When John Wick first burst onto our screens in October 2014, most people viewed it as just another mid budget actioner looking to follow in the footsteps of countless titles that arrived in the wake of Taken which sought to position middle-aged action heroes at the forefront, but it’s now regarded as one of the best and most exciting franchises in the industry.
The first installment earned a solid $88 million at the box office on a $30 million budget, but positive word of mouth and outstanding reviews saw the sequel almost double that total by bringing in $171 million. Chapter 3 – Parabellum almost pulled off the same feat again by topping out at $326 million, with all three maintaining impressive levels of critical acclaim thanks to Rotten Tomatoes scores of at least 86%.
Not only is Chapter 4 currently shooting and coming to theaters in May 2022, but Chapter 5 has already been announced, while prequel series The Continental has been refitted into a three-night event that’s coming armed with a budget of at least $20 million per episode, so it’s safe to assume that John Wick is here to stay, especially when Reeves said he’ll play the role for as long as people remain interested.
The entire trilogy is now streaming for free on Peacock, as part of the platform’s ad-supported tier. If you can handle the films being constantly interrupted by promos then the opportunity to watch the legendary assassin shoot, stab, punch and maul his way through the criminal underworld at no cost whatsoever could prove difficult to turn down, especially when the streaming rights to the franchise has already seen John Wick bounce across a couple of different platforms before winding up on Peacock.
Published: Aug 10, 2021 08:11 am