van-83714
Joined Feb 2018
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van-83714's rating
This is a movie that documents the intimate details of instances of gun violence. The victims are usually known by the perpetrators, as they are usually current family members. The killings are usually intentional with loaded guns easily accessed by anyone in the household. This film selects cases from a three month period in 2014 America. The constitutional right to bear arms was originally adopted for maintaining state militias with single shot muskets being about the only personal firearm. In the past 75 years, gun ownership in the US has grown from an estimated 44 million to about 400 million with military grade weapons widely available. Gun ownership has achieved the status of a religion and fundamental element of conservative male identity. The belief that gun owners are generally safer with the firearm than not is one of the chief irrationalities of gun ownership. This film illustrates that fact with a number of innocent lives senselessly lost forever.
I hadn't watched a John Wick before. After watching ten minutes of this movie, I was relieved that I hadn't been missing anything. For those who just love seeing homicidal violence, John Wick is your ticket. Particularly for those loving guns and gun violence, this movie is a feast. The dead probably exceeded a hundred, or at least enough to start a decent-sized cemetery. It shouldn't be a surprise that gun violence is so prevalent in the US. As for other aspects of the film, stunts and special effects are impressive. These usually involve killing bad guys and chase scenes. The sets are also impressive in such cities as Paris, New York, Berlin, and Osaka. The plot has minor variations from the good guy - bad guy theme. Why they are good or bad is less obvious. Wick loves his dead wife and personal loyalty seems to matter with the good guys. A much stronger motivator for the bad guys is money and power at all cost. For that, John usually delivers a bullet in the head. I liked Ian McShane and Laurence Fisburne's acting in this movie, but Keanu Reeves seems a bit of a stiff. Caine and Mr. Nobody characters are interesting, mostly because their loyalties are unpredictable and seemingly capricious. All that said, I am not sure how the blind guy can see so well.