I’m done marginalizing film tastes in terms of gender…

…is originally how I began this review.

Yet that statement feels like the antithesis of my gut response to John Wick:

“Highly recommend for mainly male moviegoers,” my heart mentions as the credits roll.

Then the cranium cogs start whirling.

“Isn’t that rhetoric unproductive? Shouldn’t we discourage that type of thinking?” my intellectual side fires back.

Thus began the rough introduction.

While reviewing John Wick on The Screen Rant Underground, two of the hosts offered a counterpoint, mentioning their wives’ dislike. One even went so far as to say she ‘hated it.’

(Side Note: The words ‘hate’ and ‘boring’ are the two most overused descriptors in the English language.)

On a broader scale, ‘Violence’ and ‘Romance’ occupy the extremities of the gender Venn diagram.

Men prefer fighting; women prefer feeling. Simple as that, folks.

“It’s a social construct! The best movies lie in the diagram’s center! To mention the pattern is to perpetuate it!” the brain chimes in.

Still, the inescapable reality is: the paradigm exists.

Whether I like it or not.

So, to put an untidy bow on my point: Isn’t it stilted claiming a movie is excellent (better than great), but for male audiences only? Doesn’t that imply John Wick is terrible, if viewed by a female audience?

Surely there are women who enjoy gun-fu. Shouldn’t they feel insulted by the suggestion?

Anyhow, you catch my drift.

With that out of the way, here’s my Top Five Movies with the Protagonist’s Full Name as the Title –

1. Donnie Darko
2. Annie Hall
3. Forrest Gump
4. Happy Gilmore
5. Billy Madison

John Wick lands in similar territory as Denzel Washington’s character from last month’s The Equalizer.

Both protagonists also echo Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher, another ex-CIA type.

Say what you will about his surfing abilities in Point Break – Keanu Reeves is terrific as the leading hombre.

Granted, Keanu’s John is less virtuous and less of a lady-magnet than Tom’s Jack, but both can drive in reverse like champions.

Which brings me to the first of three lessons I learned from J.W. about firearms.

Lesson 1: If you must drive at enemy gunfire, do so in reverse.

Keanu’s acting is great. Soft-spoken and pragmatic – sympathy sits with him quite nicely.

Not to mention, he does all his own fighting and stunts.

In the hand-to-hand combat, you can tell he’s absorbing all the blows. He falls off a balcony! The guy’s just terrific.

Meanwhile, the action scenes? Phenomenal.

Throughout the entire film, the epic fight sequences rival the best in cinematic history.

The gunplay is realistic and grounded. You’ve never seen such concrete shootouts.

Lesson 2: Due to recoil, handheld assault rifles can only be fired in bursts.

Wick manages to dispatch a number of thugs in an organic fashion.

As a result, the film illustrates the possibilities for less cutting and more believable action across the industry.

Lesson 3: Those who wield a pistol at the ready (like a cop entering the home of a serial killer) live longest.

The stuntwork is absolutely spectacular – far too much fiddling with convention to mention.

At one point, during an explosion, there’s an actual stuntman in the foreground, right near the fire. He catches fire! It’s awesome.

And hey – who doesn’t love John Leguizamo? Talk about reliable.

Alfie Allen catches critical heat for playing a similar role on Game of Thrones, which is unnecessary. He does a fine job for what he’s cast as.

It’s also good to see WCW’s Kevin Nash in a small part.

Ian McShane is terrific as always. Somebody’s not paying him enough.

Willem DeFoe plays a man who serves vegetable puree rather than booze at a meeting of criminal wits. Just another shiny bullet on DeFoe’s lengthy list.

Adrianne Palicki plays a solid murderess. Ironically, the only time I was ‘taken out of’ the movie was during footage of her stunt double.

Finally, the off-type villain is performed excellently by Michael Nyqvist.

In the end, John Wick may be the poster-child for breaking cliché – which, coincidentally, is shaping up to be the number one theme for cinema in 2014. So catch it in IMAX while it’s still in theaters.

There’s no stinger after the credits roll.

But hey – I’d be down for a sequel.

★★★ ★★★ ★★★

Briefer takes on IMDb & Letterboxd.