The John Wick franchise has grossed over $1 billion worldwide, garnering a legion of fans clamoring for more. And more they’ll get, with various spin-offs in the works. But one man who isn’t a fan is Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone, who has pegged John Wick as unbelievable. You know, because he’s really got his finger on the pulse…
In a discussion with Variety, Oliver Stone at the Transilvania Film Festival (that’s a thing?!) – Stone likened the latest John Wick to a video game, unjustly comparing it to actual warfare. “I saw John Wick 4 on the plane. Talk about volume. I think the film is disgusting beyond belief. Disgusting. I don’t know what people are thinking…Maybe I was watching G.I. Joe when I was a kid. But [Keanu Reeves] kills, what, three, four hundred people in the f*cking movie. And as a combat veteran, I gotta tell you, not one of them is believable. I realize it’s a movie, but it’s become a video game more than a movie.” For what it’s worth, both Platoon and the Stone-written Scarface were turned into video games before the John Wick movies were conceived. And who can forget Born on the Fourth of July: The Arcade Game?
Oliver Stone didn’t just focus on John Wick, though, steering his venomous words towards action movies as a whole. “It’s lost touch with reality. The audience perhaps likes the video game. But I get bored by it…How many cars can crash? How many stunts can you do? What’s the difference between Fast and Furious and some other film? It’s just one thing after another. Whether it’s a super-human Marvel character or just a human being like John Wick, it doesn’t make any difference. It’s not believable.”
Of course, Oliver Stone is no stranger to hot takes and controversial viewpoints. Sure, he’s got his own views on the Kennedy assassination and thought Colin Farrell would make a perfect Alexander the Great, but he has also been open in his support of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
What do you think of Oliver Stone’s remarks about John Wick and action movies as a whole? Does he have a point or is he yelling at clouds? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!
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