If all-out action is your poison of choice, it’s impossible to think that you haven’t seen the first two movies in the surprisingly AWESOME John Wick franchise. Keanu Reeves brought the famed ex-hit-man to life in 2014. And from its first showing, it never looked back. In 2017, fans were given the gift of a sequel that didn’t disappoint. As a matter of fact, it slightly improved upon the formula that made the original sleeper hit such a success. Here we are two years later and the third chapter is ready for public consumption. Will John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum serve as another tasty treat or has repetitiveness finally set in?

Picking up mere hours after life-altering events of Chapter 2, John (Keanu Reeves) is on the run due to his breaking the most sacred of his community’s rules. He spilled blood on the grounds of The Continental and that is a big no-no. Because of his negligent actions, The High Table has deemed John as “excommunicado”, which basically means he’s been banished for life…however short that me be since a bounty has been placed on his head of 14 million dollars.

John must somehow survive with no apparent friends in sight, all while avoiding seemingly ever single gun (or knife) for hire that has descended down upon New York City. The only chance he has is to rely on the one skill that he has been perfecting his entire life…killing. And to think, all of this started over a dog. John Wick 3 continues to hammer that fact home.

Director Chad Stahelski chose the perfect actor to hitch his career wagon to when deciding to finally sit in the director’s chair. Keanu Reeves is the perfect person to take on his very demanding role. Thankfully, Reeves has been able to strive at what he does due to his dedication to his craft. Countless hours at the gym, on the gun range and in the ring has giving him an undeniable ability to become the supremely skilled warrior we see on screen. At some point this can’t be considered acting, Keanu Reeves is just being Keanu Reeves and John Wick 3 is the beneficiary.

From a supporting perspective, the cast assembled has familiar faces from the franchise (Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne) as well as a fair amount of new ones (Asia Kate Dillon, Halle Berry, Mark Dacascos). There are simply no weak links to be found in John Wick 3. This is a casting dream come true. Halle Berry and Mark Dacascos get to really show off some of their physical skills and it is quite impressive. And someone must be a big fan of The Raid franchise because two of the most skilled Shinobi fighters we get to watch (Cecep Arif Rahman, Yayan Ruhian) appeared in that franchise and were very entertaining to watch.

The choreography is a treat to watch with everything seeming like it’s really happening. I cannot imagine the hours that went into putting this together but I truly hope that the box office returns pay them a pretty penny because everyone involved in John Wick 3 deserves more than they were probably paid.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum earns its stellar rating because from an entertainment and technical perspective, it’s flawless. The plot continues to be immersive and completely compelling. This is 130 minutes of pure blissfulness. As a matter of fact, I have to admit that I sat through this feature two times just to make sure that my feelings were real and not simply some sort of endorphin rush overload. The second time through, I marveled at the amazing execution from start to finish. Make no mistake, this is where you should be this weekend.