John Wick [Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD]

Description

Product Description From Summit Entertainment and the producer of CLASH OF THE TITANS and THE TOWN comes a tale of adrenaline-fueled revenge and redemption. When a retired hit man is forced back into action by a sadistic young thug, he hunts down his adversaries with the skill and ruthlessness that made him an underworld legend. Set Contains: Includes Dolby Atmos – Dolby Atmos is a revolutionary new audio technology that transports you into extraordinary entertainment experience. With Dolby Atmos enabled receivers and speaker configurations, sound comes from all directions, including overhead, to create an immersive experience with clarity, richness, detail, and depth. With existing home theater systems, you will get a great surround sound experience. Review: Both John Wick movies have become my favorite action movies since The Matrix. - I'm not a big fan of over-the-top action movies. I was a police officer for 7 years, and I've been in a lot of fights and dangerous situations. Most of the movies I see are so fake, they're hard to watch. When you watch John Wick, you'll see the main character wrestling with foes to get their guns away, running out of bullets mid-fight and having to reload, and most fights end up on the ground, just like they do in real life. When he suffocates someone, it takes them a while to die, and the actors struggle for their lives in a believable way. It's all-around good acting from the main cast and everyone that's just there to get the body count higher. The stories in John Wick and John Wick 2 are great. In the first, John Wick tries to retire from his assassin career after his wife dies of an illness. She gives him a dog so he can love something when she's gone, and he finds a way to have hope through his relationship with the animal. That is until someone breaks into his house to steal his car and kills the dog, causing him to get back into his old ways to get revenge. It's a believable setup and the love and loss of his wife and then dog are heart-wrenching. There is a main set-piece that deserves special mention as well: the Continental Hotel. It's run by the shady element John Wick comes from, and is filled with people like him, but there's one special rule to the place, that no "business" can be conducted on the premises. This makes the hotel a sort of sacred ground and gives it its own life, as it features prominently in both the first and second movie. What also makes the world of the John Wick movies feel real are the use of gold token coins. John has a lot of them, and they're accepted as currency in different places and by different people. When he pays someone in a coin, it makes the world feel like it has existed long before we see it, that the ecosystem didn't just start when the viewer arrived to see it like some movies do. The second movie's plot involves John Wick having to repay a debt he owes someone from when he first started his career. This forces him out of retirement until his debt is paid. The plot of the second movie isn't as motivating as the first, but the action is even better. There are more fight scenes, and the quality and duration is higher. The gunplay in both of these movies is outstanding. John Wick has supernatural aim with weapons, and it's not like other action movies where the heroes spray bullets everywhere and no one can ever hit what they're aiming at. Keanu moves like a police officer or a soldier, always aiming down sights and prepared for what is coming around the corner. He shoots people in the foot or chest to cause them to drop their guards so he can finish them off with a headshot. He's also not a "good guy", so he kills the people that are trying to kill him without a second thought. I often watch movies where the hero lets the bad guy go and regrets it later. This would never happen with John Wick, and I appreciate him more for that. I rented the John Wick movies at Redbox, and after I had returned them I found myself thinking about the action sequences again and again. I had to buy them to add them to my collection, and they were just as good during the second and third viewings. They've topped my list of favorite action movies, and I recommend them to anyone who likes expert gun-fighting scenarios without being unrealistic or over-the-top with gore and explosions. I recommend both movies. You don't need to see the first to appreciate the second, but you really should see both as they're that good. Eleven out of five stars if I could. Review: A definite upgrade in movie image and sound quality. - I ordered this disc mainly out of curiosity. I wanted to see if my Blu-Ray player ( an OPPO 103 'firm-ware' improved to handle 4K discs) would play the 4K and feed it to my 1080p Panasonic plasma. It wouldn't. I don't know exactly why but I'm researching it ( is my Yamaha A/V receiver blocking it I don't know). Anyway, I decided to put the humdrum BluRay disc in and watch the movie. Right from the get-go I knew something good was happening. The DOLBY-'ATMOS' logo came on and sound effects started dancing around the room (the Yamaha is a 7.1 player ). Gee, I thought I might not get 4K but at least I have the sound of a 4K movie (hopefully). Then the movie started and my thoughts were 'what the he..' : The image was not only good, it was 'Ultra' good. It was like BluRay on steroids. There was color, contrast and sharpness (not to mention sound) that I had never seen on a BluRay disc before and I have some good discs to compare it to (Ben Hur, Fifth Element). I'm sure some find the movie itself over-the-top when it comes to violence and the capacity of Keanu Reeves to withstand pain when he dispatches bad guys ( who needs Superman when we have John Wick? ). But if you've seen the movie and like it and are considering buying the BluRay you might want to go the 4K route right now for future reference. If the 4K disc is anywhere near the viewing quality of the BluRay you will be very pleased with your decision ( anybody know what the expectant life of a Panasonic 1080p plasma TV is?) After seeing this disc I also purchased the movie 'Sicario' in 4K to see how it shaped up image-wise. Right off the bat that beautiful DOLBY-'ATMOS' logo came on and the sound was dancing around the room. Again the movie started and visually it was stunning. I can't figure out how this is happening. A disc is made in the 4K format and they make a BluRay from the master that ends-up upgraded as well? Is the BluRay disc which comes with these 4K discs made from the 4K master? That's the question. How else could they incorporate the DOLBY-'ATMOS' sound in the BluRay movie. It's a quandary. I'm hoping somebody out there will beat me over the head with technical sagacity and explain all this. Please be gentle. Back in the day of vinyl records every audiophile had what he called a 'reference' album or two that brought out the best sound from his audio system. This 'John Wick' 4K/BluRay disc is now my reference BluRay. The sound and visual presentation are both very good. No, let me fix that- they are extremely good. If your system is up to the task and you like technical improvements that enhance your movie viewing experience you will be very pleased with this purchase. Highly recommended.