12 Years Later, Keanu Reeves’ Intense Franchise Is Officially the Greatest Action Series Streaming Today

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12 Years Later, Keanu Reeves’ Intense Franchise Is Officially the Greatest Action Series Streaming Today

Of all the action movies released in the past decade or so, the John Wick films stand out as some of the strongest. Even if none have been outright perfect or masterpieces, this is a series that has been reliably good, at least if you go by the four main movies released between 2014 and 2023, while post-2023, it’s been a bit less predictable, and spin-offs (one released and some planned) have been the focus. Those four movies do endure and are quite easy to binge, since you get that sense of escalation throughout.

The first movie is fairly restrained, the second is a little wilder, the third is right on the line of being too much, and then the fourth is comparably over-the-top, but pushes things further by being longer (nearly three hours, all up). Since the John Wick movies have been dominating Pluto TV recently, you probably don’t need to be told they’re worth watching, but if you’re not caught up on them, now’s as good a time as any. While it’s not a horror series like The Evil Dead, the way you see things getting wilder, sillier, and arguably more entertaining with each passing movie, in the John Wick series, does scratch the same itch as watching the first three Evil Dead movies chaotically and continually leap toward goofier territory as things go along.

The Initially Simple Premise of ‘John Wick’

Image via Summit Entertainment

There’s a dog, and that dog means a lot to the titular character in John Wick, and so when that dog gets killed by some people who really should’ve known better, John Wick goes on a revenge-fueled rampage. Also, the dog was given to him by his wife right before she passed away, so it’s his last emotional/physical connection to her, and then the same people who kill his dog also attack him and steal his prized car, with all that contributing to him snapping and resuming his violent ways. It does turn out he used to be a particularly feared hitman within the criminal underworld, so the criminals who wronged him seem especially out of their depths.

There’s a simplicity to that first movie which is great, and then it also leads to a good deal more complicated things in the sequels.

John does have to contend with a few other bad guys, because the leader of the criminals/gangsters who broke into his house has some powerful allies, but John clearly doesn’t care, and seems willing to go down fighting if it means getting vengeance. There’s a simplicity to that first movie which is great, and then it also leads to a good deal more complicated things in the sequels, because the fallout of John’s re-emergence into the criminal underworld gets explored, as does that underworld itself (which is only really glimpsed or hinted at, in the first movie, at least compared to just how much gets revealed in the next several films).

How ‘John Wick’ Escalates From Sequel to Sequel

Post-2014, the John Wick series kind of just says, “Hey, that world we were building was pretty cool, right? Would you like to see John Wick kill more people inside it?” And the answer is probably yes, if you like slick action and are a fan of seeing Keanu Reeves do it. The titular character he plays in this series does give Neo (from The Matrix) a run for his money, if you’re talking iconic protagonists associated with the action genre. John Wick never leaps into science fiction territory, admittedly, but it does get a bit wilder and more heightened with every passing movie, until you end up with the rather absurd action epic that is John Wick: Chapter 4.

Before then, John Wick: Chapter 2 had a bit more action than the first movie, and its plot boiled down to, “Uhh, John Wick has to deal with some dangerous people again or something.” And then the plot of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum was just “Umm, there are even more people to do, and more fights to fight, this time around. And Halle Berry is in it briefly, alongside some dogs that actually take place in certain fight scenes.” Rather than the plot, Parabellum can mostly be sold by what happens; the “why” is less important. Like, “John Wick fights both the most fearsome fighter from The Raid (Yayan Ruhian) and the most fearsome opponent in The Raid 2 (Cecep Arif Rahman) at the same time” is something you can say about one of the many great fight scenes in Parabellum. What more do you need?

Why the ‘John Wick’ Movies Remain Entertaining and Rewatchable

Keanu Reeves as John Wick walking in a Church lit by dozens of candles in 'John Wick: Chapter 4.' — Keanu Reeves as John Wick walking in a Church in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’

In 2023, it felt like John Wick: Chapter 4 was the end, but there have continually been talks about John Wick: Chapter 5. There’s also the spin-offs to consider, with Ballerina coming out in 2025, and taking place between the events of the third and fourth mainline movies (Keanu Reeves was in it, in a supporting role, though Ana de Armas was the star). There’s also Caine, in development, which is to focus on Donnie Yen’s character who was introduced in John Wick: Chapter 4.

That might sound like things are being pushed a bit, but the John Wick series does have more lore – and a far more interesting world – than you might expect. As long as the quality of the action remains high, and they keep finding interesting new characters to do within this already weird and unique world that’s been built up, the whole franchise could indeed continue to endure for a while. The streaming success, as of September 2026, suggests a level of rewatchability for these movies, and watching them progress in intensity and grandeur from film to film is undeniable. Hopefully, it’s onward and upward, regardless of how much Keanu Reeves’ character is actually involved going forward.