A_Different_Drummer

Critics have noted, correctly, that the core premise of the films in the Wick-a-verse is that there exists a world where every second person you run into on the street is a professional assassin, and there is nothing odd or strange about that. This particular film takes that astonishing premise one step further. Namely, that someone had the money and the time to produce a film as grandiose as the other Wick entries but, oddly, did not want to have Reeves star --- and instead went with a female lead. And a really really bad script. For this reviewer, that was a bridge too far, and I gave up at the halfway point. Hundreds of my reviews speak to the need for connection, getting the viewer involved. None of that here. Not a whisker. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

When you look back on this film, and you will, you may notice how brilliantly deceptive the first few minutes were. Rather than simply showing a "day in the life" of the main character, the point of that first scene was to get the audience -- YOU -- to imprint on the protagonist, Piper, the way a baby duck imprints on the first moving thing it encounters after hatching. In my many reviews here, I have emphasized the importance of connection, and it is a delight to finally encounter creators who get that. This film is a masterclass in deriving horror and dread in situations where those emotions should not even exist. It trumpets the fact that simple human nature itself can be the scariest thing of all. And Sally Hawkins, who built a career on playing "perky," excels at reversing her own image and delivering a new level of creepy. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

You don't need to play the "loyalty card" (to NZ) to be positive on this show. Your reviewer is old enough to remember when Griffiths was an A-lister, and she still can hold the attention with the best of them. The writing is sharp, the characters are not dull, and this show is at least as good as most overpriced streaming projects these days, in many ways far better. Under-rated. Under-promises and over-delivers. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))