“People keep asking if I'm back and I haven't
really had an answer...But now, yeah, I'm thinkin' I'm back!”
To what extent
does the ‘John Wick’ franchise confirm the idea that “all genres are instances
of repetition and difference”?
A film genre is a
motion picture category based on similarities in either the narrative elements
or the emotional response to the film. Most theories of film genre are borrowed
from literary genre criticism. Every film is categorised into a specific genre and
every genre contains a set of codes and conventions which hold value to the
theme. Over decades films have blurred every boundary when it comes to
characterisation and fulfilment of conventions for some genres. One film that
breaks this idea is the “John Wick” franchise. It is a true pure action based
plot that adapts action genre convention throughout the entire storyline. Not
only the narrative is typical, but also everything from the use of
cinematography to the mise-en-scene of every location and setting. This essay will
discuss to what extent does “John Wick” adapt and reinforce the importance of
action genre values and how change and development is crucial to the health and
evolution of the action genre. In addition, this essay will also explore some theories
from key figures in the film industry, and their impact on the direction the
action genre is moving towards.
John Wick is a
film series, directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Derek Kolstad. This film
series consists of three chapters, with the third to be released in 2019. The
film franchise is widely known, specifically for their “eponymous antihero”[1], Keanu Reeves. Already,
just by analysing the main star of the film series, it is evident that the John
Wick films aim to be widely known; this is because they make use of an actor
with an already large, established fan base which the John Wick franchise can
benefit largely from. The John Wick films have been highly commended for their
explosive storytelling, “visual pachache”[2], “cathartic violence”[3] and “unique”[4] feel in comparison to
“most other action films”[5]. Looking into reviews of
the films, we can see it is highly acclaimed. Often critics have exclaimed that
the film is “simple”[6] yet “done really well”[7]. Similarly, the John Wick
films have been referred to as refreshing and enabling audiences to see “its
action in all its deserved glory”[8]. One critic even went
ahead to say the film “makes you want to scream “That was awesome!” at the
screen constantly.”[9] It
seems that the John Wick franchise is challenging the typical predictable
nature of the action genre - In other words these films utilise this repetition
and difference notion to their advantage. However, despite this consistent
appraise of Wick’s distinctive style, there is still an extremely vast amount
of criticism that the franchise receives. Critics have made reference to the
repetitious nature of the John Wick franchise; one review claims action films
are “suffering from a terrible affliction”[10] and mentioning the ‘hell
bent’ filmmakers who create action films in such a way that one critic compares
to “constantly sneezing”[11]. It is clear that action
films such as the John Wick films are constantly being the subject to criticism
for their stereotypical, repetitive approach. This reinforces how the action
genre is an instance of repetition. Reinforcing the ‘difference’ within the
action genre is the shifts between the first John Wick film and the second. It
is clear that the second film ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ was far more stirring in
audiences, described as being “more bonkers than the first”[12] film and even compared to
other films claiming it was “even crazier than the ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ ”[13]. This reinforces the idea
that the ‘John Wick’ franchise does promote difference. This is because it is
typical of action films to not only expand into creating more films of the same
title, but also by attempting to increase the emotional effect on audiences as
they make more additions to their franchise.
The entire film starts off with clip
of an antagonist falling off his motorcycle and being chased by a mysterious
character in a Ford Mustang. This anonymous character walks out of the car to
take a gold plated card that belongs to one of the villains. Then attention is
taken to an underground Russian mafia gang where they are relocating due to the
fact that the leader is scared of the main character John Wick. We then
understand from the characters speech is that the gang group holds a car that
belongs to Mr.Wick. During this speech the audience sees a bunch of sequences
of John taking out one member at a time whilst this speak is occurring. The
mafia leader gets a call from the protagonist saying "You have my
car" in Russian. straight after, the leader hears an engine start. After
this point a series of action set pieces take place in the film where there is
a constant battle between protagonist figure against the gang of antagonist
group member representing some binary oppositions.
Blumler and Katz.
This theory is the uses and gratification theory of audiences.The idea of
surveillance means to be educated from the extract the viewer is watching, this
links to my opening scene as the antagonist's speech to his helper acts as a
voice over narrating facts about the main character John Wick. Personal identification:
Another Blumler and Katz theory that comes with the opening clips of the film,
is the ideology of personal identification within audiences towards the
characters in the extract. In this clip we are positioned in the shoes of the
antagonist fooled to feared by the infamous Wick. This is also reinforced
through the use of cinematography and the use of editing and sound in the clip.
The influence
behind the John Wick films is predominantly from Hong Kong cinema. A huge
aspect of the John Wick films is ‘gun fu’, which is "close-quarters
shooting incorporated with martial arts, with all the grace and agility of a
ballet performance.”[14] “Keanu Reeves pulled off the technique with
remarkable accuracy and aplomb”[15]. This was seen in both
films but was more prominent in the second. However, this “technique didn’t
actually originate in John Wick. Gun Fu was popularized by filmmaker John Woo
in his 1986 cult classic Hong Kong thriller, A Better Tomorrow”[16]. It has been said that
“The John Wick movies accomplish what Hong Kong action flicks did a
quarter-century ago”[17]. This hugely reinforces
the idea that repetition is apparent in the action genre. Films will always
revert back to the original conventions of the genre in order to be successful.
Needless to say, ‘A Better Tomorrow’, has a huge influence on today’s modern
films, another source claims that John Wick makes “the most dynamic use of the
fighting style”[18]
from the film - an instance of repetition. This can be seen at the opening of
the film where there is a fight scene. A Russian mafia gang are relocating due
to the fact that the leader is scared of the main character, John Wick. We then
understand from the characters speech that the gang group has a car that
belongs to Mr Wick. While this speech is occurring, the audience sees a myriad
of sequences of John taking out one member at a time. Just from the opening,
audiences have seen how “every exchange of lead in John Wick is painstakingly
mapped out and executed with silky smooth precision.”[19] The main character
“glides through moves with practiced ease, rolling, ducking and grappling like
a bearded ninja, only throwing bullet rain instead of punches.”[20] Essentially, he appears
as this “badass main character”[21]. The reinforces Vladimir
Propp's Character Theory. Propp suggested that every narrative has eight
different character types, some of these character types include the villain
and the hero - which can clearly be seen in the opening scene. This is not only
apparent in the John Wick franchise but also widespread in the action genre -
supporting the idea that the action genre repeats itself. Similarly, these same
narrative roles also fit under Levi Strauss' theory of 'binary opposites' which
entails that the majority of narratives in media forms such as books and film
contain opposing main characters. The fact that these theories apply to this
film, as well as so many other action films, clearly suggests there is a
repetitive use of connections in the action genre.
One of my first
historical texts come originally from the Hong Kong cinema, but is considered
one of the first martial arts films in the western world. This movie is
non-other than Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon". Bruce Lee plays a
martial-arts expert determined to help capture the narcotics dealer whose gang
was responsible for the death of his sister. Lee enters a kung fu competition
in an attempt to fight his way to the dealer's headquarters with the help of
some friends. This is an Action, Thriller based movie that was produced by
Warner Bros during 1973.
This film links
to my main text of John wick and John Wick 2 due to the action set pieces used
in the production. This includes martial art style of fighting, stunts art
created by actors and actresses and finally some narrative storyline links. John
Wick was inspired through these concepts mentioned, this is why i believe that
this is the right text to analyse as it reinforces many conventions demanded
from Hong Kong cinema even though it was produced in the US. When compared,
Enter the Dragon and John Wick represent different values and ideologies. One
of the main ones was the demand for pure alpha masculinity back in the 90's
rather than emotional factors in films. The reason for Wick's killing spree was
to avenge his loved ones however, Bruce Lee's film generally focuses on the
alpha male figure to see who comes out on top. this could communicate that
society was different to now as it endorsed power rather than emotions.
The action genre
is considered one of the most ‘stereotypical’ genres because of all the
consistent iconography and convention is entails. Daniel Chandlers is the
theorist who claimed conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the
notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes
or settings) and/or form (including structure and style) which are shared by
the texts which are regarded as belonging to them. The John Wick films
definitely fall under many of the conventions of action such as the “themes”[22] like “good vs bad”[23], “gun fights”[24] or “revenge”[25] etc. Also, the visual
style, as mentioned before is another aspect of conventional mise-en-scene.
However, “Cinematographer, Dan Lautsen, supplements Reeves’s central
performance with a stylized look that feels unique from most other action films.”[26] This makes it clear that
the John Wick films do engage in the difference in action films. Moreover,
“action movies are generally set in cities and other built up urban areas. This
generally done as when rushing past building you get a better sense of speed
and action than you would if you were rushing through the countryside”[27]. This is true for the
John Wick films and suggests another convention is fast pace. This can be in
terms of the camera work, editing, music or even the actions taking place in
the film. We can see a large number of these conventions in the film. There is
one specific scene wherein the antagonist is seen falling off his motorcycle
and being chased by a mysterious character in a Ford Mustang. This anonymous
character walks out of the car to take a gold plated card that belongs to one
of the villains. Then attention is taken to an underground Russian mafia gang.
Already, we can make note of the iconography that is conventional of the action
genre such as motorcycles, cars, mysterious, unknown characters, gangs and
more. This links nicely into Barthes’ theory of Enigma Codes which argues that
every narrative is interwoven with multiple codes. The idea of these ‘codes’ is
a concept that is typically affiliated with the action genre. The unknown
character reinforces this - as his character is an instance of an enigma code.
We can also apply Tzvetan Todorov's narrative theory to the entire film series.
He suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure where they begin
with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes
along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when
equilibrium is restored. As this is the opening scene and already there is a
fight scene this subverts the theory of Todorov as it doesn't fit to his style
of narrative. You can also argue that it does fit the structure of Todorov as it’s
in an alternative universe where assassination is a social norm, which already
makes it equilibrium.
It was almost 45
years later from when one of the first martial arts films in the western world
was produced. This movie is non-other than Bruce Lee’s iconic film, "Enter
the Dragon". Bruce Lee plays a martial-arts expert determined to help
capture the narcotics dealer whose gang was responsible for the death of his
sister. Lee enters a kung fu competition in an attempt to fight his way to the
dealer's headquarters with the help of some friends. This film links strongly
to the John Wick franchise for several reasons including the convention,
narrative patterns, stylisation, mise-en-scene, music, editing and more. This
includes martial arts, stunts, actors and actresses, camera-work but mainly the
narrative storyline is what links these two films so tightly. It is easy to see
that the John Wick films were definitely impacted by "Enter the
Dragon" hugely, as it is clear they have been inspired by many of the
narrative concepts from the film. When comparing the two texts, Enter the
Dragon and John Wick, although they may represent different values and
ideologies, they both follow very similar conventions and have a lot of similar
iconography. This strongly reinforces David Buckingham theory of ever changing
media. Genre is not simply given by the culture; rather it is a constant
process of negotiation and change. This explains the huge similarities between
the two films despite the difference in the zeitgeist they represent and
who/where they were produced (by).
To conclude, it appears that the John Wick
franchise does to a large extent reinforce difference and reputation in the
action genre. Throughout history, the action genre has thrived off repetition
and difference - maintaining conventions and creating new ones as time goes on.
This film compimernts this respected genre and it does it justice for being
successful at following guidline conventions as well as apply different motifs
to the genre. Simple things like one liners such as “You wanted me back... I'm
back!” promote the intensity of the genre. This quote also relates to the
action genre itself as conventions over time come and go to maintaine
engagement and stability in this mainstream film style. Conventions do change
as society changes, but sooner or later it will come back!
[1] John
P. McCarthy
[2] James
Preston Poole
[3] Robledo,
S. J.
[4] Bay,
K.
[5] James
Preston Poole
[6] Huls,
A
[7] ibid
[8] ibid
[9] Huls,
A
[10] ibid
[11] ibid
[12] James
Preston Poole
[13] ibid
[14] Michael
Edward Taylor
[15] ibid
[16] ibid
[17] Debruge,
P
[18] Michael
Edward Taylor
[19] Dyer,
J
[20] ibid
[21] Robledo,
S. J
[22] Young,
K
[23] ibid
[24] ibid
[25] ibid
[26] James
Preston Poole
[27] Young,
K
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About Noah BrandNoah Brand is a writer and editor, and quite possibly also a
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