After killing an employee of the High Table at The Continental, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is now considered ex communicado. This means that anyone associated with the High Table is no longer allowed to provide him with any services. On top of that, a contract worth $14 million for his life has been opened. Every assassin is now on the hunt for him. Cashing in on favors and debts owed to him, John is seeking passage to find a way to atone for his sin and cancel the contract.

Meanwhile, the High Table has appointed an Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) to his case. The Adjudicator’s job is to track down anyone who helped John with the killing, whether they actively participated or simply did not enforce the rule of killing him immediately after the act. She also employs Zero (Mark Dacascos), a highly skilled assassin, to hunt down and kill John. As judgment and penalties a dealt, John searches desperately for a way to save his life.

Picking up directly where John Wick: Chapter 2 leaves off, Chapter 3 wastes no time getting back into the action.

Keanu Reeves has played almost every type of character you can imagine. From romantic lead to Ted “Theodore” Logan to Neo, he has shown there isn’t anything he can’t do. As it turns out, taking out the bad guys is where he seems to excel. John Wick gives him the opportunity to take this character and really run with it. Literally. He wastes little time dispatching anyone in his way. Well, he usually wastes little time. Likewise, Halle Berry, who has also starred in a similar range of films, easily takes out all comers with the help of her dogs, of course. Unfortunately, Berry’s character isn’t given as much character development so we don’t get the same sort of connection to her as we do to Reeves. Her storyline, while somewhat key to some of the plot, is over very quickly. Ian McShane and Lance Reddick reprise their roles as the manager and desk clerk of the Continental, respectively. They’re characters are just as classy and down to business as in the first 2 chapters. The rest of the cast serves their roles well, even if most of them are just set dressing for Reeves to kill. My only complaint with the casting is that Jason Mantzoukas isn’t given nearly enough to do.

If you’ve seen the previous John Wick films, which is an absolute must, you know what you are in for. If you haven’t seen them, you will be confused about what exactly is going on and probably walk out in the first 5 minutes due to the brutality you’re seeing on screen. Once the film starts, it wastes no time getting into the action, and it doesn’t let up until the movie ends. The movie seems to borrow heavily from the Matrix series. Among others, there is a scene with Reeves and Berry that feels very much like the lobby scene from the first Matrix. Reeves even comments at one point that he needs, “Guns. Lots of guns.”

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum definitely isn’t for everyone. If you’re a fan of the first John Wick films, you definitely don’t want to miss the next chapter. Incredible cinematography, nonstop action, and, yes even good acting from Keanu Reeves make for a thrilling, if quick feeling 2 hour and 10 minute movie. You definitely need to see it in a theater. Watching it on anything smaller won’t let you appreciate everything going on.