'John Wick' and the Tragedy of the Aimless Assassin

John Wick has never really been a chatty fella. The character’s one big monologue in the first Wick film comes as even more of a shock than his ability to mow down dozens of gangsters while armed with just a pistol and his wits. With the upcoming release of John Wick: Chapter 4, Keanu Reeves has now spent nine years playing the quasi-mute bogeyman di tutti bogeymen, the scariest assassin in a world littered with merciless hired killers who are all chasing each other for the next big bounty. But after watching the series’ newest installment, in theaters next week, I’m starting to worry that Mr. Wick is losing his passion for so much stoic ultraviolence.