anniethebruceI think one of the things that made #JohnWick work was Viggo.
His son goes and steals John Wicks car and kills his dog, and the chop shop owner punches him over it. Viggo is not one to leave that unanswered, but, he gives the chop shop guy a fair chance to explain himself.
That's competence and leadership that leaves no doubt as to why Viggo is on top. He won't leave an insult unanswered, but he will give people a fair chance. Which will get him some genuine loyalty beyond people just being scared of him, without compromising his ability to clean house. And if he does have to come down on someone, well, it's Viggo, you had a fair chance and you blew it. People won't question it.
But then he makes some stupid calls over the course of the movie, but... it was his son. His supid, idiot son, but it's still his son and even evil people can genuinely love their children and make some irrational decisions when those kids are in danger.
It made for a more internally consistent setup than I see in a lot of action movies. Characters actually competent for their positions, characters making irrational decisions that make sense for who they are in the moment, not just because the writer needs someone to have the idiot ball.
And the director, a friend of the late Brandon Lee, also goes to extreme lengths to make the set safe as well. Like if there's an actor who could do all the John Wick shooting safely with real guns, it's probably Keanu Reeves- dude trained seriously for that. But there are no real guns on set. Airsoft and prop guns and special effects. And they manage plenty of realism for movie needs.
His son goes and steals John Wicks car and kills his dog, and the chop shop owner punches him over it. Viggo is not one to leave that unanswered, but, he gives the chop shop guy a fair chance to explain himself.
That's competence and leadership that leaves no doubt as to why Viggo is on top. He won't leave an insult unanswered, but he will give people a fair chance. Which will get him some genuine loyalty beyond people just being scared of him, without compromising his ability to clean house. And if he does have to come down on someone, well, it's Viggo, you had a fair chance and you blew it. People won't question it.
But then he makes some stupid calls over the course of the movie, but... it was his son. His supid, idiot son, but it's still his son and even evil people can genuinely love their children and make some irrational decisions when those kids are in danger.
It made for a more internally consistent setup than I see in a lot of action movies. Characters actually competent for their positions, characters making irrational decisions that make sense for who they are in the moment, not just because the writer needs someone to have the idiot ball.
And the director, a friend of the late Brandon Lee, also goes to extreme lengths to make the set safe as well. Like if there's an actor who could do all the John Wick shooting safely with real guns, it's probably Keanu Reeves- dude trained seriously for that. But there are no real guns on set. Airsoft and prop guns and special effects. And they manage plenty of realism for movie needs.