It may seem weird to call John Wick a borderline perfect movie as it's a fairly by the numbers revenge tale not untypical for the genre at all, and the films we tend to classify as masterpieces are usually about or at least do something new or out of the ordinary. Granted, Wick does have its own special little touches in the form of things like its hero's motivations and ties to a larger network of criminals/assassins that was begging to be explored further in the sequels (which they of course delivered on) to help set it apart, but nothing to truly distinguish it as particularly innovative in comparison to its peers. Rather, it's simply how well it does everything from the meticulously crafted action sequences to creating one of modern cinema's best protagonists that makes it worthy of such high praise. The title character is a heartbroken, grieving man who by random chance is brutalized by a group of thugs painfully (for them) unaware of both who he is or the life he once lived that take away his only remaining hope at finding any sort of peace. Despite how much the film tries to rush past this early establishing portion in an effort to hurry up and get to the bloodbath we all really showed up for, it's nonetheless effective at allowing us to empathize with the man. Those who say Keanu Reeves can't act, an understandable argument I'll admit, have obviously never seen the moment here where he's choking back tears while reading the letter from his recently deceased wife that's attached to her last gift for him. This isn't at all an entirely sappy experience however. The true tone is cleverly revealed as people quickly begin freaking out when they realize what the actions of these young gangsters have reawakened. Wick is an absolute force of nature dispatching anyone foolish enough to try and get in his way with ruthless efficiency in thrilling displays of violence. A coolness factor was restored to Reeves here that he hadn't been associated with since the original Matrix trilogy concluded back in 2003 with the way he does things like staring into a victims eyes to watch their life fade away after delivering a knife to the gut or never failing to double tap. There's a singular flaw to all of this that's relatively minor, but stands out to me regardless. Given how savage we see him be with a bunch of regular goons up to that point, witnessing Wick dispose of the main bad guy directly responsible for his pain so quickly that the plot's secondary villain actually thanks him for "making it fast" is a bit disappointing. Sure, he shoots him in the gut first to stop him from running, but it would have been appreciated if a little more fury was dealt out specifically to his primary target, especially considering how invested we the audience get in the whole affair. Other than that though? Flawless. I have nothing to complain about. This is one of the most enjoyable action flicks I have ever watched and boasting a hero with motivations viewers can really get behind. Honestly, this is America's The Raid: Redemption.