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I love books. I couldn't eat a whole one, though. Unfortunately for one of the characters in John Wick - Chapter 3 Parabellum, he doesn't really have a choice. Cryptic I know, and not entirely accurate...But I won't go into more detail than that and ruin it for you, because the first death scene in the movie that i'm referring to is so graphic the entire audience actually groaned or 'eww'ed out loud. It was amazing. And it really set the tone for the wild 2.5hr ride that is John Wick 3.

John Wick 2 (click away if you're not up to date with the Wick series yet) left off with Wick (played by the flawlessly aging Keanu Reeves) breaking the rules of the underworld law-makers called the High Table. After committing murder in the criminal safe haven of the Continental Hotel, Wick is ex-communicated at the start of John Wick 3 and given a 1-hour head start to outrun the horde of lethal assassins that will be coming after the sweet bounty placed on his head. That's basically the entire plot. Considering that the first film was a killing spree caused by the murder of his dog (which provides a few LOLs when it's referred to in John Wick 3), the simplicity of the plot line isn't entirely unexpected.

A lot of what makes John Wick 3 such a cracker of a film despite this lack of...err...depth...comes from just how damn fun it is. Almost every single minute someone dies in a way that either has you grimacing at the brutality of it or laughing out loud at the silliness of it. The fight scenes are absolutely epic, with fists, kicks, knives, swords, guns and horses all being used to inflict death in the most creative ways ever. It doesn't feel like it drags on at any point in those two and a half hours either, because as soon as Wick manages to fight his way out of one attempted murder he’s straight into another. 

There's not a whole lot of dialogue, but who needs dialogue when you’ve got bloody, graphic murder? There’s not much plot to speak of, but who needs a plot when you've got disappearing ninjas with swords? Character development is non-existent, but who needs character development when you've got vicious dogs mauling men's crotches and throwing them around like rag dolls? I suppose the John Wick team are relying on the fact that they’ve already built a lot of the characters up in the previous 2 films - well, the few that have actually survived the carnage thus far. They also seem to be banking on the fact that you’ll be having so much fun on the bloody gruesome ride that is John Wick 3 that you won’t really notice or care...They were absolutely right.

Thanks to Studiocanal Australia we are giving our members the chance to WIN an in-season double pass to JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM; the third instalment of the adrenaline-fueled action franchise starring Keanu Reeves. Enter at our competitions page (visit RedHotPie.com.au/competition or check the competition post on our Facebook/Instagram pages) for your chance to win!

In-Cinemas May 16