There is something magical about the currently released John Wick films directed by Chad Stahelski which came out in 2014, 2017, and 2019, respectively. Keanu Reeves's utter badassery on-screen, the beautifully choreographed fight scenes, engaging camera work, and subtle world-building all work in unison unlike any other action series similar to it.
For those that are unfamiliar, the John Wick series follows former hitman/loving widow John Wick (Keanu Reeves) whose wife has gifted him a puppy to remind him of her, and give him something to love. One day, however, gangsters follow him to his home to steal his car. In the process, they beat him up and kill his adorable puppy. He then proceeds to make them realize what a huge mistake they've made in targetting him, who has earned the nickname "Baba Yaga" (The Boogeyman) for the way he treats those against him.
The plots are amazingly simple and almost seems shallow at first glance, almost as though they're simply scripts for action movies that allow audiences to see Keanu Reeves be a badass, they are executed in a way that is not too trope-filled or completely predictable. However, for the viewers that pay close attention and like little tidbits of information (like myself), there are little hints of the past story that are sprinkled in often in ways or events that seem strange to the audience. For example, just about everyone that John interacts with or gets aid from, he has met before and has some sort of history with. Or John exchanging specifically marked gold coins for services such as guns, armor, medical aid, a taxi, a stay at a hotel, etc. This is incredible and fun world-building for a world that many audiences might've assumed to be bland going into the first film with John being the only thing of interest in the films, but that is not the case here.
Reeves trained extensively with people that are combat-trained in order to better act out his fight scenes, and it pays off. You really believe that John Wick is a force to be feared, but without having too much "plot armor" that the audience doesn't fear for his life. You see him get bloody, bruised, shot, stabbed, and is injured from it just like any other human being would be. We even see him limping and barely managing to stumble around the city at the end of the second film and the beginning of the third film.
The cinematography and choreography of the fight sequences are incredible from a film making standpoint. Whereas a movie in something like the Jason Bourne series (though not from this decade, but the previous) has fights that are filmed in a disorienting way with quick cuts and camera movements where you only have a vague sense of the action. This most likely is because the director wanted the audience to have a sense of how Bourne might be experiencing the fight, with very very rapid action and reaction. Contrastly, John Wick opts to make the viewer feel like they are in the same room as Wick fighting and following his every move, with long shot times/fewer cuts so the audience sees every strike John makes.
Maybe part of what is so satisfying about it (at least in the first film) is that we get to see the men who killed his puppy be brutalized, and we get to see it clearly. That is if you find that sort of thing satisfying.
