchise up and running and keeping the audience more inclined towards his character.
Currently, John Wick: Chapter 4, reportedly titled Hagakure, has wrapped filming but the post-production has pushed it further for a March 2023 release. Earlier, the film was supposed to release alongside Reeves’ The Matrix: Resurrections in Summer 2021, but those decisions were evaluated after the production shutdowns during COVID-19. The film will be followed by John Wick 5, which is being simultaneously developed.
