The 10 Biggest Ways John Wick Has Changed Since The First Film

Looking at the first film of 2014, it’s clear that John Wick has changed a lot over the years. The franchise now has four films and a spin-off TV show, and there’s plenty more to come. This is a remarkable achievement for a film that was initially seen as an underdog. The quality and originality John Wick managed to pass and became a great success with critics and the public. It still needed to change to sustain itself as a viable long-term franchise.

It’s been 10 years John Wickand it’s remarkable to see how it has grown from humble beginnings to one of the most popular and influential franchises of the 21st century. Keanu Reeves’ mysterious killer fought his way around the world, meeting new adversaries and delving deeper into the fascinating world of John Wick. It’s rare for a franchise to deliver four brilliant films without failure, so John WickThe company’s success on its tenth anniversary is worth celebrating.

10

The franchise expanded its horizons

John Wick is now set to create sequels and spinoffs

The original John Wick never intended to start a franchise. It was only after the film’s immense commercial and critical success that Chad Stahelski and David Leitch began to come up with ideas for continuing the franchise. John Wick is a great standalone action film, but it took a lot of creativity to turn it into a franchise that could support sequels, spinoffs, and TV shows.

The brilliant cliffhanger ending of John Wick: Chapter 2 configures the future of history in two ways. Firstly, it leads directly into the next film, with John escaping without any help. Most importantly, it hints at the complex world of the franchise and the other killers that wait in the shadows. The construction of the world of John Wick: Chapter 2 guaranteed that there could be sequels and spinoffs as interesting as the first two films.

9

The supporting characters became more interesting

The first John Wick film doesn’t develop many supporting characters

John Wick provides a glimpse into a dense criminal underworld filled with unsavory characters, but there are only a few who leave a lasting impression. Ian McShane’s Winston and Lance Reddick’s Charon obviously become pillars of the franchise, and Mrs. Perkins and Avi have some great moments as well. However, some supporting characters like Viggo seem quite genericas if they could appear in several other crime films.

Newer characters like Killa, Cassian, and the Marquis have more individuality, which reflects the way the entire franchise has built an easily identifiable world that doesn’t conform so much to the tropes of the genre. The fact that there is a John Wick Caine-based spinoff in development underscores how John’s supporting cast has become more compelling. None of the characters from the first film would be great candidates for their own spinoffs.

8

The roles of female characters have improved

The Ballerina Spinoff Is the Culmination of a Gradual Change

While John WickThe characters have become more defined in every aspect, this is especially evident in the franchise’s female characters. THE John Wick The franchise is and has always been dominated by male characters, but more recent films have reinforced female roles. That doesn’t mean there’s a problem with the first John Wick film, and it should be noted that Mrs. Perkins is one of its most intriguing characters. However, the change was noticeable.

John Wick began giving his female characters more individual personalities. Even the assassins who come after John, like Ares, have something that sets them apart from the crowd. Sofia, the Director and Akira are some of the best characters in the franchise and would all be welcome presences in future sequels. Ana de Armas will star in the film John Wick spin off Ballerinawhich shows how far the franchise has come.

7

John Wick’s world just got more complex

World-building has always been a big positive for John Wick

One thing that John Wick got it right on the first try, it was world building. While there are parts of the first film that might seem a little generic within the confines of the action genre, the Continental and a few other details are enough to make John Wick stand out. Fortunately, these first hints proved to be a mere taste of what was to come in the world of John Wickwith each sequence coloring the edges of the map.

With markers, the Ruska Roma, the Bowery King and more, John Wick built a complex and convincing criminal world. The most important addition of all was the High Table, which facilitated several other interesting characters and shady practices. It also gave John Wick the sequel has more of a purpose, which allowed John to continue his journey even after getting revenge in the first film.

6

John Wick started to tell a bigger story

The franchise found a new path after John’s revenge against the Tarasovs

The introduction of the High Table changed the appearance of John Wick franchise. The first film remains a great standalone story, but most action franchises need to up the ante when they start to expand. John Wick found a way to tell a story with a much larger scope without destroying or betraying what makes it so popular to begin with. Other action franchises grow up too early and jump the shark, but John Wick gradually sped things up.

The enormous change in John Wick the franchise happens gradually, so that each film reveals another piece of the puzzle without doing much at the same time. It seems natural that John would be trying to free himself from the High Table with a small army of allies spread across the world at the moment when John Wick: Chapter 4 happens, but it would have been a huge jump right after the relatively small, self-contained story of the first film.

5

The franchise is making the most of its increased budgets

Each film comes with a bigger budget than the last

The first John Wick the film was made with an estimated budget of $20-30 millionwhich is small compared to the action blockbusters that often vie for attention at the box office. Its commercial success meant that the sequel received a healthy increase in budget, and this trend continued throughout the franchise. The other financial trend worth mentioning is that each film made a lot more money than the last. John Wick: Chapter 4 grossed US$440 million on a budget of US$100 million.

What differentiates John Wick than so many other action franchises is that it used its resources excellently. Other franchises may spend a lot of money without considering the story, but John Wick it still looks unique and attractive even though its budget has more than tripled. There were more exotic locations, more explosive action sequences, and bigger casts with more established stars, but none of it felt flashy or unnecessary.

4

Movies are getting longer and more deadly

John Wick’s Kill Count Keeps Rising

Just like each John Wick Movies got more and more expensive, they also got longer. This fits with the franchise’s shift from standalone crime stories to global action epics.. John Wick: Chapter 4 is more than an hour longer than John Wickwhich is an unusual trend for a franchise. This runtime is being put to good use, with more action sequences and a more complex story.

The whole story of the first John Wick film can be summarized in a few sentences, but do so for John Wick: Chapter 4 would require skipping important details. The broad scope of the new John Wick the films make room for more detailed world-building and longer action sequences, which also means the kill count has skyrocketed. The first John Wick the film now seems tame compared to the sheer number of deaths in Chapter 4.

3

John Wick leaned into over-the-top action

The franchise became more fun with some scenes

John Wick is a relatively simplistic thriller, albeit one with a unique action approach that makes it stand out. As the franchise developed, it leaned further into its campy side. John Wick’s choice of weapons highlights how the franchise has started to go overboard with bizarre action sequences. Although he always has an arsenal full of weapons, he has also used a katana, a book and even a horse as a deadly weapon.

As the franchise progressed, John Wick started building some more fun action scenes that play with the tropes of the action genre. Take, for example, the top-down shootout sequence that plays out like a video game. Another great example is the moment when John reaches the top of the steps in their duel in Montmartre, Paris, only to be knocked down and forced to face another chaotic bout of violence. This theatrical approach is not limited to action scenesas characters like Killa Harkan seem to come from a different universe than the first John Wick.

2

The action sequences became more audacious

John Wick continues to intensify the spectacle

In addition to becoming more exaggerated and stylistic, John WickThe action sequences also became noticeably more ambitious. This is obviously the result of the increased budget, which opens up more possibilities. What is fundamental is that John WickThe action has become bigger and better, while maintaining the sense of identity that makes it unique. The action is all carefully executed.

Scenes like the attack on the Osaka Mainland or the Arc de Triomphe fight in John Wick: Chapter 4 probably wouldn’t have been possible at first John Wick film. These scenes require a lot of careful choreography, dozens of stunt doubles and delicate direction. Managing all these moving parts on such a large scale is not easy, but John Wick consistently delivers spectacular action on a grand scale. The franchise has been surpassing itself since the first film.

1

John is a more interesting character now

The enigmatic killer still has some mysteries

John Wick has always been a mysterious character, but each film reveals a little more about his story and who he interacts with. The first John Wick the film presents him at his lowest point, showing that he is distressed by the loss of his wife. Beyond that, not much else is revealed about the protagonist. He shows who he is through his actionsbut later films flesh out his character with more depth.

Without resorting to large exposure deposits, John Wick shows who the killer is based on your associations. Every time he comes into contact with another friend from his past – be it the Director, Sofia, the Bowery King, Koji, or someone else – another piece of the puzzle falls into place. There’s still a chance Keanu Reeves will return to John Wick: Chapter 5, which would offer another chance to peel back the layers of an intriguing character. John Wick always handles character development tactfully, leaving a few more mysteries that still need to be resolved.