The only movie franchise Olivia Munn is “obsessed” with
(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Despite a tumultuous production that almost ended in disaster, John Wick became a word-of-mouth hit and one of the most defining action films of the 21st century, offering a unique blend of neo-noir themes, deep mythology, East Asian stuntwork, and frenetic gunplay that impressed many veterans of the action genre, including Olivia Munn.
Munn may have started off as a rom-com star, but she eventually proved her merits as an action movie buff when she gave scene-stealing roles in X-Men: Apocalypse, The Predator, and Ride Along 2, even if those films were otherwise seen as disappointments; however, she told Rotten Tomatoes that one franchise she was “obsessed” with was the John Wick movies.
“I grew up doing martial arts, and I know that Keanu did all of his own fight scenes in it,” Munn said, recalling, “Back in the day in kung fu movies, they filmed the fight scenes in wide angles so you get to see everybody doing it, but nowadays, everything’s like cut, cut, edit, edit, close-up of this, close-up of that. But we actually got to see Keanu in these wide shots because he’s doing his own stunts, and he’s kicking ass, and he’s amazing in it.”
The practical stuntwork in John Wick wasn’t just a stylistic choice but a matter of budgetary constraints, as the small production could not afford expensive computer-generated imagery or digital doubling.
Thankfully, the film succeeded in feeling authentic because it was directed by two former stuntmen, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who applied their years of experience to designing the fight scenes, and even when drawing inspiration from American classics like Die Hard and Dirty Harry, much of the hand-to-hand combat was based on a style of action that was generally only seen in Asian cinema, which Munn was keen to point out, especially how this level of rigorous training and rehearsal created more fluid, exciting fight scenes.
“I feel like we don’t get enough of that in American cinema anymore, or actually ever,” the actor said, “You have to go back to, like, old kung fu movies and stuff. I just love watching that movie and the action of that.”
Although John Wick was a modest hit, it inspired a new wave of action films that took the same grounded, gritty approach and offered other stars the opportunity to get their own brutal revenge thriller. Although Stahelski returned to direct three John Wick sequels, Leitch tested the waters with other action stars, including Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde, Brad Pitt in Bullet Train, and Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy.
It’s unclear at this point where exactly the universe will go next, and although Stahelski and Reeves have teased a John Wick: Chapter 5, it’s going to be hard for a new sequel to get around the rather conclusive ending of Chapter 4. Although this summer’s From The World of John Wick: Ballerina was intended to start its own spinoff franchise, its box office failure may have toasted any plans for sequels.
Nonetheless, there are enough rip-offs of the franchise out there that it seems inevitable that Munn will eventually get her chance to star in a modern action film that takes a practical approach to its fight scenes. Doing that level of preparation isn’t an easy undertaking, but based on her love of John Wick, it would seem that she’s up to the task and more.
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