Hitman John Wick’s fourth film has just hit theaters. And for those who want more, here are 12 movies to take us back to the action.
Summary
- Security
- drive
- equalizer
- Extraction: Tyler Rake
- Headshot
- Jack Reacher
- Kate
- Kill Bok Soon
- Polar
- The gray man
- The night comes for us
- Salt
Security
Collateral is an American film directed by Michael Mann (The Last of the Mohicans) and written by Stuart Beattie (Interceptor), released in 2004 in a Killer (Tom Cruise). The latter suspends driver service all night, killing at each of his stops. When he comes back with bodies, he forces the taxi driver to hide the bodies in his trunk. Their destiny is linked to this forced cooperation. The performance of the two actors was praised and the thriller received several film awards. He was notably nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Jamie Foxx and Best Editing at the Oscars.
drive
Drive is an American thriller film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. It was published in 2011 and is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by James Sallis (2005). The driver (Ryan Gosling) leads a double life. During the day he is a stuntman in the cinema, at night he rides horses for the gangsters. He never participates in the attacks of these criminals until he is violently used in a robbery. Things go wrong and to protect a woman, they hunt down those responsible. Discussing his inspirations for Drive, the director explains that he was influenced by the films Bullitt (1968) and The Day of the Plague (1975). The thriller was very well received with a Metacritic score of 93/100.
equalizer
Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), Equalizer is an adaptation of the 1985 series of the same name. We follow the adventures of Robert McCall (Denzel Washington). He’s fleeing his past, but when he meets Teri, a young girl who’s been the victim of violent Russian gangsters, he can’t help but save her. The ex-marine awakens his thirst for justice to solve the most dangerous problems and becomes the equalizer. Despite mixed reviews, Fuqua released a sequel in 2018. In this second episode, Mcall tries again to resume normal life. Once again he feels that the world and especially his friends need him. Actor Russel Crowe was originally set to play the killer, with Nicolas Winding Refn (The Neon Demon) directing the film.
In Extraction, Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is a mercenary with nothing left to lose. One day he is hired by a gangster to rescue his kidnapped son. His mission is dangerous and will turn his and the boy’s lives upside down. This is the comic adaptation of Ciudad by Ande Parks, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Fernando Leon Gonzalez and Eric Skillman. Reviews have been mixed, but the production has been praised for attempting to innovate the genre. In 2020, Joe Russo will be hired to write the sequel. Sam Hargrave will continue to direct and Chris Hemsworth will star. The theatrical release is scheduled for June 16, 2023.
Headshot
In 2016, Timo Tjahjanto directed the Indonesian film Headshot. Mafioso Lee, played by Sunny Pang (The Night Comes for Us), escapes from prison during a shootout. Two months later, a man with amnesia turns up (Iko Uwais). This one takes the name Ishmael, in reference to Herman Melville’s work, Moby Dick. He doesn’t remember his past, but it will still cause him problems because a drug lord is stalking him. Despite a scenario that was sometimes considered overly repetitive and gory, Headshot received rather positive reviews. This did not prevent him from receiving several awards, especially during the strange festival.
Jack Reacher
Jack Reacher is an adaptation of Lee Child’s 2005 novel Madness (One Shot). Five people were killed in an attack in Pittsburgh, USA. A suspect is arrested by the police, but says only one sentence during questioning: “Find Jack Reacher”. The police are looking for this mysterious man who will help them find the perpetrator of the murder. In 2016, director Edward Zwick released the sequel to the ex-soldier’s adventures. This time one of his colleagues is arrested for treason. Jack will do anything to prove his innocence, even if it means uncovering a government conspiracy. Tom Cruise embodies the protagonist and as in all his films, he is the one who performs his stunts.
Kate
Kate by Cédric Nicolas-Troyan (The Hunter and the Ice Queen) tells how the eponymous heroine (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) must escape death. She is a killing machine, but one day she fails to eliminate a yakuza in Tokyo. She finds out that she has been poisoned and has only 24 hours to live. On her way to get revenge before it’s too late, she befriends the daughter of one of her former victims. The production receives mixed reviews, but underscores the attempt to cast a woman in the lead role. The thriller was released on Netflix in 2021.
Kill Bok Soon
Kill Bok-Soon is a Netflix film directed by Sung-hyun Byun (Kingmaker). The South Korean production follows the story of a woman, Gil Bok-soon (Jeon Do-yeon), who leads a double life. On the one hand, she is a single mother, overwhelmed by her daughter’s education. On the other hand, she’s an assassin. One day these two lives will intertwine because his next target is someone present at his child’s parent-teacher meeting. Kill Bok-Soon has been invited to the Berlinale Special section of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival for its world premiere on January 18th. The thriller will be released on the paid streaming platform on March 31st.
Polar
2019’s Polar is directed by Jonas Åkerlund (Lords of Chaos). Duncan Vizla, aka Black Kaiser (Mads Mikkelsen), has just retired as an assassin. But his former employer declares his existence a problem and tries to eliminate it. Vizla must return to duty if he is to survive as he faces an army of assassins. This is the adaptation of the graphic novel Polar: Came from the Cold by Víctor Santos (2012). Netflix is distributing the work. It got pretty bad reviews from critics, which doesn’t stop the director from wanting to make another Black Emperor film.
The gray man
Gray Man is the code name of CIA agent Courte Gentry (Ryan Gosling), aka Sierra Six. 18 years after being incarcerated in a Florida prison, the famous killer is hired for a new mission. He discovers sensitive information and is targeted by organizations of all kinds. He is particularly targeted by Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evan), a sociopathic killer who is determined to eliminate him. The production is an adaptation of Mark Greaney’s novel of the same name, published in 2009. It is a Netflix operation, but was nevertheless entitled to a few theatrical releases in certain countries. It receives rather mixed reviews.
The night comes for us
In turn, The Night Comes For Us is an American-Indonesian project by Timo Tjahjanto, which was released in 2018. It tells the story of an elite triad assassin who saved the life of a young woman. This action does not go unnoticed as he becomes a target for gangsters. When the screenplay was written, it was initially intended as a graphic novel. Only then did it take the form of a film. In 2014, the director expressed the desire to translate this story into comics again. The thriller is available on Netflix and received excellent reviews on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 91%.
Salt
In Salt, Angelina Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, a veteran CIA agent. But she is accused of being a spy for Russia and has to flee. On the run from her friends and enemies, she tries to find out who set her up. The film received mostly positive reviews, thanks in particular to the performance of the actress. Since that release, director Phillip Noyce (Quiet White) has been hoping for a sequel. Then he clarified that he would not be responsible. In 2011, screenwriter Kurt Wimmer announced that he would return for this second work. Despite those announcements, there hasn’t been any news about the sequel since then.
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