Hey, thanks for listening. If you enjoy the show—and who doesn’t, it’s a great show—and would like to get more episodes of this (great) show but haven’t been sure about signing up for a full Bulwark+ membership, good news: you can get a month free for a couple more days. Last week’s tribute to Lance Reddick was pretty good, if a bit sad, and Alyssa’s analysis of the Oscars fashion was wonderfully fun.
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark) and Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post) ask if the well-oiled machine that is Marvel studios is about to see the wheels come flying off. (Peter is out this week, but have no fear: He should be back next week.) And then they discuss John Wick: Chapter 4, a movie that is not only immensely fun to watch but also, possibly, sneaky-deep? Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ for our bonus episode this week on the great action franchises of the last 40 years or so. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
I don't think JW really died. JW wanted to live to remember the love and life that he had with his wife. When JW asks Winston to take him home, I think they planned to fake his death on the return home. Ending with his death, not portraying a funeral at all, after ALL the action ... maybe wishful thinking but I feel this can be seen as a cliffhanger and JW could come back for #5!!
Two thoughts about John Wick:
1) I think the ending of John Wick is pretty beautiful. He fulfilled the point of his life in that he was and will forever be, "a loving husband." He also wanted to save his friends Caine and Winston. It's true that he has nothing left, but because he fulfilled his purpose and mission.
2) The loose ends that remain at the end of this story do seem, to me at least, to point to the High Table. Caine, Tracker (Mr. Nobody), Akira, Winston, and others from the series could look to John as an inspiration to challenge the people that sit on the High Table for having put them all in their institutional confines. Maybe that is what John Wick 5 will be about...with Ana de Armes' Ballerina joining them.
Tried to go see John Wick over the weekend but it was sold out. I guess that is a good sign for the business, I haven't seen that in ages.
So when I asked the Internet "What is the point of John Wick," this is what I found:
https://medium.com/swlh/john-wick-5-life-lessons-c53ae6517be7
I will listen to this shortly but...I saw my first John Wick movie this weekend. At the end, I turned to my husband and asked, "What is the point to a John Wick movie?" I'm sure your answer will be better than his.
It's interesting, the first is a pretty tight high-concept movie: criminals kill man's dog; man wants revenge. And for what it is, it's great (again: tight, high-concept, 100-minute action movie with amazing action choreography). But it's the sequels that really get into the more ... philosophical aspects.
I only saw the first movie, but my takeaway was that the movie takes place in a special afterlife for killers and murderers, e.g. the guiding character is Charon, the only currency is the gold coins that mourners put on the eyes of the dead, and that the aim--like in purgatory--is to transcend. John Wick's wife didn't die in that world, she died in the real world. The dog is just a message to beckon him to transcend the afterlife he's been consigned to.
Agreed, the action choreography was incredible. My field of reference for wuxia films is tiny (am I even using that term right?) but I kept flashing back to Jackie Chan movies & wondering where the humor was. Didn’t show up for me until the last 30 min, but the folks next to me thought various bloody poundings, impalings, etc were quite the chuckle fest.