'John Wick' is Greatest Action Series of All-Time

by Preston Tolliver

Photo: Lionsgate

It’s hard to find an action series with a winning record. They have a way of coming out guns blazing only to shoot blanks at the end; in other words, sequels have a way of running a perfect action film into the ground. 
 
Take “Rambo” for instance. The story of an embattled, grizzly war vet living with PTSD in an America that had no place for him made for captivating cinema. The sequels that transformed John Rambo into a jacked up killing machine were a hard left turn from what the original set out to do, which was bring awareness to the psychological effects of war and the need to care for those who experience the horrors we pretend don’t exist. Instead, ‘Rambos 2-80’ glorified the war that the original took such a hard stand against. 
 
The point is ... you can’t judge an action series by the pretty face in the front. Think “Die Hard” is the greatest action movie ever? That’s fine - but ‘Die Hard 2,’ ‘4’ and ‘5’ were garbage (‘3’ is sneakily the best movie in the series). “Predator” is an all-time classic (and a personal favorite), but it’s the only really solid movie of the entire franchise. And if you think “Star Wars” is the best series (as it was in The Word’s recent Greatest Action Series Tournament), well, meesa thinks you should think again (the argument could definitely be made that it’s the best science fiction series; however, if we’re going for win percentage of movies, the “Alien” franchise is a close second). 
 
Shot, meet chaser. 
 
Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Rocky Balboa’ series is certainly a contender, despite a couple of stinkers, especially with the resurgence of the series in recent years with Michael B. Jordan stepping in as Apollo Creed’s boxer son to carry on his father’s and his honorary uncles’ legacies. “Lethal Weapon” is oddly really solid (even if you throw in the spoof “Lethal Weapon 5” on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”). 
 
But none of those are deserving of the title of the best action series. To be named such, a series should be near-perfect, from end to end (or end so far - action series have a way of never really ending; just ask Rambo). And while there’s still time for them to screw it up, there’s currently only one series that, three movies in (the minimum to be considered a series), is absolutely perfect. 
 
And that’s the Baba Yaga: “John Wick.” 
 
Here’s a few of the things the “John Wick” series has:

• Keanu Reeves
• Intricate backstory that leaves you wondering just as much about the protagonist’s past as his present 
• A seedy, underground criminal government that runs better than our actual government 
• Willem Dafoe 
• Just enough romance to make the protagonist easy to empathize with, but not so much that it’s corny 
• Boban Marjanovic
• A fight scene that involves horses 
• Cool cars
• Dogs
• Dogs that fight bad guys
• 299 headshots

“John Wick,” the one where we meet John Wick and the Continental, is perfect. “John Wick 2,” the one where he kills some guys with a pencil, is perfect. “John Wick 3,” the one where he fights alongside horses and dogs and Halle Berry, is perfect. 
 
“John Wick,” the series, is perfect. There’s nothing better.