7 Reasons The John Wick Franchise Is Always So Popular

The John Wick franchise has further cemented Keanu Reeves’ legacy as an action star, with several elements explaining why every entry in the series has been so popular. John Wick first arrived in theaters in late 2014, bringing Keanu Reeves back into a mainstream action movie for the first time in nearly a decade. While the first John Wick was a sleeper hit, its acclaim was widespread and expanded like action movie folklore, with more and more people gradually discovering the tale of the Baba Yaga long after the movie had left theaters. By the time of 2017’s John Wick: Chapter 2 and especially 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, what at first looked like a solid but singular action movie hit had become the gold standard of all action movies.

With the release of the John Wick spin-off Ballerina, what is also impressive is just how consistently and extremely well-received virtually every John Wick movie has been across the board (Even the Peacock streaming series From the World of John Wick: The Continental, which garnered a somewhat more mixed reception, still wasn’t widely or harshly panned). With Reeves (somewhat tentatively) set to return for John Wick: Chapter 5 and numerous John Wick spin-offs in the works, the Baba Yaga and the world he lives in have become nothing less than a titan in the action movie world with a batting average that is the envy of every ongoing franchise or cinematic universe. Here are seven reasons why the John Wick movies are so consistently popular and well-received.

1) John Wick Has Become Keanu Reeves’ Most Iconic Character

Keanu Reeves has been a Hollywood star for decades, and many of the roles he’s embodied have carried with them a long legacy. From his beloved time-traveling comedic goof Ted Logan of the Bill & Ted movies to his cherished portrayal of John Constantine in Constantine as well as his one-and-done action movie protagonists like Point Break‘s Johnny Utah and Speed‘s Jack Traven, Keanu Reeves’ characters have as much of a natural likeability as the man himself. Reeves’ even carved out a strong legacy as the techno Christ-figure Neo of The Matrix franchise, and yet, the Baba Yaga has overtaken them all.

Through John Wick, Reeves brought both an everyman quality to what appears to be an unassuming man on the outside, along with extreme physical dexterity and poker-faced literal killer instincts whenever he is called upon to battle his enemies. After years of being out of the spotlight, Keanu Reeves comeback in John Wick saw him return as an anti-hero who was and remains unique in every sense from his previous iconic characters, and even among most action movies protagonists. All of that added up has made Reeves’ John Wick his most beloved character by far, and one whose name is associated with the pinnacle of action moviemaking.

2) John Wick Does the Opposite of Traditional Cinematic Universe Building

Ever since the Avengers first assembled, building a cinematic universe has been the mandate of practically ever major movie studio in Hollywood. The John Wick franchise absolutely meets the bar of being an expansive cinematic universe, and it accomplished that goal by doing everything that Marvel didn’t. To begin with, the first John Wick did considerable world-building with its revelation of the rules of the Continental, but it never overtly set up a part two. It simply presented itself as a one-off action movie with a strong enough foundation to theoretically build upon. And because John Wick himself proved to be so popular, it was indeed built upon, but in a completely fresh way.

Rather than peppering each John Wick movie with Easter eggs, set-ups, and crossover teases, the John Wick franchise instead plays everything close to the vest and treats the audience like a visitor who has never seen the universe it takes place in before. Each John Wick movie pulls back the curtain just a bit more, revealing new elements of its world like the High Table, gold coins, markers, Adjudicators, and different co-existing sects and cultures. Because each reveal is completely fresh to the audience, each new chapter of the John Wick franchise is able to leverage them in ways that are consistently surprising. After the Marvel playbook of cinematic universe building seemed to convince the world that teasing where the franchise is headed next is the way to go, John Wick charted its own path of leaving the audience mostly in the dark about the future, setting them up to eagerly return to see what wild twist the John Wick universe has in store next.

3) John Wick Himself Is Just One Compelling Character of Many in the Franchise

Though the Baba Yaga himself might be the centerpiece of the John Wick franchise, another of its key strengths is how well each movie utilizes its supporting characters. John’s good friends from New York City’s Continental, Winston Scott (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick), have been key allies of John’s and very popular characters throughout their roles in the series. In turn, numerous other supporting characters, both friend and foe alike to John Wick, have also managed to really make an impact even in somewhat limited but pivotal roles, including John Leguizamo’s Aurelio, Halle Berry’s Sofia, and Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King.

Moreover, the villains of the John Wick universe have often been major highlights of their respective movies, including Chidi (Marko Zaror) and Killa Harkan (Scott Adkins) in John Wick: Chapter 4. By the same token, Donnie Yen’s Caine was a major crowd-pleaser in the same movie, with Caine returning for a Donnie Yen-directed spin-off, with other antagonists and supporting characters like Zero (Mark Dacascos) and Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson) also resonating greatly with audiences. The same can also be said of Ballerina‘s protagonist Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), further exemplifying that the John Wick universe is full of great characters even aside from John Wick’s own individual popularity.

4) John Wick Movies Have Great Economy of Motion As Action Films

Being the popular action movie franchise that it is, the John Wick series is keenly aware of what made it popular with its first sleeper hit and what audiences expect from each new chapter. To say that each John Wick movie has delivered the goods and then some would be an understatement. There is, quite simply, no other ongoing action movie franchise that delivers action of such equal quality and quantity every single time.

More to the point, each John Wick movie also doesn’t waste time in diving head first in gun-fu and martial arts battles galore, and keeps them coming with such a non-stop quality each time. Additionally, the John Wick franchise knows how to integrate its world-building and character development into its breathless action with masterful precision and skill. In a nutshell, the John Wick movies always hit the ground running with non-stop action and stunts, streamlined with flawless pacing that gives each new chapter a chance to build out its world every time. John Wick: Chapter 4 in particular is a really shining example of the economical nature of the John Wick franchise, a nearly three-hour movie that zips by in a heartbeat, with Ballerina also being amazingly deft in its own command of pacing, character development, world building, and action.

5) John Wick Has Re-Defined Gun-Fu for the Modern Age

The term “gun-fu” tends to evoke flashy and explosive gunplay, with filmmaker John Woo having long since set the standard for it. The John Wick franchise has been perhaps the single most dynamic and exhilarating endeavor to evolve and re-invigorate gun-fu as a style of action, the John Wick movies integrating their gun battles with close-quarters combat in a jaw-dropping new style of gunplay.

The fact that John Wick‘s style of gun-fu has become so popular and frequently utilized in other action movies is testimony to how unique an approach it was from the very beginning. If it’s an action movie involving assassins as the focal point, the John Wick-style of gun-fu has consistently been the name of the game. For modern audiences, there is arguably no more definitive a template for gun-fu and gunplay in general than that of John Wick.

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6) John Wick Lets Martial Artists Thrive Like No Other Ongoing Action Franchise

Martial arts fans are among the most enthusiastic segment of the John Wick fanbase, and with good reason. The John Wick franchise has become a growing who’s who of martial arts stars including Donnie Yen, Mark Dacascos, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Daniel Bernhardt, Yayan Ruhian, Cecep Arif Rahman, and many others. However, John Wick is far from content to bring martial arts movie heavy hitters into its ensemble – it wants to really show what they can do, and lets them do so each and every time.

Under the direction of Chad Stahelski and the 87Eleven team, the John Wick franchise has been every martial arts fan’s dream come true as the ultimate rebuttal to engaging fight sequences being ruined by shaky cam and fast editing. In the John Wick franchise, the takes are long, the choreography is elaborate, and the combat is gloriously beautiful with each and every installment of the series. As a kind of love letter to the art of fight choreography, the John Wick franchise gives martial arts movie veterans and martial arts fans alike a home where everything they crave is captured with detail and framing of martial arts Mona Lisa.

7) John Wick Movies End on Cliffhangers, But Still Telling Singular Stories

It isn’t uncommon for franchise’s with the popularity of the John Wick universe to utilize cliffhangers to set up their next story and drive audience anticipation for the next installment of the series. The John Wick franchise has certainly ended on its share of cliffhangers, but it also uses them differently than most. John Wick‘s cliffhangers provide a set up for where each new chapter can go, every John Wick movie is also a largely standalone story.

After avenging his dog’s killing in the first John Wick, the Baba Yaga’s subsequent tales have each taken him on a different mission with a different set of allies and enemies, and though the cliffhangers at play set up the next chapter, each movie also doesn’t leave any real loose ends from its main story either. In that respect, the John Wick franchise is a true master of the concept of giving its audience a full meal and teasing more without feeling like anything fundamental to each respective chapter’s essence is missing. Cliffhangers can easily leave audiences feeling like they’ve only seen half a movie, the John Wick franchise is remarkably adept at how to set up where it is going next via cliffhangers, and still make each installment of the Baba Yaga’s story feel complete every single time.

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is now playing in theaters.