A startling documentary that gets into the nitty gritty of action filming while entertaining fans as if it were on the big screen, Wick Is Pain delivers. Most films of documentary or biography genre feature a long dialogue on someone’s life, a serious subject, historical event or other informational topic. Well, this wild and crazy stunt filled experience will blow you away. Whether you are a fan of the John Wick franchise or just want to see how the four films were brought to the screen, Wick Is Pain is amazing, experience it.
Jumping off with an amusing introduction by Director Chad Stahelski and title character Keanu Reeves the action begins with their personalities laid bare. From there it dives into how the action scenes were made, the development of the story and locations/sets/characters used in each of the episodes. Preparation, preparation, preparation and staging, staging, staging are just the beginning. Choreography and showing how the violence is performed, the pain the actors and stunt men go through and the death defying feats are miraculous.
What makes this special are the determination of the actors to provide realism and excitement and director Stahelski brings it all together. Each of the actors show their devotion to making everything look impossible and punishing. It’s the beauty of the John Wick films and what their fans crave.
During the scene takes, Reeves and the cast show their devotion giving their utmost drive to make all the punishing action work. Whether it’s hand to hand combat, jumping off buildings, shooting their way out of death defying attacks or just some story build up scenes, they stand ready to repeat their motions tame and again. Even though Reeves does a lot of his stunt work, you’ll be introduced to his stunt double and other doubles that move into the actor’s roles that fill in for the death defying feats that the main actors can’t handle.
Considering all that the two hour film has to offer I found myself feeling the exhaustion and hurt in many of the scenes and I’m a diehard action fan. The film is not rated by the MPAA, but contains action violence, gun and knife play, language and peril. For those that are film buffs, students of film or just the curious Wick Is Pain is a must see. The next film in the series is called Ballerina and includes Keanu Reeves in the cast list as John Wick.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Chad Stahelski, Scott Adkins
Directed by: Jeffery Doe
Genre: Documentary, Sunts
MPAA Rating: Not rated contains movie violence,
Running Time: 2 hr. 6 min.
Opening Date: Now Playing
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, YouTube, Microsoft Movies & TV, and Comcast Xfinity, among others
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
