It was John Wick that brought back the essence of action packed cinema, an art that was thought to be all but lost. Old school action combined with a stellar lead character turned the franchise into a blockbuster. But it was John Wick 2 that made things happen for the franchise.
He Almost Had a Daughter
When the creative and writing team for John Wick were trying to come up with a viable plot, many possible plot points were discussed. One such idea entailed John Wick opting for revenge because the bad guys killed his daughter and not the pup. John Wick 2 involved Wick coming back to repay a debt. But the team almost banked on the idea of Wick moving Heaven and Earth to save his estranged daughter. We are glad they decided to drop the cliché idea.
Reeves Wrecked Four Mustangs During the Shoot
The very opening sequence of John Wick 2 involves Keanu Reeves’ character absolutely decimating his 1969 Ford Mustang. The classic beauty was turned into a wreck after the horrible crash. What is even more astonishing is the fact that in all those scenes, no stunt drivers were involved. Reeves was behind the steering wheel all the four times. The production team lost four valuable Mustangs by the time shooting ended. And all of them were destroyed by Keanu Reeves. The Stunt Coordinator said Reeves was the “best actor-driver in the business”.
The Final Fight Scene Was Choreographed to Vivaldi
In true artistic fashion, the final scene of the movie where Reeves squares off with a fighter of an equal caliber involved the action choreography to be in perfect sync with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The idea was simple and innovative. The team removed all the percussions from the background score and replaced them with gunshot sounds. The outcome was utter perfection and an incredible rehash of a masterpiece worthy of Vivaldi’s attention.
John Wick Chapter 2 Has Wick’s Highest Kill Count
Over the course of the trilogy, John Wick has killed a staggering 299 people. That kill count supersedes that of Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees. Keanu Reeves is at his most lethal in John Wick 2 though. In John Wick Chapter 2, Keanu Reeves’ character kills a whopping 128 people and manages to get away with it. Reeves kills 77 in the first John Wick movie. In John Wick 3: Parabellum, his kill count is 94.
Reeves Spent Months Learning the Art of Quick Reload
Director Chad Stahelski started out as a stunt coordinator. He had seen first hand how action movies tend to not show reloads because it looks the lead star look stupid. But Stahelski wanted his movie to look as realistic as possible. He instructed Reeves to spend months on training him-self to do quick reloads. The training paid off. Reeves looked badass even when he ran out of bullets. There was grace in his actions even when he was reloading.
The Movie Began With The Idea of Reeves Becoming Bruce Lee
John Wick‘s climactic smoke and mirrors scene at the very end of the movie is akin to another iconic sequence from the legendary Bruce Lee movie – Enter The Dragon. Director Chad Stahelski has claimed that he almost had an epiphany one day. The idea of John Wick stalking and killing bad guys in a room full of mirrors was what inspired him to come up with the scrip of John Wick Chapter 2. The scene was also a homage to the late Martial Arts Legend.
