Wick Is Pain

What a perfect documentary. This is my favourite action franchise and I fell in love with the whole process behind it thanks to this film. What a wonderful creation. Great to find out more about Chad and Dave's relationship co-directing number 1. And getting to see all the gun fu pre-viz was absolutely rad. There's another documentary series called "action" where you get to see a lot of Dave's team doing this preViz stuff for the film Violent Night. I couldn't believe what Keanu puts his knees/body through to make these films. What a way to spend your 50s! Absolute legend. Still can't decide which of the four movies is my favourite.

A truly gripping documentary that shows just how insanely difficult it is to turn an idea into a finished film. The funding alone is a huge challenge-and when a backer suddenly drops out, the entire project can be on the verge of collapse. That's exactly what almost happened with John Wick-if Eva Longoria hadn't stepped in financially (!), the movie and its now-iconic franchise might never have existed.

What I also really enjoyed was how the doc shows the tight-knit and often chaotic web that is Hollywood. Who knows who, who brings whom on board, and how often pure chance plays a role. It was also fascinating to see how skeptical some people were about scenes that are now legendary-like John Wick riding a horse through the city-and whether they'd work at all on screen.

I'm giving this documentary a solid 7/10. It was definitely interesting and offered some great insights, but in a few places, it could have dug a bit deeper. Still, well worth a watch for film lovers and behind-the-scenes nerds.

Great documentary. Very insightful and interesting. You end up learning a lot more about John Wick and there's nothing wrong with that.

If you have loved the John Wick movies, you'll look at them in a new light after seeing what was going on behind the scenes to make the movies.

'Wick is Pain' is a pretty fitting summary: he loses everything and becomes this unstoppable force, all fueled by sorrow and rage.

Keanu Reeves is John Wick. No other actor will be able to play that role. He was thete from the beginning, believing in the character and played Wick flawlessly through all 4 movies.

As a fan, we can only hope and pray that there will be a John Wick 5.

Sometimes seeing how the sausage is made is not a good thing. This is not one of those times. I can not get enough of John Wick and the John Wick saga. This behind the scenes look at the making of the most popular action series in modern times is a really, really cool way to spend an evening. I liked it a lot. Getting to hear from Chad Stahelski, Keanu Reeves, and the cast and crew is very interesting. Seeing 87Eleven and the training, as a martial artist is super fun. Cool old footage of Dan Inosanto and Chad's training days. Some super interesting behind the scenes footage. Loved hearing from Daniel Bernhardt. This is a must for John Wick fans.

This fast-moving doc is filled with behind the scenes details that you're just not going to get on the 'extras' of any DVD in the John Wick franchise. It's narrated mostly by Reeves and Chad Stahelski, the Director of JW 1,2 and 3. And, as Keanu likes to say, 'it's personal'.

You'll get the backstory on Reeves' perspective on John Wick, and why this character, who is a serial killer, remains a hero in the eyes of the audience.

Sitting back, just shooting the breeze about their work, the creative team tell us that they 'like that (the films) feel like a 'B' movie but taken to an artsy level'. They know they are giving us 'pulp', but with each successive film they've increased the artistry of the shots.

They see JW 4 as the most 'anime', dripping in tone. In each film, the DP move the camera as much as they can, whether they're in the desert or on the steps of the Arc De Triomphe. One of the most exciting and complex action sequences in JW4, or in any other action movie in recent years, was the top-down sequence in that film, where you see the action inside a location but are watching it as if the roof was removed...'top-down'. Everyone, from the camera operators and the stunt team, knew where they had to be at every single beat of the action. They tell us 'we didn't let the production company know we were going to do this, we just planned it out and by the time they knew, it was already too late to stop it'. Wick Is Pain takes you INSIDE this amazing shoot.

The Wickiverse is chock-full of memorable sequences like this. And to think that the entire series almost did not get off the ground. The team lost millions of dollars in funding the day before shooting was supposed to start. Wick Is Pain takes you through the financial struggles, the personal breakups and makeups, the intense training that Reeves goes through prior to the shooting of any of the films. Every installment has the 'revenge' theme, including the one that almost killed the first film... killing off the puppy. One of the worst things you can do in a film, and that call almost sank it.

Reeves decides if there's something that Wick would do that isn't in the script. The horseback riding scene under the train - all Reeves' idea. We get the technical details on how the team made that happen.

You'll hear from the martial arts trainers and stunt coordinators. The backstory on how The Crow and The Matrix films influenced the development of the Wickiverse. The evolution of 'the Marker'. The importance of character development driving the story. Wick's foes may be on opposite sides, but they still honor each other. Reeves' stunt double relates the story of how he crash landed during one of the building fall stunts.

What you come away with is the fact that Reeves is one of the hardest working men in the business. He works while in pain, when he's sick, even when injured. He just never wants to let the cast and crew down. And hell, yeah... you can tell that he enjoys every moment of being John Wick, though he admits he'd love to also ressurect a different character from his past. You'll have to watch to find out who. Wick is Pain is available to stream now on VOD.