“John Wick: Chapter 3” Trailer Is the Most Awesome Two Minutes of the Year

What started as a scaled-up version of the straight-to-video action trash that keeps Bruce Willis employed, John Wick has become one of the most reliable, entertaining franchises around. Keanu Reeves has been simply outstanding as the deadly assassin, motivated first out of revenge for his murdered pup, then out of survival for breaking the rules of the secret society he used to belong to. The filmmaking from former stuntman Chad Stahelski has also been extraordinary, making even the most outlandish fight scenes feel real. It also helps that as unstoppable as John Wick is, he often looks vulnerable, limping onto the next bad guy, or nursing broken ribs.

I won't name names, but there have been trailers for big blockbusters this year that have done nothing to raise my excitement level. They weren't bad, but nothing shot up my expectations from their base level. But John Wick: Chapter 3's trailer doesn't do that. It wows you, then keeps ratcheting up the "oh shit" moments until you're wishing this movie was coming out right this second. There's Anjelica Huston! And Halle Berry! And attack dogs! And, wait, are those ninjas on motorcycles? Yes, they are! Did John Wick just kill a guy while riding a horse through New York City? He sure did. And they didn't even show comedian Jason Mantzoukas as the Tick Tock Man. It's safe to say I'm pumped for the latest chapter.

Keanu Reeves reloads with John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum on Friday, May 17.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.