John Wick (character)
John Wick is the fictional title character and main protagonist of the John Wick film series. He is portrayed by Keanu Reeves. The character of John Wick, originally named Jardani Jovonovich, is an assassin who has long retired, until a gang invades his house, steals his car and kills his dog, setting him on a near unstoppable path of revenge, after which a former associate (Santino D'Antonio) calls in a "marker" to have him fulfill an assassination leading to him being pursued by the entirety of the High Table of Assassins.[1]
| John Wick | |
|---|---|
| John Wick character | |
 Keanu Reeves as John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) | |
| First appearance | John Wick (2014) |
| Created by | Derek Kolstad |
| Portrayed by | Keanu Reeves |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Jonathan Wick |
| Nickname | Baba Yaga / The Boogeyman |
| Gender | Male |
| Title | Assassin |
| Occupation |
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| Fighting style | |
| Spouse | Helen Wick (deceased) |
| Nationality | Soviet Union (formerly) American |
Character biography
John was once named Jardani Jovonovich, born in Padhorje, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union, to parents who were of Romani, Russian, Ukrainian and Koryo saram descent. He was orphaned at a young age for unknown reasons, before being taken in by an old friend of his father, who would eventually become Wick's mentor.[2] He was recruited by a Ruska Roma organized crime outfit and raised by its leader, a woman known as "the Director", at its New York headquarters. Under the supervision of the Director, Jardani was trained as an assassin; he learned multiple skills including martial arts, firearms, edged weapons, improvised weapons, tactical driving, infiltration, escapology and more.
At some point Jardani took the name "John Wick" and left the Ruska Roma organization. He became a feared and ruthless hitman his targets would call "Baba Yaga". Wick was noted for his great focus and determination; his fighting prowess was such that he once single-handedly killed three men with a pencil.
Eventually John met a woman named Helen and fell in love. Hoping to leave his past as a contract killer behind him and pursue a normal life, John met with crime boss Viggo Tarasov, who agreed to grant him his wish if he could carry out a certain task for him. The exact nature of this task is unknown but it has been consistantly described as "impossible" by various characters throughout the series (implying John wasn't expected to survive the task). In order to accomplish the task John required assistance from Camorra member Santino D'Antonio and subsequently ended up owing a blood debt to him. Viggo offers little elaboration on the mysterious task but said "the bodies he buried" laid the foundations for what his criminal organization became, implying Wick eliminated all his major rivals for him, enabling Tarasov to become one of New York's most powerful crime bosses. After completing his "impossible task" John Wick retired as an assassin and settled down with his wife Helen, his reputation and status now legendary.
John Wick (2014)
Following his wife's terminal illness, John prefers to remain isolated from society. He spends his days driving his prized car — a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 — and caring for his new dog, Daisy, the last gift from his dearly departed wife. This changes when Iosef Tarasov assaults John, steals his car and kills Daisy. This sets John on a rampage of slaughter and vengeance. Attempting to protect his son from John's rampage, Viggo sends assassins to stop John, but all are killed. Eventually John takes his revenge, killing both Iosef and Viggo. After he does this, John rescues a pitbull puppy scheduled to be euthanized from an animal shelter.
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
After exacting his vengeance on the Tarasovs, John retrieves his prized car from Abram Tarasov and forms a truce with him allowing him to live. John hopes to return to retirement but this is interrupted by Santino D'Antonio, who asks for him to complete his blood oath and assassinate his sister, Gianna, allowing Santino to have a seat at The High Table. Wick reluctantly travels to Rome to fulfill the task, only to realize that he will be Santino's next target for eliminating a member of The High Table. Santino sends his bodyguard Ares and Gianna's former bodyguard Cassian after Wick but both ultimately fail. Santino places a $7 million bounty on Wick's head, after which Wick enlists assistance from The Bowery King, who supplies him with a gun that carries only 7 bullets and information of Santino's location. John eventually finds Santino in the safe grounds of The Continental. Santino taunts John as The Continental Owner, Winston, advises John to walk away before he breaks the laws of The Continental. Despite this, John still assassinates Santino, leaving John to be declared "excommunicado" for conducting business on Continental Grounds. Winston allows John one hour to escape before the contract is doubled and his status is rescinded from all services.[3]
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
Excommunicated, exhausted, and injured, John spends his one-hour head start preparing to flee from New York, as assassins gather and hear word of the bounty on John for killing a member of the High Table. John escapes to Morocco, meets with former ally Sofia, and summons a favor to be brought to the Elder, a man outranking the High Table, who can cancel the kill order. John travels throughout the desert to the point of collapse in order for The Elder to find him. The Elder agrees to grant him forgiveness from the bounty in return for killing Winston and serving the High Table for the remainder of his life; John severs half of his ring finger and offers his wedding ring to The Elder to prove his commitment. John returns to New York and is pursued by assassins until he reaches the safe haven of the Continental. John reunites with Winston but decides not to kill him. Instead John and the hotel's concierge Charon fight against the High Table and their enforcers. Successfully defeating waves of attackers, Winston and High Table representative The Adjudicator parley on the hotel roof. Ultimately, Winston shoots John to restore his standing with the High Table and John tumbles from the roof into the street. The Bowery King, recovering from grave wounds inflicted by The Adjudicator's assassin, collects the badly injured John and brings him to his hideout, where he tells John he plans to fight against the High Table. He asks John if he is also "pissed off." John replies "Yeah."
Characterization
The character and franchise has been described as a "central boogeyman character who can’t be killed" and a "modern, action-oriented equivalent of '80s horror franchises", and reportedly has a kill count of 306, exceeding Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers combined.[4][5] Wick's violent one-man crusade has been described as an extreme case of workplace revenge.[6]
Reception
Since the franchise's inception, the character of John Wick and his development in subsequent sequels have been seen as a reinvigoration of Keanu Reeves's career. The films have a cult following and Reeves's portrayal of the character has been praised.[7]
References
- Avella, Joe; Blake, Conner (August 13, 2019). "How Keanu Reeves learned to shoot guns for 'John Wick'". Insider. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- Gottsegen, Will (May 20, 2019). "John Wick 3 Isn't Just About Fighting, It's About Fame and Fandom". Spin. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- Alexander, Bryan (May 24, 2019). "'John Wick 4' underway, but don't expect a happy ending for Keanu Reeves". USA Today. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- Squires, John (May 23, 2019). "In Just Three Movies, John Wick Has Killed More People Than Jason and Michael's Combined Total". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- Eisenberg, Eric (May 17, 2019). "John Wick Kill Count: All The Kills In All 3 Movies". CinemaBlend. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- Hutchinson, Sean (February 13, 2017). "John Wick Suffers Extreme Workplace Rage, Psychologist Says". Inverse. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- Ide, Wendy (May 19, 2019). "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum review - The Art of Action". The Guardian. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
External links
- "John Wick (2014) - Trivia - IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- Bean, Travis (12 September 2019). "The Reason People Connect So Deeply With John Wick". Forbes. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- Film Locations
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