John Wick is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Derek Kolstad. Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick, a legendary hitman who comes out of retirement to seek revenge against the men who killed his dog, a final gift from his recently deceased wife. The film also stars Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Willem Dafoe.
Kolstad's script drew on his interest in action, revenge, and neo noir films. The producer Basil Iwanyk purchased the rights for his first independent film production. Reeves, whose career was declining, liked the script and recommended that the experienced stunt choreographers Stahelski and David Leitch direct the action scenes; Stahelski and Leitch successfully lobbied to co-direct the project. Principal photography began in October 2013, on a $20–$30million budget, and concluded that December. Stahelski and Leitch focused on long, highly choreographed single takes to convey action, eschewing the rapid cuts and close-up shots of contemporary action films.
Iwanyk struggled to secure theatrical distributors because industry executives were dismissive of an action film by first-time directors, and Reeves's recent films had financially underperformed. Lionsgate Films purchased the distribution rights to the film two months before its release date on October 24, 2014. Following a successful marketing campaign that changed its perception from disposable entertainment to a prestige event helmed by an affable leading actor, John Wick became a surprise box office success, grossing $86million worldwide. It received generally positive reviews for its style and its action sequences. Critics hailed John Wick as a comeback for Reeves, in a role that played to his acting strengths. The film's mythology of a criminal underworld with rituals and rules was praised as its most distinctive and interesting feature.
John Wick began a successful franchise which includes three sequels, John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019), and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), the prequel television series The Continental (2023), and the spin-off film Ballerina (2025), as well as video games and comic books. It is seen as having revitalized the action genre and popularized long single takes with choreographed, detailed action.
Plot
In New York City, John Wick is grieving the death of his wife Helen, who had arranged for him to receive a beagle puppy, Daisy, to help cope with his loss. A few days later, a group of Russian gangsters led by Iosef Tarasov accost John at a gas station and fail to intimidate him into selling them his 1969 Boss 429 Mustang. That night, they break into John's home, attack him, kill the puppy, and steal the car. Iosef takes the Mustang to a chop shop to remove its identifying details, but the shop owner, Aurelio, recognizes it and refuses service. Aurelio informs John that Iosef is the son of Viggo Tarasov, the boss of New York City's Russian Mafia.
Upon learning of his son's actions, Viggo berates Iosef for incurring John's wrath. He reveals John was once a hitman in his employ, and was renowned and feared in the criminal underworld as the "Baba Yaga", a ruthless, relentless "man of focus, commitment, and sheer will". After John fell in love with Helen, a civilian, Viggo gave him a seemingly impossible task to earn his freedom; he succeeded.
John recovers a concealed stash from his former career that includes weapons and gold coins. He rejects Viggo's attempt to make amends and kills the hit squad subsequently sent to his home. Viggo puts a $2million bounty on John and enlists John's former mentor, Marcus, to kill him. John lodges at the Continental, a luxurious hotel that serves as neutral ground for the underworld and where conducting criminal business is strictly forbidden. Winston, the hotel's owner and John's old friend, informs him that Iosef is at a nightclub called Red Circle. John infiltrates Red Circle and confronts Iosef, but he is attacked by Viggo's henchman Kirill and forced to retreat to the Continental for medical attention.
As John rests, a hitwoman, Ms. Perkins, sneaks into his room. Marcus sees Perkins from an adjacent building and fires a warning shot to alert John, who wakes up and subdues her. Perkins reveals that Viggo has doubled the bounty for her to kill John in the hotel and has concealed a high-value stash in a church. John hires another hitman, Harry, to secure Perkins, but she kills Harry and escapes.
At the church, John destroys Viggo's cache of cash and extensive blackmail material. When Viggo arrives to assess the damage, John assaults him and his men but is hit by Kirill's car and captured. John tells Viggo he will not stop until Iosef is dead because the puppy gave him hope and a chance to not be alone in his grief for Helen. Marcus again intervenes to save John, who kills Kirill and threatens Viggo into revealing Iosef's location in a safe house. John attacks the safehouse and kills Iosef. Marcus encourages John to return to his everyday life. Perkins witnesses this and reveals Marcus's duplicity to Viggo, who has him tortured and killed. Viggo calls John to taunt him with the details, drawing him back to the city.
Winston has Perkins executed for breaking the Continental's rules, then informs John that Viggo is preparing to leave the city by helicopter. John races to New York Harbor, where he fights and mortally wounds Viggo. John, resigned to dying from his injuries, watches a video on his phone of Helen telling him they need to go home. He breaks into a nearby animal clinic, treats his wounds, and adopts a pit bull puppy scheduled to be euthanized before beginning to walk home.
Cast
Keanu Reeves as John Wick: A retired hitman who is legendary in the criminal underworld Michael Nyqvist as Viggo Tarasov: A vicious Russian crime boss and John's former employer Alfie Allen as Iosef Tarasov: Viggo's reckless and arrogant son Adrianne Palicki as Ms. Perkins: A ruthless and highly skilled hitwoman Bridget Moynahan as Helen: John's beloved and devoted wife Dean Winters as Avi: Viggo's attorney Lance Reddick as Charon / Hotel Manager: The Continental's concierge Toby Leonard Moore as Victor: A Russian gangster working with Iosef Ian McShane as Winston: The enigmatic owner of the Continental John Leguizamo as Aurelio: A mechanic who owns a high-end chop shop Willem Dafoe as Marcus: A skilled sniper and John's old friend
The cast also includes Omer Barnea as Gregori, Iosef's underling who kills John's dog; Daniel Bernhardt as Kirill, a former Russian military commander-turned-henchman for Viggo; Thomas Sadoski as Jimmy, a police officer; and David Patrick Kelly as Charlie, a cleaner who destroys criminal evidence, including bodies. The Continental staff includes Bridget Regan as Addy, a bartender fond of John, and Randall Duk Kim as a hotel doctor. Clarke Peters portrays Harry, a hitman; Kevin Nash appears as Francis, a bouncer at the Red Circle night club; and Munro M. Bonnell plays a corrupt priest protecting Viggo's vault beneath a church. A beagle puppy called Andy portrays John's dog, Daisy.
Production Writing During the early 2000s, Derek Kolstad struggled to gain recognition as a screenwriter, completing up to eight screenplays per year, none of which went into production. Although he continued to write, he stopped pursuing it as a full-time career until his wife encouraged him to try again. Kolstad secured a manager and wrote 60 screenplays before finding success with the low-budget action films One in the Chamber (2012) and The Package (2013). Over four days in either 2012 or 2013, Kolstad wrote a spec script titled Scorn, the inspiration for which came from two "terrible revenge movies" he had watched. The script's story centered around the character John Wick, a long-retired hitman in his mid-60s to mid-70s who is forced back into his former life. John was modeled on actors such as Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman. The script included elements such as John's long-deceased wife, his elderly dog, the Continental, Charon, Winston, and the underworld gold coins. It also had a kill count of 11 compared to the film's several dozen. John was portrayed as an underworld legend who had been absent for decades, causing younger criminals to dismiss tales of his deeds. Kolstad aimed to explore the character as "the worst man in existence" who finds and loses salvation through love and events that follow. Kolstad had difficulty determining the incident that would lead to John's return, ultimately choosing his dog's murder over the cliché of the killing of the protagonist's wife and family. Kolstad focused his efforts on the first act, believing a solid opening would make later acts easier to write.
The draft was influenced by the variety of action films Kolstad appreciated, including Aliens (1986), Predator (1987), and Die Hard (1988), as well as revenge films, westerns, and neo-noir films such as Miller's Crossing (1990). Kolstad included black comedy because he found that levity added to the characters' humanity, drawing influence from silent comedy actors such as Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, and Roscoe Arbuckle; and his favorite animated television series, including Rick and Morty and SpongeBob SquarePants. After garnering feedback from family and agents, Kolstad made minor changes and the spec script was put out for sale.
Development
At the same time, film producer Basil Iwanyk was developing films for Warner Bros. Pictures through his studio Thunder Road Films. Iwanyk was frustrated at not being involved beyond sourcing scripts; he wanted the autonomy to develop independent films so he could be more involved in the process. He focused on action films that could be made on relatively low budgets. Iwanyk read Kolstad's spec script, appreciating its subversive tone and emotional throughline, as well as the relatability and accessibility of a man seeking revenge after losing his wife, his dog, and his car, and after his home is violated.
Kolstad received multiple offers for the script, but his agent advised him to consider the lowest bid from Iwanyk because Thunder Road Films was ready to start work immediately. The deal was completed in February 2013. Kolstad began rewrites alongside Iwanyk and the producer Erica Lee over two months. Iwanyk originally envisioned older actors such as Eastwood (then 83 years old) or Harrison Ford (then 71) as John but later decided against focusing solely on an actor's age. Bruce Willis was attached to portray John at this stage.
In April 2013, Iwanyk's friend was serving as Keanu Reeves's talent agent. Iwanyk shared the script after the agent expressed Reeves's interest in pursuing a new action project. Reeves was interested in the dynamics between the real world and the underworld, and the emotional connection to John's wife. The script was sent to multiple directors, many of whom suggested expanding John's family and having them killed to drive the plot, but Kolstad opposed this idea. Others were uninterested because the idea appeared to be a typical Reeves action film.