Photo: Summit Entertainment
The John Wick franchise is amazing. If you love nonstop action flicks, I would highly recommend both of these films. But that’s not to say there aren’t some glaring holes in the story. Of course, some plot holes are bigger than others. This article is full of spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the movies, GO SEE THESE MOVIES! Now, let’s start with the first film.
CHAPTER 1
John Wick probably gave his dog brain damage.
Remember the scene in the first film where John goes out to get some kibble for his puppy? After he gets gas and has an encounter with Iosef, he goes to an active airfield to drive like an asshole. Now, he either took the puppy back home, which they didn’t show, or he was slinging that poor dog all over his car. I’ve driven with dogs in the car and they are terrible at anticipating starts, stops and turns. And with the way Wick was driving, he’s lucky his car didn’t look like the back seat of Samuel L. Jackson’s car in Pulp Fiction when Travolta accidentally shoots that guy.
How did Iosef and his friends know where John lived?
So, after John says his car isn’t for sale, Iosef and his friends track down John Wick, kill his dog and steal his car. But how did they find him? Did they run his plates and then look up his address? Did they ask around about the guy with the nice car who speaks fluent Russian? Considering that John Wick seems to know everyone (local police officers, airport security guards, hell… even bouncers at Iosef’s favorite club), they’d be able to find out who he was and why they shouldn’t steal his car. Also, you’d think a retired assassin would have a home security system.
Why not go ahead and kill Viggo when you had the chance?
After John infiltrates the church and destroys Viggo’s empire (I hope Viggo had All State Insurance to protect him from Mayhem) he launches an assault on Viggo and his men. They get the best of him by hitting him with a car — which seems to be Wick’s only weakness — and take him to be killed. Thanks to a blind headshot from Marcus, John is able to escape, chases Viggo down and kills his driver. After promising to pull the contract and giving up his son, Viggo’s life is spared. Why didn’t John just do what he was trying to do 10 minutes ago and kill Viggo. You’ve already killed most of his men, and destroyed his money and leverage. Why not go ahead and off the guy?
Viggo is terrible at his job.
The scene before John could have killed Viggo, Viggo totally could have killed John. Instead, he leaves, assuming his henchmen would finish John off with a plastic bag. A PLASTIC BAG! Why not just strap him to a gurney and have a laser cut him in half? But then later in the film, Viggo has no trouble killing Marcus with a handgun. Where was this cavalier attitude toward doing a job yourself earlier, Viggo?
Also: Dog Wick is an amazing spoof on John Wick
CHAPTER 2
Those “markers” are worthless.
In Chapter 2, John Wick is presented with a “marker” that signifies a blood oath. John apparently gave this oath to Santino for help in completing his “impossible task” mentioned in Chapter 1. But wouldn’t that be worthless since he was either retiring or going to die trying?
Well, they add a line of dialogue to get around this fact, which was lame. Why would Santino accept a marker that he knew would most likely be worthless? Also, denying a marker is punishable by death. SPOILER: At the end of the movie, John is gifted Winston’s marker! If John were smart, he would have just given it back and said, “Yeah, how about you don’t send every assassin in the world to kill me.” Which brings me to my next point.
Literally everybody is an assassin.
If you are reading this, you are an assassin in John Wick: Chapter 2. There are so many trained killers that at one point, you’re like, “Really, even homeless people?”
In the first movie, the group of assassins seem like the show Cheers, where everybody knew your name. In Chapter 2, every human on this planet is an assassin. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still sweet when he wrecks house with them, but c’mon.
$7 million dollars is a lot of money, but not that much.
In Chapter 1, Viggo puts a $2 million dollar bounty on John’s head and no one, aside from Perkins, takes the action. In this movie, the bounty is raised to $7 million and everyone with a phone decides to give it a shot. John had such a reputation as a badass in the original that only one person tried, and was even willing to break Continental rules to get the money. Months later, $7 million dollars seems to be enough for anyone to take a crack at the guy who just destroyed the Russian mob by himself. In a world where assassins are everywhere, Perkins isn’t doing her part to dispel the wage gap.
The Continental’s rules are dumb.
The big rule at the Continental, which is apparently an international hotel chain, is: No business may be conducted on hotel grounds. Breaking this rule is punishable by death. We see Perkins die for this transgression in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, John kills Santino on Continental grounds. And it’s not like Santino killed his dog or stole his car. Santino simply tried to double cross John. But the law allows for nuance; Santino’s plan was to take over New York and Winston knew it. John was doing Winston a favor… which is probably why he gave John an hour head start before everyone in New York got a text message to kill John.
Also, if denying a marker is punishable by death and killing on Continental grounds is, too, why not just deny the marker? Save yourself a step, ya know?
Santino’s father’s art collection includes a three-story tall hall of mirrors.
In the final “big” fight sequence, John attends Santino’s “coronation” in an art gallery. Earlier in the film, Santino says it’s his father’s art collection. Even if this was a traveling exhibit or new installation, there are three flights of stairs, and it’s about the size of an airport hangar. And apparently, John Wick is the only person who can tell the difference between a reflection and the real thing. Listen, I’m all for the arts, but it’s just a hall of mirrors. I mean, my kid could have done that!
Common will be in Chapter 3.
When John Wick is reintroduced to Morpheus Bowery King, the hobo leader, he tells a story about how John almost killed him, but let him live after slicing his neck open. In his final battle with Cassian (played by Common), John again lets him live after stabbing him in the aorta. This isn’t really a plot hole, but it’s one of those moments when you’re watching it and you’re like, “Oh… they really shoehorned that foreshadowing in there.”
Listen, if you loved Chapter 1, absolutely see Chapter 2. It is one of the best action movies I have ever seen. It takes everything that’s great about the first and ups the ante. This article is in no way a criticism of the films, but just helping to point out the parts that didn’t suspend my disbelief.
