Being a Vietnam War veteran himself, which shaped his acclaimed war films that questioned human morality, director Oliver Stone expressed his problems with the recent John Wick film. Stone, who is known for elevating Cruise’s career to new heights, following the release of Born on the Fourth of July, explained that realism is thrown out of the window in the Keanu Reeves-led film.
Considering the director has been pretty careful about handling violence in his films, the Platoon creator has been pretty outspoken about his problems with the action landscape in recent years.
Oliver Stone Listed His Problem With Keanu Reeves John Wick 4
While Oliver Stone does have some exceptions in his filmography, like Natural Born Killers, which was deemed pretty violent by critics, the film was made as a satire against such violence in media. Other than that, the director has kept the violence in his films pretty realistic, and reasonably he wasn’t a fan of the action shown in Keanu Reeves‘ acclaimed John Wick 4. The director deemed Wick’s killing spree absurd, claiming not a single kill in the film is believable and “it’s become a video game more than a movie”. He told Variety:
“I saw John Wick 4 on the plane. Talk about volume. I think the film is disgusting beyond belief. Disgusting. I don’t know what people are thinking. Maybe I was watching G.I. Joe when I was a kid. But [Keanu Reeves] kills, what, three, four hundred people in the fucking movie. And as a combat veteran, I gotta tell you, not one of them is believable.”
The uncompromising filmmaker, who is known for being pretty outspoken with his viewpoints further stated that John Wick is no different than the Fast and Furious when it comes to realism.
There’s No Difference Between Fast and Furious and John Wick Claimed Director
Known for its over-the-top stunts that Fast and Furious has become synonymous with in recent years, Oliver Stone touched on the Vin Diesel-led movies to explain his point. Extending his criticisms over the modern action landscape, Oliver Stone deemed Keanu Reeves’ John Wick as the same as Fast and Furious and Marvel movies when it comes to realism. He added,
“It’s lost touch with reality. The audience perhaps likes the video game. But I get bored by it…How many cars can crash? How many stunts can you do? What’s the difference between Fast and Furious and some other film? It’s just one thing after another. Whether it’s a super-human Marvel character or just a human being like John Wick, it doesn’t make any difference. It’s not believable”.
While the Keanu Reeves-led IP has been extremely successful among fans and critics, it’s reasonable to see why the Born on the Fourth of July creator isn’t too fond of its use of action.
