John Wick Vs. Taken (Ep. 0042)

[00:00:00] Movie Wars, episode 0042. John Wick vs. Taken. If I cough, sorry. We'll grab you some kibble later. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode 0042 of the Movie Wars podcast. Now's no time for dick measuring, Stuart. This is Kyle. I will look for you. I will find you, and I will podcast you, I'm Drew. My podcast made me paranoid, no, my podcast made me aware, I'm Phil.

[00:00:32] I love that quote because it's him defending why he's concerned for his daughter to his liar wife. Dude, his wife. Lenore, alright? Lenore is the worst! Dude, his wife is all up his ass in that movie. It's like, nothing could possibly happen to a little American girl overseas. Nothing ever happens to people.

[00:00:48] And he's like, no, sh*t does. She's like, you're doing it again! What a, what a No, sh*t It does. And credit, credit to Neeson, cause that scene broke my heart because remember how genuinely excited he was? He told his [00:01:00] friends, I'm having, I'm having lunch with my daughter alone. And they were like, yeah, they were cheering and he had a smile and then she walks through the door.

[00:01:06] Didn't your heart just break a little when she was there? Oh, a lot. Just give the man some time with his kid. He's a former secret service agent. He's a hero. And he did the sweetest thing for his daughter, albeit weird timing right before she goes on stage. By the way, I know you're fixin to go do your thing, but uh I mean, that's just, you know, when civilians approach famous people, their judgment goes out the window.

[00:01:27] Taken sucks, but we'll get to that. Well I don't have to tell you guys how excited I am. Uh, Keanu Lifer's back, and, uh, back in a big way. Uh, when we picked this matchup, John Wick vs. Taken, I actually saw John Wick 4 finally. It actually went way up on my top. I think it's number 20 now on my top 50. Hell yeah.

[00:01:45] Uh, John Wick 4 was a masterpiece. You know, here's the thing. Drew is a giant MCU guy. What MCU is to Drew John Wick is to me, I, as everyone knows on this podcast, there's like 30 MCU movies and like four, it's perfect for me, John Wick, because, believe me, because for every 10 MCU movies, John Wick , [00:02:00] well, think about my favorite franchises.

[00:02:01] I I don't have a lot of big franchises. 'cause most of my franchises get ruined. Like, if they would've done, if they would've done what they did to the, to the MCU, to Robocop alien. Robocop. Yeah, like Predator. Like what happened to my franchisees? They always let some hat come in with no reputation, no experience with the material.

[00:02:20] Like with total recall, when they remade it, how can you go from VOR Hoen to whatever they did? You know what I mean? With Robocop, they went from Vor Hoen to some, but they did. Yeah, and they just, they just. Basically, let people hack my favorites to death. Yes, we got T2, which is great, T3 is okay, but after that, it's like, Dear God!

[00:02:35] You're describing literally every sci fi action adventure fantasy, any pop culture trilogy, fantasy, whatever, saga, until Kevin Feige. Yeah. Pretty much. This is just what studios do. It is kind of a new concept, I guess. Yeah, they did it to Star Wars. I guess of my franchises, Alien probably had the most consistency.

[00:02:53] Alien was pretty good all the way through. Yeah, I loved Resurrection, I liked Three, there's some good ones. John Wick 4. That's not what this [00:03:00] podcast I know. So yeah, I love it. So yeah, this is my franchise, I love it. Um, and then when it comes to Taken, you know, I uh, you know, you can say what you want about Taken, but when I first watched it, I wasn't a dad, and so it didn't really resonate.

[00:03:12] But as a dad, and I texted you guys instantly, we all agreed, it's like watching this as a dad of girls is different. And is there any better fantasy? out there than some guy using his amazing, badass, his skills of killing and assassinating people and torturing and brutally killing sex traffickers and men that abuse women.

[00:03:27] Is there anything better than that? It's really rewarding. I feel like you can really get behind them, you know? Yeah. I made the mistake of watching that movie while I was working out. So I'm like f**king lifting weights, watching this dude f**k up these bad guys who were messing with his daughter. Yeah. I was just like.

[00:03:42] Sitting there like, getting a f**king pump on, being like, HMMM! f**k THAT GUY UP! Yeah, man, I feel like that is one of the big issues I have with a lot of movies, is I just don't care. Mm hmm. Like, you know, you can't really get behind, like, the protagonist's point, or even the antagonist's. It's tough to, like, really give a sh*t about what's [00:04:00] happening.

[00:04:00] Yeah. But then when you see it so, like, perfectly laid out and you're like, it's such a compelling reason to get behind a character like, you know, abusing women and children and destroying lives and creating victims. Like that's like, okay, this I can get behind. Go f**k them up. We can just go ahead and say it.

[00:04:15] There is a corner of hell somewhere where these type of people are being roasted like f**king marshmallows on a stick. Yeah. And if you're a fan of this podcast and you happen to traffic humans, feel free to stop listening because I will find you and I will piss on your corpse. Go jump into a, go jump into a volcano.

[00:04:30] Open your mouth wide open and let the lava just go down your esophagus and enjoy living in melted captivity. Well said, guys. So anyway, I had to get that out there. It is actually, so we don't usually get too socially aware on this podcast. It happens to be something I'm passionate about. That's something we can all get on board with.

[00:04:46] If you can't get on board with, then that should tell you all you need to know about yourself, you f**king piece of sh*t. But we have the return of the Keanu Lifer here, and I love this because John Wick proved something we said a long time ago. You know, Keanu Reeves was [00:05:00] this guy where when we, we covered Point Break, we covered The Matrix, and we, and we had this conversation about, this guy's been relevant in so many decades.

[00:05:07] Yeah. And he's, he's 49 and a half now. He's, uh, 59 now, when he filmed John Wick 4. Wow, dude. Man, this guy! He just keeps coming back! Good for him. He's so amazing! 59 and a half? He's 59 and a half in John Wick 4! I love it. And what they did with John Wick, to me, is they recaptured the heart of action that we love.

[00:05:26] We've covered so many Agreed! Die hard. Commando. So agree. And it feels like after, you know, Stallone is still doing stuff, but he's older. Arnold is, is basically retired. Our heroes that we've talked about on this podcast have basically all but Keanu have basically retired me. But John Wick recaptured the heart.

[00:05:42] It's modern, like it's modern storytelling, storytelling. New York looks great. It does. But it captures the simplicity, you know, and one of the critiques you'll hear about John Wick is the plot is a little thin But I was telling Phil before this the reason this I like this because it's you know One thing about mcu is and this isn't a knock against it, but it's got a lot of source [00:06:00] material It's infinite.

[00:06:00] This has no source material. A lot of people assumed it was a comic like a graphic novel on purpose. That was Stahelski's mission, to make it look like a graphic novel in motion. But there is no book. There is no comic book. This is from the imagination of a screenwriter. And it's fantastic and it is thin and it's simple but with each installment of the series they unfold this hitman universe a little more.

[00:06:23] This underground. Yes. And you can't help but go with it. I remember I fought it a little bit initially when I first wanted these gold coins, and I'm like, he's going to the hotel, and Lance Riddick is there, and I'm just like, I'm just kinda like, what? Now, he did die. He did. Rest in peace, Lance Riddick. He did.

[00:06:38] Uh, Lance Riddick He died after, like, days after we decided to cover these two movies, which was Yep, right after John Wick 4 came out. Man. He, he was amazing in The Wire, he was a huge gamer, he was in Event Horizon, and, and Destiny, I think. Wow. And I guess the night before he died, I guess he knew it was the end and his character, people knew his character that gamed with him online.

[00:06:57] Like I guess the game, he made a sigil for his [00:07:00] character, uh, online the night before he died. No way. Yeah. Online. But he was a huge gamer, but man, he in the wire, he like, he like became one of my favorites on the wire. He was so good. He was just like an insanely iconic voice. He's like a very unique look, like he, he was just always a really enjoyable actor to watch.

[00:07:18] He was also in a show called Fringe. He was easily the highlight of that show. And the anchor of that entire situation. Because that show, like so many network shows, was, was not amazing. It was fine, but he was incredible in it. Very cool actor. Very cool name, Lance Riddick. Yes. Uh, rest in peace. I I truly was heart like.

[00:07:37] Oh, yeah. I usually don't care with celebrities, but, I mean, obviously, something happened to Keanu. How did he die, by the way? He had, he he wasn't old. Oh, no, he was like 60. 60? I I have to look it up. I don't want to say anything wrong. Yeah. Poor guy. It's really sad. I hate it. You know, so we're recapturing this this modern action that makes us feel like Arnold, that makes us feel like point break a little bit.

[00:07:55] Um, and then Chaz Tahelski's Rise is another big thing with John Wick. And he, he partnered [00:08:00] with another director on this, but that was because of the, the actor's guild and the director's guild, because if they contribute at all, they have to have every name listed. But Chaz Tahelski is the mind behind the series.

[00:08:09] And what a lot of people don't know is he was Keanu's stuntman on the Matrix. So he, on Matrix one, he was his stuntman. He actually broke his leg. Rando. Yeah, Rando. Yeah, that's intense. He broke his leg filming the train scene or the subway scene for Keanu in the Matrix. Um, and so many of the, the supporting cast are actually some of the best stuntmen in the industry because he's friends with all of them.

[00:08:29] Oh, you could tell. I mean, those guys, those guys all knew how to do everything. Agent Johnson, one of the agents from Matrix Reloaded, was the bearded, the tall, skinny, bearded Russian mob guy in the club scene at the Red Circle. Yeah, that was Agent Johnson from the Matrix. Chad Stahelski was Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's son.

[00:08:44] He was Brandon Lee's stunt double on the set of The Crow. I mean, that is how legendary he is. He's a jujitsu. I, I've, to me, it's like, and we interviewed, uh, Mel Gibson's stuntman, Mick Rogers, the guy that invented the, the He was Mel Gibson's stuntman? No way. But his biggest thing was he invented the Fast and [00:09:00] Furious thing that allowed them to drive faster.

[00:09:02] The stuntman, when I talked to him, I just like, this guy understands how movies work. Like, I always kind of thought stuntmen were like, they had their lane, they did their thing. But Chad Stahelski obviously Has like observed and learned and mastered the art of filmmaking because I, I really have very few quips.

[00:09:16] There's a few, but as an action fan, like this is 10 out 10 for me. Yeah. So, uh, kudos to him and I, last thing I'll say is you two to blame for what happened to Kim and taken, I blame you two fully for this whole thing. Yeah. They're following them across you, not you as well. . Yeah. You two the band. Yeah.

[00:09:32] Whenever I found out that that's why they went to Europe. Come on, kiss my ass. I will be at museums 90% of the time. Dad, that's, yeah. That's. It's just the surface of, like, some of the problems I have with this movie. Here's the thing. We'll get to it. If you're going to a U2 concert, you basically are going to a museum.

[00:09:48] So there you go. And we gotta give a shout out to Johnny, and Johnny wanted me to tell you both something. So Johnny is a guy that's interacted with me a little on Instagram, he's a big fan, um, he always comments on the episodes, he's a great dude. Johnny Wick? Johnny Wick. [00:10:00] Maybe it is Johnny Wick. He has a cowboy hat in the picture, but maybe that's hiding a long mane of hair.

[00:10:03] Johnny are you Johnny, is that you? If you are, you know how I feel about you. But Johnny, I put out a feeler because I really wanted to cover John Wick. I knew John Wick 4 was coming out, I was like, We gotta do this, and he said, do Taken. It's like, that is killer, I texted you too, you agreed, so Johnny, thank you for that.

[00:10:17] Yeah, great recommendation. Yeah, and he wanted me to tell you guys that he is John His name is Johnny and he's also an Arnold lifer. That was his message to you too. Nice! So, so much. Good stuff. 86 percent of the fans preferred Wick here. I think we had something like 30 votes. Uh, and 14 percent taken, so obviously Wick was the slide here.

[00:10:33] 86 percent would be correct. Yeah, so that's the, that's the fan love here. A few comments on why people chose what they chose. Uh, Joey said, Killing a dog in a movie is unacceptable even if it's integral to the plot. So that's why he took Taken. Um, although I agree it's hard to watch. I'm a dog lover. I still would love to know how you feel about the 76 people that were slain after the dog.

[00:10:52] Disagree. That was used for the audience. To further hate the antagonist. And this was a special dog. And to get behind the protagonist. This was [00:11:00] his gift to everyone. Now if Keanu's like out here kicking puppies, then sure, that's a problem. Yeah. And then he gets a dog at the end. He does. Uh, some reasons why people went John Wick.

[00:11:08] Caleb says, John Wick is brutal in the most satisfying way ever. Kills deliver. I pick Wick. I agree. That's a good, I like that. I pick Wick. Very well written. I like this. I like reading the fan stuff. Yeah. I'm trying to get people more involved. Cause I, uh, I suck at that and lately we've just been getting because of the tick tock.

[00:11:23] We've been getting a ton of love lately. It's just been good. f**k. Yeah, dude. Love us more. We love you. We love you. Long Tim. I'll put it that way. Just a few more comments here. Uh, Menored who's also in our private Facebook group. So if you're not part of the private Facebook group and you want to talk to other fans, join.

[00:11:38] Yeah. It was a one hit wonder. Wick has a great mythology and better action made Keanu a star again. Love that. I like it. I like these perspectives. And last, last one here, um, this one's from Chase. Chase, this is awesome. Uh, John Wick tore up a cartel over a dog. f**k yeah. Mafia, Russian mafia, whatever, but you're right.

[00:11:58] The dog set off the whole [00:12:00] thing. So thank you fans. Keep them coming. Love the comments. Uh, and speaking of fans, last week was a big week for us. Um, we spent the majority of the week hovering around. We got to the number 37 movie podcast in the country. We got to number 1 in Belgium. We were number 1 in Belgium.

[00:12:13] I didn't know I don't know We gotta do a Belgium tour. We gotta do a Belgium tour. And we we stayed in the top 30 and 40 for a week. And today we're still in the top 100. We were at this morning we were like in the 60s and now we're at 97. So Ugh, just falling like a f**king stone there. This is the longest well that's how it is.

[00:12:29] Like, literally the first time we got in the top 20, like we were in 20 and then the next day we were number 180. It's just like, you just don't know. But anyway, you guys are really supporting. It felt really good to spend. That's the most time we spent and not only the top 100, but top 50 felt really good.

[00:12:42] So we're making headway. So thank you to the fans. Randos, ran dopes. Should we do randos? Do we want to talk about first impressions or? Oh yeah. Sorry. Thank you. I'm, I'm really out of source today. Do people like that? Our impressions, but just like preliminary thoughts. No, they do. They do. Yeah.

[00:12:57] Prothodonaries. Cause then, if, without that, neither of [00:13:00] us really say anything. Yeah. Until the end. And then we all just agree with Kyle, like, Yeah, you're totally right. Oh, yeah, I'm here. We'll just say Kyle's hype man, which is fine if we want to do that. I apologize, I'm experimenting with new things here and I'm, I'm kind of f**king it up.

[00:13:10] It's all good. Alright, impressions. Impression. Oh, now? Were you taken back with Was your wick taken back by John? Yeah, were you taken back someday? I ate a piece of ice and you passed it to me. Don't choke on that ice, Drew. Get that damn freaking ice down your esophagus! Taken. So I had two completely different experiences.

[00:13:30] I like Complete opposite from the first time I watched it to the second time. I watched it The first time I watched it was when it came out, right? I thought it was a really good movie great action movie I didn't know who this liam neeson guy really was except he was in star wars Turns out he can do action and you know, whatever I was into it had a good time was not emotionally moved In any way.

[00:13:47] The second time, which was like a week ago, I did not think it was a very good movie. I'll be honest. Loved the premise. I thought it was a really compelling plot. But I didn't think it was executed very well. For reasons we'll [00:14:00] probably get into. However, this is the first. I've seen this movie since having a daughter, which I know the two of you can relate to.

[00:14:06] You got daughters in here. And by the end of it, when he rescued her, I was sobbing. Like I was so pulling for that character. For like, we already talked about it, it was such a compelling reason to root for a character. You know, just like, there's no one easier to hate than someone, you know, like a human trafficker.

[00:14:22] That's just the most repulsive, horrifying thing you can be on the planet. In the midst of feeling like it wasn't very good, I was still very moved and still very invested. So that was a, it was cool. to have a complete 180 experience. John Wick is everything that exemplifies fantastic action. It's stylish.

[00:14:41] It's visceral. I'll actually say the puppy thing grounded it in a way for me, it sort of like, it made it relatable because a lot of these action movies kind of are like, sort of like out there and it's just this like world that you don't really relate to, but like having a woman that he was in love with who gave him a dog before she died, like that kind of brought it, [00:15:00] it rooted it in reality and made it really.

[00:15:02] Like, I don't know, just some, like, gave the audience that emotional connection. So I really liked that, but yeah, it's stylish, exciting. Like the, the, it's all, the gun foo was almost like a choreography, like just really, really fun and interesting and everything that like a stereotypical dude wants in like an action flick.

[00:15:19] So that's what John Wick was for me. And it was the plot to your point, Kyle, the plot was a little bit thin, which I think gets fleshed out further in the later movies. Because I actually love the world that it kind of escorts you into. And it, you, it kind of breaks the surface a little bit in the first movie.

[00:15:34] But if you watch the rest of them, you kind of get in, like, more enmeshed in that whole culture, and it's really cool. The open table, or the high table, and Open table. Make those reservations. It's a really good matchup. I'm glad we did that, and I'm glad we're talking about them. And that, that was beautifully said.

[00:15:48] And one thing you were saying, one thing that hit me about the plot was, it wasn't just that his wife died, but this was the woman that was worth him getting out of the life. The only life he knew. Cause you learn that later in the installment, spoiler alert if you haven't seen all the John Wick's. You learn [00:16:00] later he was born, he was an orphan, he was a Russian orphan, he was taken in by the Russian mob.

[00:16:03] And he grew up in the Russian mob. And so, she pulled him from the only thing he knew, which is this violence, this lifestyle. And so, not only did he love her, but he loved her enough to, and he talks about what he did to get out in this movie. I mean, remember the impossible task, but he piled up the bodies just to get out.

[00:16:19] So, a big hole in his heart. And that's a great thing. for this matchup because they're both coming from a former career that kind of inform what they're doing in this movie and they both have a family member, you know, in one case it was a spouse that passed away and another was the daughter. But they're both for whatever reason.

[00:16:36] Like that's driving them to use their former life to find some resolve. In a current situation, that's kind of the thread that I was like, I never would have saw that, but it really was a good connective tissue. I know. I don't know how I forgot. That was the first line on my production sheet to say in the intro, but yeah, the theme of these movies is two people avenging something that was taken from them with their special skill sets.

[00:16:56] Beautifully said. Filskies. I had. scene [00:17:00] taken. It's been a pretty long time since I've seen that movie. It was probably around the time it came out. And once again, similar to Drew, I didn't really have any emotional reaction to Taken the first time around, even though just the concept of human trafficking is very disturbing overall because, you know, for those of you who don't know, it happens at sporting events around the country.

[00:17:20] The Super Bowl is one of the biggest. Places where, where people, where, where women get abducted and, and sold into essentially slavery, you know, it's, it's a lot more rampant than, uh, people give it credit for and, and we don't hear a lot about it. So it's, it was kind of nice, even though the movie like had a lot of issues, uh, as a film is concerned, it, it's nice to have a film out there that kind of highlights.

[00:17:41] that underbelly of humanity and, and, and bring some light to it. And even if it's kind of, uh, in a little bit of like violence porn, it brings some attention to it. So it's pretty hard not to get pretty pissed off watching that movie, especially as a father, you know, knowing that if somebody did that to your kid, you would, [00:18:00] you would turn the world over trying to hopefully at least.

[00:18:03] trying to get them back. And there's pretty much nothing that could get in your way. So that was like, I enjoyed that part of that movie quite a bit. And because of that, it just kind of covered a multitude of sins, like the, the subject matter and the way they handled it, uh, Liam Neeson's performance. And, and it was one of those movies that was really good in spite of itself.

[00:18:22] It wasn't like a great film. It's not going to go down in like, yeah, the pantheon of great filmmaking, but, um, it was just great. In spite of the fact that it wasn't, which is an odd concept. It kind of forced you to check a lot of of disbelief at the door and and just roll with it And it was and if you can do that, it's a really really enjoyable if not infuriating film Uh, John wick believe it or not had never seen it before watched it for this podcast for the first time And, man, that instantly, you know, to tag on to some Kyle ness here, it catapulted its way into my top 50.

[00:18:54] Mm. Um. Phil is developing a top 50. I have a top 50 now because of Kyle's influence over the [00:19:00] last two years. But man, John Wick, it's so hard to explain. It felt like an old school, like, noir kind of movie in a way. Yeah. That's a stylish music video thing. I loved how much Stuff they left to the imagination in it and just kind of left to the wind like they would say like the gold coin thing They never really explain that and like the at the very very very end of the movie you find out what the hotel is all About kind of and then you kind of get a hint that there's this Assassin's Guild thing and you kind of get a hint that like maybe John wick was part of this Russian situation But like I love how they go against the Saturday Night Live grain and don't explain anything You know, like it's, it's just all, they, they give a lot of credit to the audience.

[00:19:45] The gunplay and the action is some of the best out there, period. Easily one of the best action movies I've ever seen. It just kind of like embraces this old school feel, feel of mystery and a simple plot. Surrounded by incredible cinematography, [00:20:00] incredible choreography, and just amazing action. And I didn't mind how simple the plot was.

[00:20:04] Like, to me, that left all the room for what that movie was. I can't really say much more. I've already poured my heart out. But like I said, this captures the heart. Everyone that listens knows. Die hard Keanu fan. Die hard action fan. Keanu was not in Die Hard. Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot. In case you're wondering.

[00:20:17] Yeah, that was Bruce. Maybe Kyle has dementia. Maybe I have. Maybe I have dementia. And a cough.

[00:20:25] Every time Kyle coughs, he forgets why. Forgets why what? That got me. Here's the thing. When you find out that the director, uh, Chad Stahelski, was a lifelong stuntman, and you just look at some of the elegance, here's the thing. I was thinking about Rod Deal during this, cause I was like, how is this different than other action movies I like?

[00:20:44] Well, here's what I'll say. Yeah. Well, think about it. Raw deal is basic action. Like, if you went to chat GPT and said, write a script for an action movie, it would, it would sh*t out raw deal, right? But Jonathan. That's really good. That's amazing. I love it. You [00:21:00] just said that. Ladies and gentlemen, raw deal.

[00:21:02] Raw deal. It would totally sh*t out raw deal. The most basic, algorithmic, f**kin action movie ever. Raw Deal? But, yeah. Kind of is. Even that title feels like something a computer just can't Raw Deal! It was like they picked the title first, and they're like, Alright, what are we gonna make the movie about?

[00:21:18] Alright, some guy gets a raw deal about something. Tell me He should probably have big muscles, right? Give me a title for a movie about a guy who gets a cake thrown at him and goes and murders people in the 80s. Chat GPT says raw deal. Raw deal. But, the reason I point that movie out, this is not a basic action movie.

[00:21:36] There were stylistic choices, like, I always think about in the red circle in the bathhouse when he's going after, uh, Viggo's son. And that Icelantic song that's playing. Did you guys pick up on that? That song wasn't Icelantic, it was that beat. Beautiful. Kind like electronic song. It was real simple. And he's like shooting and kind of dancing to the rhythm of the song.

[00:21:55] And it's, yeah. And he's wreaking havoc and doing all this violence, but it's, it's like a bloody dance. [00:22:00] Yes. And I'm like, that was a choice. And it was made by a guy that was a lifelong stunt man. I'm like, there's something beautiful. And I love this week, love. I love the repartnering of Chad Stalsky and, and, uh, Keanu Reeves.

[00:22:10] That was fantastic to me. Chad. Chad. It was just. It was just chat GTP. Just GTP. Sorry. I was hoping secretly that you would come back with cats. Cats! But, uh, Taken, a lot like what you both said. The first time I saw it, it didn't resonate. Uh, the second time I saw it as a dad, I was like, kill every one of them.

[00:22:30] I was like, you take every one of the sex traffickers Oh, yeah. and you make them feel the full experience. of every ounce of pain that's available. And for that Neeson's a funny action star. I mean, he, this reinvented his career. He was mostly a dramatic actor. Um, you know, his life changed dramatically when his first wife passed away.

[00:22:50] And then he like, I don't know the full story. I'm not going to pretend to be the biggest. I'm not as big of a fan as Liam. Not a Liam Neeson lifer? Yeah, I'm not a Liam lifer. I'm a Keanu lifer here. But, this really did reinvent. [00:23:00] He had never done a lot of action. And he comes in here and he, you know, and with each Taken installment, he made 10 million in the second one, made 20 million in the third one.

[00:23:07] I mean, he obviously made an impact. With these movies. Also, can we point out, Taken is yet another movie where a Liam Neeson Padawan goes, uh, kind of off on their own. Like, Liam Neeson sucks at raising up younger generations. Yeah, he does. His daughter goes and gets abducted, Anakin goes off and gets abducted, Obi Wan kind of sucks at teaching people.

[00:23:28] What was the other one? Oh, uh, Batman. Oh, Batman. Yeah, Batman. He, he sucked at bringing Batman under his wing. Like, he's, Liam Neeson just has a He's a bad mentor. Yeah, he's not a good mentor. Bad mentor. As much as the, the tone of Taken is very serious, I couldn't help but laugh at the way Liam Neeson talks in the movie.

[00:23:46] He's just And I, I have some stuff about this later, we have a category about it. I have a special set of skills. It's almost like the movie trailer guy. Everything is very little. I will find you. I will kill you. My favorite quote, one I texted you guys. ESPN. [00:24:00] What does he say? If you would stop obsessing over your damn desk.

[00:24:04] Your desk job. It's just like so on the nose. What was his deal with the new desk job? Like he could not get over that. He says the reason he wasn't personal. Pursuing his daughter in France is because he works at a desk for a guy that has a bigger desk. He says that. I get that. But they harped on that, like three different scenes.

[00:24:22] I'm like, we get it. Your former buddy that you used to work with has a new job. It's less stressful. Relax. But boy, does Liam take it to the French. Yeah. So anyway, I, you know, taken wasn't great, but I, I super enjoyed it again. The idea of crushing sex traffickers and women abusers. Before we rando, just a quick pitch.

[00:24:43] If you wanna support this podcast, go over to Patreon. 7 bucks a month, a cheap price of a very sh*tty latte. Come over, hang out with us, get extra content. We are gonna be doing our Top 50 list. Yes, we are. We're gonna do very short excerpts. This is the most demanded thing from our fanbase. They want the list.

[00:24:56] And now Phil is making a list! I have a list. You have a list. I'm pretty [00:25:00] sure it has 50 things on it. I gotta move around. You gotta order, but we're gonna start. We're gonna do little 5 minute vignettes. Guys, I've started my top 50 videos. Yeah! Drew's gonna join us! He's got one! Drew's gonna join us! I'm holding up my iPhone with the notes app open and it says top 50 and there's one movie it says John Wick.

[00:25:16] Oh yeah! So it's a success! Hell yeah, I bet you're in games number one. And fans, even though you It'll definitely be on there. This'll be in one ear, out the other, because you motherf**kers don't listen. Our top 50 is not, I repeat, is not what we think are the 50 best movies ever made. They are 50 movies that mean something to us.

[00:25:35] That, like, if those movies were to come on, we are in, we're watching them, doesn't matter when, where, how, like, those movies are just, in our, in, in our lives, they matter. These are 50 of the easiest shortcuts to joy. Yeah, so, I can't wait to see all of your comments completely ignoring that and saying that, like, some movie that I acknowledge Is on my top 50 and you guys sh*t all over me because it sucks and I'll be like I know but you don't [00:26:00] listen So f**k you So if you're one of the people that has been pinging me hitting me up saying hey, give me that top 50 list It's coming baby.

[00:26:07] So get on patreon the price of a sh*tty dunkin donut latte a month and you can come hang out randos John wick John wick was originally titled scorn. That was the original screenplay that was written back in 2012 Derek kohlstadt the screenwriter. I was actually I'm wondering if it was going to be called The Boogeyman.

[00:26:26] Yeah, and that's one thing you hear, that's one other criticism you hear is like, there's probably some better names out there than the John Wick thing, but. There was already a, uh, horror movie starring Ashton Kutcher, I think. Baba Yaga. Yeah, there's probably some Boogeyman titles out there. But funny enough, this, this rando also affirms our decision.

[00:26:41] He wanted to write a film like Taken and Man on Fire, which was the inspiration for his idea to write this revenge piece. Um, but the reason that they ended up calling it John Wick, This is such a Keanu Reeves fact. He just, Keanu just kept calling it John Wick. He just kept calling the movie, and at a certain point it was like, we can't really argue, we're just gonna call it John Wick because Keanu thinks [00:27:00] it's called John Wick.

[00:27:01] And it worked! It worked out pretty good. And everything you hear about it, you know, bullsh*t, celebrities suck, we love movies, but f**k celebrities. But everything you hear about Keanu is that he is one of the most genuine, best humans. In fact, I don't know if you guys have seen pictures he takes with fans.

[00:27:13] He doesn't touch female fans. There's all these pictures of him with his arm. around them. He's there. It's cuffed, so he's not touching them. There's a whole collage you can find online. He doesn't touch when he'll take pictures with anybody, but he won't touch female fans. Is that a thing with his wife or what?

[00:27:28] Well, he had a girlfriend that died in an accident and actually it hurt him. That's crazy. Yeah. Liam Neeson's wife died and Keanu Reeves girlfriend. Yeah. It really f**ked him for a while. He was, people would say they'd see him in public and he hadn't bathed in months. Like he was He, like, I think he really blamed himself.

[00:27:43] He wasn't with her or anything, but she died in a car accident or something. I can't remember what happened, but yeah, she, I think she died in a car accident. Mm hmm. Well that, then, no wonder this movie, he was drawn to this script. Yeah. Love Keanu, man. I don't know if you guys know that. Heh heh. Would you say that you're a lifer?

[00:27:58] I would call myself a [00:28:00] lifer of, of Keanu. Good to know. Not of Liam! Heh heh heh. I love you guys. Originally, John Wick was 75 years old in the script. Yeah, they wanted to be an older guy that was way out of would have been awesome. It kind of would have been, and so they were entertaining older actors, although I think Chad, because of his relationship with Keanu, always had him in mind.

[00:28:19] So Keanu's interpretation is like, I'm going to play him like a 35 year old, even though I'm going into 50 right now. And I like that. I like that he's a little aged. We know he's old as an actor, but he's still doing these amazing moves. The amount of dedication, if you haven't seen it, go on YouTube and Research Keanu Reeves Terran Tactical, Terran Tactical is where celebrities go to train for movies.

[00:28:39] Not everybody uses live ammunition, but everything that you are seeing on screen, Keanu practices with live ammunition at Terran Tactical. So all this was memorized at Terran Tactical with live ammunition. He's an amazing marksman. He takes this sh*t very seriously. You're a gun guy. You would love it, dude.

[00:28:55] He is incredible. Yeah. Accuracy dude, I've seen his training videos [00:29:00] before like he he does he takes it very seriously, dude He is nailing targets in the center while doing these moves. So all this choreography and sh*t was worked out well in advance He was getting trained by jiu jitsu guys. Uh, he was doing navy seal sh*t Like he take I love that's why I love keanu man.

[00:29:15] Did I tell you guys I love him Would you call yourself a lifer bridget moynihan who plays? Uh, helen wick his wife to be married to tom brady. There we go. That's who that is. Yep She, she's the mother of his first kid. The one that he's doing his revenge tour on Instagram, showing how great of a dad he is, lately, is like, Look at my kids, they exist!

[00:29:34] Oh, well, I think, I think the revenge tour is against Giselle? Giselle, yeah. Yeah. Old Jizzy. Yeah, he's just such a great dad. But she didn't read, she only read the very first part of the script. She actually read Oh, that got me. She, she read no Oh my God. I'm getting jizzy with it. You're getting jizzy with it.

[00:29:51] But she Bridgette read nothing after her initial scene. So she actually, when she went into filming, she didn't want to know about John Wick's past life. Cause she wanted her character to kind of [00:30:00] exude this, this person that loved him for who he was. Didn't know about his assassin career. So she actually went in blind.

[00:30:05] Yeah. And she wanted to really Now, whether or not that worked, I don't know. But I think it's a pretty cool little acting technique. That she chose to purposely shut that out. So she could So she could actually, uh. You know, love him for who he is. I mean, man, ain't that nice? Mm hmm. Back to the dog thing with Daisy.

[00:30:21] Lionsgate executives were very apprehensive about that being the plot point. And Chad Stahelski talks about it on the, uh, on the commentary. That the studio thought it'd be like, We can't have you killing this dog. And they kind of kill him in a brutal way. So that was a point of contention. But they did eventually realize that this was a good plot device.

[00:30:35] And that we should use it. But it's a f**king movie. The dog didn't die in real life. And I gotta say, man, I agree. I loved, I love my dog. But it's like, we see humans. slain in crazy ways. We have hostile and saw and no one f**king blinks an eye, but one dog gets killed on screen and all of a sudden we're very sensitive.

[00:30:51] I exactly, I've never understood. I'm sorry if that offends you guys. I love my dog. My dog is my, my ride or die, but f**k, just remember it's a movie. It is a [00:31:00] movie. The real dog. It wasn't graphic. Like you just kind of heard the dog whimper. It wasn't like you like saw a dog get crushed or something like it.

[00:31:07] And they paid the dog in like 50 bags of old Roy. I mean, he is. Set for life, crushing it, but there was clearly no animal harmed in the making of that movie. So this is, so, you know, I try to get all my facts from the commentaries, but the, the commentary was really good, but it was very technical. But this was the best factoid from the commentary.

[00:31:26] So, I, I, I. I'm not gonna say I'm a big Marilyn Manson fan, I like some of his songs a lot, but um, the way that they ended up using Killing Strangers as a song is, they wanted Marilyn Manson cause he does some soundtrack stuff, um, we actually, oh, Resident Evil, he did, his band and him did some of the songs on that.

[00:31:42] He's done some soundtracks, you know, he's friends with Trent Reznor, who's done a ton I just love that a member of Marilyn Manson's band is named John 5. And he's one of the best guitar players in history. Have you seen him? He's incredible. But anyway, for real. But um, so they used a Marilyn Manson song in the [00:32:00] original comp.

[00:32:00] So I guess what they do is they use a placeholder song. Yeah, they do. And then, so they went over to Marilyn Manson's house. And they were talking, like, Hey, we've been using this comp, we like it. And he was like, Actually, I got this other song. And so they're drinking absinthe with Marilyn Manson in his mansion.

[00:32:13] And I don't know if you've ever seen Manson's Mansion. Marilyn Manson's got You can imagine it's a weird place. Absinthe's Mansion, Marilyn Manson. Yeah. I I Marilyn Manson. Manson's Mansion. I mean, I've seen Coming all over the motherf**kin tree. They're drinking absinthe, so anyway, he ended up playing for them, he said, I got this song Killing Strangers, and I think it'd be perfect for your movie, and that's how they landed on it as the theme song, Drinking Absinthe with Marilyn Manson himself.

[00:32:35] Pretty badass. It's a pretty like, yeah, it's like a really dark, but rad rock and roll song. It is, and it's the song. I mean, it's the movie. KILLING STRANGERS! That's what the movie's about, we're killing strangers for the most part. It is, but like the hook is, so we don't kill the ones that we love. Yeah, that is kind of weird.

[00:32:51] It's like, oh god, if I don't kill anybody today, my family's in for it. Yeah, it's really dark. Kind of dark. It's like, boy, Johnson at the office is in [00:33:00] for it, or else wifey, you know? Gotta take it out on somebody. That's the whole point of beans for dinner one more time, and head on a stick. Sorry. Yeah, that's not ketchup in those beans, my friend.

[00:33:12] That's not ketchup. Randos for taken. Brian Mills, in order for him to do this. C. I. A. badass stuff. He actually went out and worked with a special air service soldier named Mick Gold, who was, uh, you know, this hand to hand combat special, so he got the real training just like Keanu did, and it shows, because the moves aren't super flashy in the movie, and they're very, like, effective.

[00:33:32] It's a throat punch, like, you notice he hits the throat all the time, like, it's two moves, they're down, two moves. It's not, like, super extensive, and it's very, like, his, Liam Neeson's biggest concern is, like, he wanted it to look like, like, how they really move in space. So he got real hands on training, and I thought it showed, I actually thought that was one of the bright points of the movie.

[00:33:50] It was more realistic, I think. Um, this is hilarious, Liam Neeson thought this movie was gonna go straight to DVD when it was over, filming. He just had no confidence. I think it's probably because he didn't have the [00:34:00] confidence in himself, cause he had never really done a lot of action. At least that I'm aware of, I'm not like super, but he says, hadn't done a lot of action, he thought this movie was gonna be a huge flop when it was over.

[00:34:08] That's interesting, I feel like it could've gone either way. Yeah, it definitely could've. There was like a couple of things, like, it, it, You know, it was like kind of right time, right place and like the cultural, like, cause I feel like that's sort of when people started to be aware of human trafficking, like if that happens, people like steal people.

[00:34:24] And maybe it was just me because I was 20 at the time when it came out and that, that concept hadn't really. Dawned on me so maybe that was maybe that was just my age or maybe that was just how it hit a lot of people at The time but and there at Liam was good And there was a lot of Memorable lines and just the like we've harped on many times like it was just such a compelling reason to root for that character So for whatever reason it really struck a chord with society it did because they made three really successful I never saw the other two either Yeah, what's the premise?

[00:34:54] She gets, like, taken again, and he, like, I don't understand. What if she starts taking people? Turns out she [00:35:00] liked it so much, she's What if Lenore is actually the mastermind behind it? That actually makes the most sense, because that girl Yeah, she was real against it. She was like, Don't go with her! Don't follow her there!

[00:35:10] Let her get taken! And then she's, like, all happy when she comes back, but in the back of her mind, she's really like, Well, now I can't run away with my weird husband from 24. I really, in the X Men movie specifically, I really liked Famke Janssen, like she was in Goldeneye, and she's done some She was in Rounders?

[00:35:27] Yep, this is her second, uh, yeah, second appearance on MWP. Brought to you by AWS. But she was not good in this movie. Like when she, specifically, I mean, she was okay at the top because I hated her, like she made me hate her. Yeah. That was good. But then, when, when she found out that her daughter had been taken, I didn't believe that that was her mom.

[00:35:46] Like, that's not how a mom reacts when she finds out her daughter is in the hands of a sex trafficker. A mom's life is all but over if she finds that out. And I just didn't believe it. She didn't You're destroyed. There was no sense of urgency. There was no, like, [00:36:00] there was just the emotion was not there.

[00:36:01] And I get everybody processes things differently, but I just didn't believe that. Because there's no good outcome. Like, if you get her back, it's Still not a good outcome because she's forever scarred from what happened to her. If you get her back alive. Like, if that happens to your kid, you're just expecting like, okay, even if we get her back, there is nothing good.

[00:36:16] Well, and she shouldn't even have been thinking about, like, it, it just, the overwhelm of fear and panic about, oh my gosh, I may never see my daughter again. And the torment that she might be going through in this very moment. It's a good observation. Should have destroyed her. Question to you then. Do you think this was writing?

[00:36:30] This is what we always do with this. Was it writing? Because she, I, I feel like she was written to play very vindictive. And I thought it would have been a great character arc if she had like really exploded on that moment and turned to her, her ex husband, who's the father of her daughter at that time, and really been like, you go get her, you find her, and like let her, you know, just show that.

[00:36:50] that role? Jennifer Aniston. Actually, yeah. Interesting. She might have been too young at the time. No, she, she would have been about the right age. Jennifer Aniston's been old for a long time. I think she was seventy, seventy five in that. I'm just [00:37:00] kidding. Yeah, but instead she played it very stuffy and, and it was just, yeah.

[00:37:05] It's the bangs. Jennifer Aniston does emotion real well. Anytime someone's got bangs, it just like, tampers down all the emotions, you know. I'm trying to be cute, but I'm also pissed. Anyway, I guess we'll get to supporting cast and all that stuff. It's hard to be sympathetic with bangs. Last rando, uh, this is crazy.

[00:37:19] I don't think Anybody knew this. I didn't know this. Maybe a lot of diehard fans knew this. Liam Neeson was being courted for a different action hero before this movie, like, while they were courting him for Taken. Little character named James Bond. No way. He was in consideration. He said, his quote was, I was heavily courted, but let's put it this way, I'm sure the other actors were too.

[00:37:39] It was about 18 or 19 years ago, and my wife to be, Natasha Richardson, said, If you play James Bond, we're not getting married. And I had to take that to, or I took that on board because I did want to marry her. Wow! So this, he was up for, when Daniel Craig was up. I guess that would have been, cause 2005, or don't, oh wait, 2008.

[00:37:56] That's rough. Cause Royale came out. Natasha Richardson passed away. I could kinda see that if they were [00:38:00] going for like the, kind of the Sean Connery throwback, like that aged, kinda griffle, griffled, gristled, you know, hardened. I think he would do a good job. Not better than Craig, but better than Pierce. He might have been better than The movies are good though.

[00:38:12] I mean, the movies are good. That's the thing. Yeah, the movies are good, but Daniel Craig, it doesn't hold any Yeah, it's not that Daniel Craig is great, the movies themselves are great. You gotta be Cinema Royale is incredible. Oh, that's going on my list. I love that we got listening. Yeah! I feel so supported.

[00:38:25] That is our randos. Uh, shall we dance? Get the goddamn off me! Sorry. Top Bill cast! I think we go Liam vs. Keanu. Kyle, what do you think? They're both ass to do less of the opposite thing. I think Liam carries less physical acting weight. Keanu carries so much. Wow. Physical weight. Yeah, that's a great point.

[00:38:48] And I have a category for this later, but Keanu only says 511 words in this movie. Think about how much Liam says. I think he says 511 words in a phrase. He's like, you know, you're obsessed with your dance. I have a special set of [00:39:00] skills. Everything is just so long winded. But so he, he carried the dialogue weight.

[00:39:05] I think if you boil it down to both. Of those things, Keanu does them both better. I just think, yes, Keanu didn't do as much dialogue, but when he did, it mattered. And I, I really just think this is, this is where you want Keanu. Yes. Right. He gets criticized that he's not necessarily super dynamic, but he's an incredible stunt man.

[00:39:22] He does his own. The amount of choreography and dedication that he showed to master this and the fact that he's 49 and a half And I saw john wick 4 he does it just as well at 59 This dude is relevant and now going on five decades love him And i'm not trying to be biased but liam liam did good here, but I don't think it's I don't think it's close when you look at just the expression of the dedication in terms of how much they prepared for their roles.

[00:39:46] Wow, well said. This is extremely difficult, because I think that Liam did a fantastic job with this role, and really surprised a lot of people. I didn't see this coming, and I don't think a lot of people did. Like, no one thought of Liam Neeson as like, a Bruce [00:40:00] Willis. Type, you know, every man action hero and it's not quite action in the in the traditional sense, but it does have you know Pieces of that remnants of that, but I think he was really believable as a dad, you know Just really chasing after his daughter But Keanu man, uh, I'm so torn It's really difficult for the things that you just said like his dedication to the craft and just you can tell that like his being able to act that physically like being that physically attuned to You know what the role that he's playing is not an easy feat like you don't just walk in and just like press You know go and just start doing that like that takes a tremendous amount of work So I guess uh, I guess i'm gonna go keanu just because I like keanu better generally.

[00:40:46] Um, But that's certainly no disrespect to liam neeson in this in the taken role. That was amazing as well. That's well said phil Well, what do you think? I mean, it's pretty easy You have to go liam neeson here and here's why to me. It's not even debatable First off, he [00:41:00] has a very special set of skills, and he says it.

[00:41:02] Keanu, he doesn't say he has a very special set of skills. So how do you actually know? Two, Liam played Qui Gon Jinn in Star Wars. Keanu played a guy in the Matrix who got sucked into a computer. How many lightsabers does Keanu have? Yeah, Keanu has no lightsabers. Liam has at least one. Three, everybody that Liam brings up fails and turns against him and or falls into slavery.

[00:41:26] Keanu, none of his Padawans turned into slavery. So, obviously Patrick Swayze tried to jump in the, uh, jumped in the ocean and killed himself, but I don't, he's not Yeah, I mean, so obviously we need to go Liam here because He's not as good. So you picked Liam. No, I didn't. I picked Keanu. Okay, so you're going John Wick.

[00:41:42] I was being a sarcastic, a sarcass holder. There we go, John Wick. Off to a hot start. That wick is burning. John Wick, one to zero. Get that burn God damn it! Someone else do this other end. You need water? Uh, I believe we call this going bronchiole. [00:42:00] I'm just gonna name a few here because Do that support cast!

[00:42:02] Truthfully, I don't know a lot of these. characters in both of these movies, but, uh, Taken, Maggie Grace, 25, 17, who's also in Lost, Famke Jansen, who was Jean Grey in X Men, Leland Orser, John Grease, David Warshawski, Holly Valance, Xander Berkley, who was in 24, and, uh, a lot of TV people. That's pretty much the only people that matter to me.

[00:42:26] If you were on NBC last year, John Wick, Michael Nighy, NickVist. NikeVist. Oooh yeah. Uh, forgive me for butchering. Malcolm Allen, Willem Dafoe, Dean Winters. From the famed, what is the uh, Allstate commercial, that's right. Oh, that's his name? He's also on 30 Adrian Palicki, uh, yeah, John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick, uh, we'll stop there.

[00:42:55] Well, I do want to add one more. This is, but only I care about this, but David Patrick Kelly, who played Sully in [00:43:00] Commando, the guy that Arnold held upside down, and you can see the, the wire. Oh, yeah. Yeah, and he also Crazy enough. Oh, Bridget Moynihan. Sorry. Yep. And the reason that David Patrick Kelly got in this is because, so he played the main villain in The Crow, and Chad Stahelski was doing stunt double for Brandon Lee for Bruce Lee's son.

[00:43:17] Interesting. They became friends there, and so he put him here. He's the guy that the, he's the cleaner. The guy that comes and cleans up the bodies. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't recognize him. I like him, but he, he looks so old now and I, I didn't, I didn't, it wasn't until the commentary was like, that's David Patrick Kelly.

[00:43:30] I'm like, holy smokes. What do you think, Filskies? I mean, back to being serious here. Obviously my last take on Taken was a joke. But um. Are you taking that back now? Yeah, I'm SNLing. I'm explaining the joke here. Yeah, obviously John Wick, again, it just is kind of a no brainer with Lance Reddick, the dude from the Allstate commercials who plays Mr.

[00:43:50] Mayhem. It was. That, everything about John Wick, from a character standpoint, was far more memorable, even if you didn't know who those characters were. Um, also, who's the [00:44:00] guy, there was a supporting cast guy in John Wick, the one who played the son of the Russian dude, he was in, um, Game of Thrones, he was fantastic in Game of Thrones.

[00:44:07] Um, God, I'm sorry, I don't know why. He played the guy from the Iron Islands in Game of Thrones who gets adopted by the Stark family and then turns on them and all that sh*t. But he was great, I thought. Oh, Alfie Allen. Yeah, John Wick. Top to bottom, from a cast perspective, was just a far stronger film. You know, I don't think it's a criticism, but if you could say one, the plot's a little thin in John Wick.

[00:44:26] Given that it's thin, we have so many big players, Willem Dafoe, Lance Riddick, so many great actors. Uh, you know, Michael Nyquist does a lot of foreign films, that's probably where most people know him from. I didn't know a lot about him going into this movie. They all deliver here. I just can't think of one performance.

[00:44:41] that I don't love in John Wick. I love David Patrick Kelly making a random appearance. This is crazy. If you want to call the plot thin, these actors were all bought in because they all just did a great job. They just delivered. I even think calling the plot thin in that movie is a tad reductive because I've heard a few people say this and I have an issue with it.

[00:44:58] He does not go on that terror [00:45:00] because somebody killed his dog. That is not why. No, the dog represents his relationship. They kind of killed his wife. in a way. It represents his relationship. The dog is the straw that broke the camel's back, but there's a whole litany of, of sh*t that goes on before that, like him originally being in that life, him leaving it because he finds a person worth leaving, that woman dying, her leaving him a gift.

[00:45:20] It was just like, kind of like the Job situation where everything good in his life gets stripped away from him. It's a f**king country music song. The girl died. They stole his car. They killed his dog. And what the f**k? What the f**k did you expect? And what do they always say to him? You can't leave this lifestyle.

[00:45:33] That's what they all keep saying to him and, and they proved him right. I've heard so many people say that it's like a movie about, oh, it's, it's literally just a movie about a guy who gets his dog killed, then he goes on a rampage. It's like, dude, if that's what you think, you weren't, you weren't paying attention.

[00:45:47] There's a lot more to it than that. And it's, it's actually, to me, a movie that can get across a feeling and just kind of a concept while staying simple. That's a work of art. The art of everything is in the simplicity. And that movie is. Simple yes. Is the [00:46:00] plot empty? No, it actually isn't. There's a lot going on there.

[00:46:03] You just have to be looking for it. Well said. Very well said. Uh, to me, it's John Wick. Easy. To me, like, taken, nobody else mattered in that movie, to me, from an acting standpoint other than Liam. I don't mean any disrespect, but they were just, anybody could have. been plugged in to play any of those parts. I love Famke Jansen, like I said, but I don't, I think this was one of the weaker things I've seen her in, and I don't think she was given a lot to work with, and I think anybody kind of could have played what she, what her role was.

[00:46:28] A lot of people could have done it better. And, uh, John Wick, I, you know, like, Lance Reddick was not out there reinventing any wheel, but he was just being himself, and himself in that role felt right. You know? And, and Leguizamo, kind of like the, uh, you took John Wick's car, like him playing that whole role.

[00:46:45] And him punching him. Believed him. Like you kinda liked him standing up for John Wick and you're like, okay. Now that's kinda when the plot thickened and that car, you know, the, in the garage scene or whatever. One of the things I loved about John Wick was how they never quite explained the John [00:47:00] Wick thing until later in the movie, but they just.

[00:47:02] keep dropping these breadcrumbs of like, Oh sh*t, you should be afraid of this guy. And they never quite tell you why. If it was an Arnold movie in the first 10 minutes, he's a special force guy. He did this in, in Guantanamo Bay. He did this in Afghanistan. He has 12 medals doing this. Like they're like, if it's an Arnold movie, you got the whole resume at the very, you know, here's why you shouldn't have stolen this car.

[00:47:22] slow trailer, it was almost like a trailer or a hype piece for John Wick, the whole movie. Like, it was like the first 30 minutes were like, just little pings to the audience of why John Wick is the sh*t and like informing you of his background and you know, and then finally I'll just say one of my favorite, like, I haven't, I haven't dived as deep into his back catalog as I'd like to, but Willem Dafoe is an actor that I really, really like and everything that I have seen him in, I've really loved his, his stuff and I thought he was really good in this movie.

[00:47:50] It is 2 0. John is wicking the floor with Taken. That was He's got that moisture wicking [00:48:00] underpants. Taken's getting a butt wicking. We talked about how John Wick captured the heart of action that we loved. from Arnold and Sly back in the day, early Keanu, which means they each got to have a great line. So both these movies, the lines are more diatribes, maybe explain them as, as tangents.

[00:48:18] But what do you guys think? Best line? I'm thinking I'm back versus I've got a set of specific skills. Oh, I mean, I can go first here. I feel like that's a layup for Taken. The special set of skills thing was. It, that was a complicated moment in cinema because I'm not sure that people knew what to do with that.

[00:48:35] It was both cheesy and amazing all at the same time, like, and very deliberate, which is taken itself. Yeah, people quote that ironically and seriously. Like it's just, it's, it's kind of endemic in, in, in pop culture. People quote it all the time. It's memes before memes. Yeah, man. It really, yeah, exactly. It really was.

[00:48:55] Like the special set of skills thing was, it was just, there is, has there ever been a more on the [00:49:00] nose line in a movie? Like he's just sitting there, like, imagine you're on the other end of that and you're like, who the f**k is this guy? Like with no context. He's there telling you. flip? Patty's a bird?

[00:49:09] Yeah. What kind of f**king skills do you have? Yeah, exactly. So to me, it's taken just because of how ubiquitous that line is. It's just funny. Yeah. Drew, what do you think? Yeah. To me, it's not close. And there's actually an. There's a quote on the movie poster, which is not even that quote. Like, you know, I will, if you don't return my daughter, I will find you and I will kill you or whatever that is.

[00:49:29] So the taken is a very quotable movie. And that's kind of what it's known for better or worse, specifically that quote is really, really famous. I don't, what was the, what was the quote? Uh, the, uh, I'm thinking I'm back. People have been asking me if I'm back and I'm, and I haven't been really sure. I wouldn't even, it was a nice.

[00:49:48] It's kind of like, I don't know, Bo at the end, like, I'm thinking back, it's, yeah. I liked it. It was nice. It was a good little chunk of screenwriting for you, for you kids out there trying to be screenwriters. But it's certainly not like an [00:50:00] iconic quote. Yeah, it definitely is like, not even, even though it's the signature line for the movie, it's not even the best line in Wick.

[00:50:06] I think the best lines come from Viggo, you know, the three, he killed three guys with a pencil and a bar. To me, those are the best lines, but this is kind of the signature. Oh, and you've got, you've got. I'm back, which was the Michael Jordan thing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I'll be back. And then you got I'll be back, which is Schwarzenegger.

[00:50:21] So I'm thinking I'm back. It's fine. Commit! Are you back or not? You're a little bit of a cover band there when you're saying something about being back. I think it's also delivered. It's actually very organic. Like I feel like the WIC delivery is true to the movie. But I remember, like, Liam Neeson's eyes when he's talking on that cell phone, and like, Yeah, it was the way he delivered it.

[00:50:41] The way he delivered it, I kind of bought that he's in a different atmosphere. He entered a zone. He was able to separate himself from the fact that it was daughter, and he went straight to, like, special ops guy and be like, you could tell he was just postulating the number of ways that he could kill this person.

[00:50:56] Right. He was like, When he said something like, when, the next part is very important. [00:51:00] Yeah. You were like on the edge of your seat, like, oh sh*t, cause like in your head, you're like, this is his dad. He should be. Freaking the f**k out talking to his daughter who's about to get like brutally murdered. But like, like to your point, that was a great, like he entered another, he reverted back to his career where he was like, nope, I don't have time to be a dad right now.

[00:51:18] I have to like, this is go time. I have to work. And he entered this. It's almost like a mamba mentality thing where it's just like this. I've got to win the game now. Nothing else matters This is just what I do. Um, yeah It was a really kim doesn't survive if he's not able to do that because he does it the first time he actually does it Is the scene leading up to that phone call, which is when he's telling her what to do, when he's giving her instructions about where to go, he doesn't even know the room, and he's telling her where to hide, and he's telling her to get a description.

[00:51:47] He's just methodical and surgical, and that transition was very strong. It's one of the strong points of the movie, so, like you guys said, it's, this is taken by a wide, a wide margin here. Two to one. Is taken, taken back the lead, or [00:52:00] is the candle burning, the wick burning, uh, for John Wick here? This is plain and simple.

[00:52:05] It's John Wick. And we do this with action. Who is more of a badass? We got two guys, very special skills as a film lover and an action lover, both very fun skill sets to watch on screen. Who is more of an action badass here? Interesting. This is a loaded question. Kind of, I'll go. I mean, you can take it a couple of ways.

[00:52:23] I, for one, I would say Liam Neeson, just being a father of three and one daughter, specifically, watching a father kind of just like move heaven and earth to rescue his daughter just speaks to me. I love that. Like it's obviously it's a little cheesy and fantasical and whatever, but it's, it's still a fun idea to entertain.

[00:52:41] Like, cause you can't help but put yourself in like, man, if my daughter's life was. Hanging in the balance, how would I respond? Like, and you just can't help but admire a father that's willing to go to the ends of the earth for his daughter. So in that sense, boom. Liam Neeson, what a badass. But, but to me, the term badass is, like, speaks more to, like, [00:53:00] coolness.

[00:53:00] Stylishness, like, and, Keanu drips that, like, Liam is not cool, nothing about him is cool. He's nerdy, he shows up to a birthday party with an awkward present, nobody wants him around, like he's a former, I'm the girl's father. Yeah, it's just, it's kinda clunky, he's a dork, and that's, that was sort of the lovable loser mentality that, you know, brought us into his story, but, I guess the, for the sake of the way that you framed the question, who's more of a badass, I would, I think I would go Keanu, because he actually is.

[00:53:27] Just more of a badass. The way he goes about his business. I don't know. That's tough. Cause Liam does some cool stuff with beating the sh*t out of people too. The electric chair? The homemade electric chair? That's tough. It's tough. But, uh, yeah. I'll stick with Kevin. That's the scene that sticks out to be taken is the homemade electric chair.

[00:53:42] I'll leave this switch on until they shut it off because we didn't pay the bill or whatever it was. That was great dialogue by the way. You know, in some countries, you know, you don't even know if the power will come on for four hours. But here, they have a strong current. It's like, why are you talking so much?

[00:53:54] He was like, it'll stay on for three or four hours. Man, um, I honestly think [00:54:00] because he's such a dork, I would go, Liam here, here's the thing, like Drew said, it's kind of a toss up, it could go either way depending on how you interpret the question. To me, like, the unassuming guy, like, coming out and just assassinating the f f**k out of people.

[00:54:14] He forces his ex wife's husband to get him a flight to Europe. Like, he Is there a bigger flex question about that? Cause that's great. He just figures sh*t out the whole time. And the best part is, as ridiculous as that movie is as a whole, all of his methods of getting from point A to point B and doing what he does, it's like, I can, I can see the path.

[00:54:34] Like, it's, it's, it's all believable. Yeah. And whereas John Wick, it's a little excessive. Like, you could tell this guy pops a freaking, he pops a circuit in his head, and it's just over. He's like, you stole my car, you killed my dog, my wife is dead. f**k you! And he's just going on a killing spree. Which it's like, dude, I can sympathize.

[00:54:52] Like, you got nothing to lose, why hold yourself back? But the Liam Neeson thing, he had everything to lose. Right. And he [00:55:00] still, I mean, he did. Every, he broke every law imaginable. He violated, uh, international sovereignty. He like, he literally broke every national and international law. He assassinated people.

[00:55:11] He, he broke, uh, conventions concerning torture. Like he just went above and beyond to save his daughter and, and left a body count behind him. That was. Just out of control. So to me, I go Liam, just because you wouldn't expect it out of that character. Yeah, I'm switching mine. You talked me into it because of the, the, the tipping point to me is the time situation because Keanu had already lost everything.

[00:55:34] So he was just out for revenge. There was no pressure. There was nothing hanging in the balance. It was just like, f**k everybody. f**k. But Liam was like, the clock was ticking down. It's like Game 7 in the NBA Finals, there's 10 seconds left and you're down by 2, and that was what he did. So yeah. He steals cars, he hires an interpreter.

[00:55:54] He like, he just, he goes all out. And I will say, like, um, someone [00:56:00] Getting revenge on a lost loved one is one thing, but like, to me, really, seeking out and rescuing a daughter as a father, you don't see that a lot. First of all, in our society, fathers are not glorified for whatever reason. They're just not pictured as heroes.

[00:56:16] Maybe because a lot of people have sh*tty dads for which I'm very sorry and that's tragic But like fathers and men, you know men in general are just not really like it's it's not cool To do whatever for yeah, we will get into that But it it was kind of a unique fresh take in my opinion. So I take mine back.

[00:56:34] I walk it back I go Liam Neeson. I love so much of that and I actually was surprised with myself But I actually also went Liam Neeson or you know, Brian Mills for the most part because yes Wick is a badass But everyone's kind of playing with the same skill set. You know what I mean? In the WIC universe, because WIC is an enclosed universe.

[00:56:51] They're all really great with weaponry. It's like a league of assassins he's infiltrating. They're all obviously trained in jujitsu, wrestling, and all these various martial art forms. [00:57:00] They're all kind of like playing with like glorified strength versions of these different. Liam Neeson, on the other hand, is able to go to a different country, learn a language, you know, he's leaning on people, he's using a network, um, and I think also, while, I also would, kind of expanding your father thing one more step, is I love when he takes that girl who had Kim's jacket and he, he saves her, obviously he wanted the information she had, but he didn't have to like take her.

[00:57:28] And, but he, you know, he gave her medicine and healed her, like, he, he kind of, like, he was cool and separated, like, he kind of separated his operational mind and his fatherly mind, but he somehow was able to still have, like, sympathy, so I, I do think, to me, that is badass, as a father, I'm like, yeah, that's pretty cool, and I love the different tools he pulls out, I can see why he was in the running for Bond, when he made the homemade electric chair, and his different torture methods, and, did you, this is a small thing, but did you notice that he honked at the people in the trailer when he's driving out of the, when he takes the girl and he's [00:58:00] driving out of that park or that industrial park, whatever, where all the women were held.

[00:58:03] And he, he honks at the, at the sex traffickers to get out of the way. I don't know if that's because he knew it would jack up the car more if he hit the people, but he's like honking at them and they get out of the way and then he drives through the trailer. Like, yeah, he's just always kind of one step ahead and he's always kind of playing chess and everyone else is playing checkers.

[00:58:19] Totally. And so. Yes. That's so well said. Whereas, John Wick's obviously the alpha badass. He's just brute forcing his way into f**king everything. Yeah, everyone's kind of playing chess, and everyone's very eloquent. The way John Wick is designed, so I think badassery, just like pure skill set, goes to Brian Mills here.

[00:58:35] Yeah. Two to two. That was really, we flushed that out really well. Also, one other thought, I'll just throw in really quick. Just because I don't know if it's going to fit into the rest of the podcast. But the, the villains in these movies, the guy that Keanu's after is a real jerk. She's like, you know, like, Oh, this guy's going down the take it.

[00:58:51] It was like, it's like this big kind of mysterious web of like evil. Like, holy sh*t. How like, once you start pulling at this thread, how dark is [00:59:00] this going to get? And that was kind of like, yeah, it got pretty dark, possibly backed by government power. And then just like the end scene when they're walking out the.

[00:59:07] People that are being bid on and like just the way they set that up and everybody's bidding. It's like, it's so, it's such unfathomable evil. It's laughing. Cause like I did, I'm uncomfortable. Like it's, it was just hard to watch, like to really, because you're imagining to, to Phil's point that this stuff happens all the time and it's just really, really scary.

[00:59:27] So it's just, they're complete departures. One is like, Ha ha, this little scrawny is gonna get his or whatever. And then the other one's like, Whoa, this is really kind of sad and dark. Worst parent, Lenore or Vigo? I know it's, I know the parent, like you would think it would be Mills because he's the other parent.

[00:59:43] But I was like, we got two really bad parents. Vigo's like beating the sh*t out of his own son. I mean, to me, the worst parent is, uh, Lenore. Easy. Because, let's like run this down real quick. You used to be married to Liam Neeson. He used to be in the Secret Service, I guess, and I'm assuming he was some kind of special forces [01:00:00] operative.

[01:00:00] He was like a CAA contractor. Of some sort. Never came home because he was always working. That was what we got. And so, given that you were married to this guy, Even if he couldn't tell you everything that he did, which is very likely, you were probably aware that he was a tool in fighting some of the darkest sh*t going on in the world.

[01:00:17] So hopefully that would just cause you to be a little more cautious when you're moving about the world and when your husband who has seen all of the sh*t that has ever existed is coming to you and being like, I don't really feel comfortable with her going with this floozy of a woman over to France.

[01:00:31] and being a part of this thing. Kind of because I know what happens here. Seen it before. This was my job. And the wife's like, Everything is fine! It's basically Disney World! You know, so he just has to let her go. Like, that mom was, was like, willfully and aggressively ignorant. And I could not stand her character.

[01:00:49] I could just see the parallels of her in real life in other people. And she just f**king sucked. So there you go. She sucked as a parent. I hated her character. Yeah, I certainly don't disagree with anything you're saying about her as a parent. [01:01:00] But Vigo is really, really To raise a child in that setting is pretty, that's willfully just bad parenting.

[01:01:10] That guy was destined for destruction anyway. I mean, he's raising a, he raised a little boy in an environment where he had no shot. I mean, let's be honest. Like, and then he was mad at him for making the decisions that he was making. For stealing someone's car. And then he beat the sh*t out of him. Yeah, like, I, the, yeah, I'll go Vigo.

[01:01:27] Cause they're both terrible, but Vigo's a little bit less. little bit more terrible. Yeah, it's, it's close here. You know, when I was thinking of this category, I didn't think of it till I was rewatching John Wick with the commentary, you know, and like you said, this is the environment he grew up in. And he's like, he makes him drink the vodka.

[01:01:42] And then the minute he drinks the vodka, he punches him in the stomach and makes him throw it up. And he's like, but, but this is a crime family. I mean, this is what mafia is. You, it is, you, you, they grow up to take the mantle of the family. Lenore is like actively empowering her daughter to lie. Right? Yeah, [01:02:00] I mean, she knew.

[01:02:01] I knew. I just didn't want you to Oh, I did forget about it. She knows that. She's like, we're gonna be at museums 90 percent of the time. Yeah, I forgot about the lying part, that's for sure. Cause we knew if we told you, you wouldn't let her go. And it's like, dude, I hate that sh*t. You're lying is never justified.

[01:02:19] You're gonna chase U2 around Europe? At least go for a better band. Pink Floyd reunited or something. Bon Jovi. Easy, easy, easy. Let's not be disrespectful. You guys have heard 80 percent of U2's records, right? I do like U2, but are you really gonna lie to your special walks husband? Yeah, I'm just not gonna put my kids at risk for U2.

[01:02:40] Maybe a better band. You know, it's like, you know, if, if Layne Staley from Alice in Chains rose from the dead and did a European tour, maybe. So, okay, Wick wins the point then. So it's three to two. So, you know, one of the criticisms that I, in my research, came about was the name John Wick. Some people didn't necessarily like that it was just called John Wick.

[01:02:58] You know, it was originally called [01:03:00] Scorn. Then Keanu Reeves just kept calling it by the character's name, so they just changed it. You know, there are movies named after the, the protagonist. It is kind of funny here, you could have called it The Boogeyman, like you said, or something like that. Baba Yaga. The Boogeyman sounds like a horror movie, though.

[01:03:13] That's true, Baba Yaga. I mean, I, John, I don't have a problem I like John Wick. I like it. The movie's about f**king John Wick. I like the name. It's also mysterious. You're like, there's a name that I don't know? What is this? You know, and you go see it It feels like James Bond or Jason Bourne. John Wick. It feels like in that kind of thing.

[01:03:28] John Wick's better than all those guys. The research did give me an idea for a category. Does John Wick sound more like a movie about a candle salesman, or does Taken sound more like a Mariah Carey record? Ooh, or some kind of bop record. This could be a really bad category. I don't even know. It's not super strong, but I think Taken sounds more like a Mariah Carey album.

[01:03:48] Cuz Taken to me, when I hear Taken Cuz nobody's gonna make an album about a candle salesman. Cuz when I hear Taken, I think like, You took my man. You know, you took my relationship from me. Now, John's Wick? Now it just sounds like it's about a [01:04:00] man, you know, on a on a penis quest. John's Wick sounds like a really local candle shop.

[01:04:05] Yeah. Come down to John's Wick. Ooh, go down on John's Wick. We've got Cinnamon, we've got Autumn, we've got October Bliss. I don't know, the Taken thing, I can see that. I think John Wick definitely sounds like a candle salesman. Now, would anyone make a movie about that? I don't know. But people have made movies about some pretty weird things, so.

[01:04:24] Yeah. I could, I could see, I could see a plot where somebody is a candle salesman. I don't even know how that would hold up in 2023. Like, who, who's out there like door to door selling much of anything other than religion and scams? Um. Are they the same? So, John Wick, candle salesman. I go John Wick, candle salesman.

[01:04:41] I love it. So who won? Oh wait, you haven't talked to him. You, you gotta go. I do think Taken sounds more like a Mariah Carey record, but just this weird idea of someone just selling candles, like a guy named John Wick, and his name is Wick, and his whole life is candles, just makes me laugh. Yeah, he sits there at night, like, smelling different waxes, like, Oh, this one will be great for my fall edition.

[01:04:59] This [01:05:00] smells like leaves, it's wax, but it smells like autumn. So, I go John Wick, candle salesman. So who won? John Wick did, four to two. That was the worst category I've ever come up with. One more category, it's four to two, it doesn't matter, but we have one category left. So, interesting statistic about John Wick.

[01:05:16] There's only a total of 2, 700, or sorry, 2, 781 words spoken during the movie. 18. 37 percent of those are, come from John Wick. 511 words, that's all Keanu Reeves dialogue. He has like, less than 20 percent of the words spoken as the protagonist. I think the longest sentence in the movie is I'll get you some kibble tomorrow.

[01:05:36] Yeah, I love that part. I'll get you some kibble tomorrow. I'm gonna need a ride. But um, yeah, absolutely. So, but that being said, then you have Liam Neeson's very direct, literal interpretation of everything. Monologuing all over the place. Uh, very special Oh, the power grid here is so good and strong, normally it sucks, you know.

[01:05:55] Yeah, exactly. He does, he never shuts the f**k, you can see why Famke left his [01:06:00] ass. Are you talking again? Shut the f**k up, Jesus! Every time they argue while they were married. This waffle maker has a sticking problem. John Wick's lack of dialogue or, uh, what I wrote down as Mill's halting literal way of saying everything.

[01:06:17] Oh, man. I will go. I like John Wick's lack of talking. Yes. Because it leaves the audience with, like, like wondering maybe what he's thinking. And he's acting physically and with his Eyes and his face and it's like it just it's more intriguing when the dude's just rambling on liam just was talking all the time Even when he was on the phone with his daughter giving directives Like I was in awe of that in a little bit like in a sense They're going to take you at the same time.

[01:06:44] I'm like, how are you not freaking out? Like how are you even able to be talking normally right now? You're just like talking all this special set of skills. Duh. I mean it is it's special. It's it's a set It's it's skills, but I I prefer To just [01:07:00] Like, uh, be a little bit more curious, like leave, leave a little more to be interpreted to the audience.

[01:07:05] That's kind of well said. Taken, yeah, taken left. Nothing to the imagination. Whereas John Wick left a lot of things to interpretation, the imagination, mystery, whatever. I lo I, I love, you know, if you've been listening to this podcast for any period of time, you know, I love a. slow, long burn of a film. John Wick is not that, however, it is in a way because they don't really explain anything.

[01:07:26] They leave a lot to the wind and John Wick's lack of dialogue in that movie, I think kind of plays into that. So yeah, his, yeah, his lack of dialogue just adds to the mysterious air of that entire movie. And, uh, so yeah, John Wick landslide in my opinion. Yeah. Neither of these movies wasted any time. I mean, they were like, they were both like under two hours, right?

[01:07:45] Yeah. That was. Yeah, that was, now the new John Wick is, is three hours. John Wick is three hours and it's every minute of it feels like a thrill ride. I feel like Taken was under 90 minutes, like that was a short movie. Yeah, I finished, I re watched it last night because it was, it had been so long [01:08:00] and it just went by.

[01:08:01] Yeah. It's a quick, it's a quick watch. I went John Wick here too because I actually like Liam Neeson's delivery and I like his interpretation of the character. I think it, it's very distinctive. No one else really talks like Liam Neeson, in fact, I don't know if you guys, what is the movie, Ted with the bear?

[01:08:17] Oh yeah! Have you seen the scene with Liam Neeson when he's doing this voice and he's buying Lucky Charms? And he's, he basically, he's talking to Ted, the teddy bear, who's the cashier, and he says, Is it true that, in fact, that Lucky Charms are just for kids? Or that Trix, it's Trix, that Trix are for kids.

[01:08:35] And he's doing this very serious take and dialogue. He's like, you've done me a huge service here today, because he lets him buy the Trix. Cause he's not a kid, and he tucks him into his jacket. Well, I mean, even in Star Wars, when he's talking to, like, little Anakin or whatever, he's like, I am measuring your midichlorians.

[01:08:49] Midichlorians are something in your blood that give wavelength to the force. And you're like, this guy. Like, he's just, he just loves to f**king talk. Who invited the professor? Yeah. But there are times [01:09:00] Y equals MX plus B. We are dealing with sex trafficking. One of the most evil, dark pieces of subject matter.

[01:09:06] But sometimes, sometimes the very deliberate, literal way of speaking works. And then sometimes it's hilarious. And it's, it shouldn't be because it's very serious. And the quote I used at the beginning of the show during our quotes, when I said, now, now's no time for Dick measuring Stewart. He's trying to convince a guy to help him find his daughter who's been sex trafficked.

[01:09:26] But he says that you're just like, I just laughed. I was like, why did you say that? Like, and why did you say it in such a Well, you could see why he was like, Yeah, this is going straight to DVD. Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna cash the check, but it's gonna go to DVD. I mean, this guy did Gangs in New York. I mean, he's a legendary actor.

[01:09:41] What's the quote? I'd be curious to know what Liam made on this. I think he made two or five on the first. 10 on the second, 20 on the third. Wow, just doubling each time? This is the quote I keep making fun of. Don't you really? And I texted this to you guys, this is from our text chain. This would have been much more easy if you would have been more concerned about my daughter and [01:10:00] less concerned about your goddamn desk!

[01:10:02] It's just very like, boom, boom, boom! Yeah, he is very, it's like he's reading from a script. It's just very You can, you can see in every take he's probably turning to the side and going, line! And as a viewer who's very passionate about like, seizing sex trafficking as a I'm like, trying not to laugh at the subject matter, but like, God, the way he's delivering these lines is, it's funny!

[01:10:23] It is. And honestly, one mention of the desk is fine, but he mentioned the guy's new desk job, like, three times, and by the third time I'm like, WHAT THE f**k ABOUT THE DESK?! Why don't you put some lips underneath your desk so it can blow you? Now's no time for desk measuring! My desk is bigger than yours, and I don't even have one!

[01:10:44] I would never have a desk, how dare you! And so, exactly for why Drew said, the lack of dialogue plays into it. There's so much, also the set pieces are so beautiful in Wick. New York is so vibrant in all the John Wick movies. The rain, the way the buildings are filmed, each set piece, I [01:11:00] love the red circle lounge where the bathhouse is.

[01:11:02] I love that scene because like the neon lights, it's not, cause you know when they do the 80s neon vibes in some movies, it's a little much, it's kind of blinding. Here it's very subtle. Subtle. The music's good. Like, there's so much visual stuff happening that I don't even think about, like, wow, they're not really saying a lot in this movie because I'm just so entertained, but I'm thinking constantly about how the dialogue is making me laugh at a subject matter that is not funny.

[01:11:24] So anyway, five to two. John Wick. What a fun matchup. Thank you, Johnny. Thank you, fans. Last week was a legendary week for the Movie Wars podcast. Next, we take on all the other movie podcasts. I'm kidding. We're not gonna do that. But, I've been Kyle. I have been and still am Drew. Who will you be? I don't have any skills.

[01:11:44] That's why I'm Phil. Now's no time for podcasting, Stuart. Also, Stuart, like, it's just weird saying, talking about dick measuring to a guy named Stuart. Stuart's a guy that wears, like, you know, overalls, and he's, you know, he's buying crayons.[01:12:00]

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