John Wick (2014)
John Wick follows the story of a retired hitman whose quiet life is shattered, igniting one of the most relentless quests for vengeance in modern action cinema.
John Wick, once known in the criminal underworld as “Baba Yaga”—the Boogeyman—is grieving the recent death of his wife, Helen. Before she passed away from illness, Helen arranged for a final gift to reach him after her death: a small beagle puppy named Daisy, meant to help John cope with the loneliness and find a reason to keep living.
John starts bonding with Daisy, and for the first time, he feels a sense of peace. But this fragile hope is destroyed when a group of young Russian gangsters, led by Iosef Tarasov, notice John’s classic 1969 Ford Mustang at a gas station and demand to buy it. John refuses. That night, Iosef and his men break into John’s home, beat him, steal the car, and—worst of all—kill Daisy.
The loss of Daisy breaks John emotionally. It isn’t just the death of a dog—it’s the last connection to his wife, the only thing giving him light after her passing. That act pulls John back into the violent world he tried so hard to leave behind.
Iosef’s father, Viggo Tarasov, a powerful Russian crime boss, knows exactly what John Wick is capable of. Terrified, he tells his son stories of John’s legendary reputation—how John once completed an impossible “task” that killed three men in a bar with just a pencil, and how John was the most feared assassin in the world. Viggo realizes that by hurting John Wick, his son has signed a death sentence for them all.
John digs up his old weapons, prepares himself, and re-enters the criminal society governed by strict rules and neutral zones—most notably The Continental Hotel, a sanctuary for professional assassins where violence is strictly forbidden. There, John receives help from old allies like Winston, the hotel manager, and Charon, the concierge.
Viggo places a $2 million bounty on John’s head, attracting assassins including Ms. Perkins, a ruthless contract killer who betrays the rules of the Continental. Despite the obstacles, John fights his way through waves of gangsters with surgical precision, determined to reach Iosef.
When John finally finds Iosef, he kills him without hesitation. But the war isn’t over—Viggo seeks revenge for his son’s death, leading to a brutal final showdown. Even badly wounded, John manages to defeat Viggo and his remaining forces.
In the final moments, John breaks into a veterinary clinic to treat his injuries and frees a pit bull puppy scheduled to be euthanized. The last scene shows John walking away with the new dog—symbolizing survival, healing, and the possibility of a new beginning.
