Keanu Reeves returns to the big screen through a character who seems to fit him perfectly, with John Wick 4. The first reviews are positive. This is a franchise that is very clear about what it wants to offer its viewers: pure and hardcore entertainment based on unbridled action. In this last section, one of the key names of the saga is its director, Chad Stahelski.
Although his career has received more recognition in recent years, thanks to his work in the saga John Wick, Chad Stahelski’s film history goes beyond these productions. The truth is, without everything that came before, this franchise might never have gotten off the ground. Well, it is quite reasonable to consider it in some sense an autobiographical work.
In the series with John Wick 4 In theaters March 24th., brings together his vision as a director and his extensive career as an understudy. On the other hand, the synergy that develops between Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski would not have been possible if they hadn’t met a few years ago, when Stahelski replaced Reeves in some of his dangerous scenes or with action choreography that only a few can match. .
Who is Chad Stahelski?
Chad Stahelski started working as a stuntman at the age of 24. The 90s was the decade when he was involved in various modest projects. During this period he recorded one of the most important: Crow (1994). This film marked by death Brandon Lee Due to an accident during filming, this was the first major project Stahelski had to be involved with.
Until the death of the actor, Chad Stahelski starred only in risky and action scenes. After his death, it was he who finished filming the production. Before passing it Crowin accordance with SensaCinemaI am participating in break point (1991) Knights (1993) and Hong Kong 97 (1994). Thus began a career, which currently has more than seventy film and television projects. The constant during this trip was action. More than half of his works belong to this genre, especially highlighting Matrix (1999).
Child born in USA by September 20, 1968, he was an adult and began to make noise in the industry. In 1997, he boasted his own action game company, 87Elevenwith David Leith. This will not be the only project they will be working on together. Without knowing it, years later they will take responsibility for the first part John Wick.
A curious fact, very characteristic of the profession of Chad Stahelski, by the beginning of the 2000s, the actor suffered at least:
- Two knee surgeries.
- Two surgeries on the shoulder.
- Broken ankle.
- Fracture of one arm.
Meeting with Keanu Reeves
During Filming Matrix, Chad Stahelski replaced Keanu Reeves in those risqué scenes that the actor failed to interpret and in the action scenes that required professional knowledge. Stahelski’s work was so compelling that he was present throughout the entire trilogy.
Regarding his intervention in Matrix Reloaded (2003) Keanu Reeves described his partner’s profile:
“Chad Stahelski has extensive experience in wire, a professional kung fu fighter and was an outstanding acrobat for nine or ten years. I mean, he was connected to all the elements involved in this film.”
The truth is that Chad Stahelski was in charge of interpreting the entire action sequence taking place in the park, in which Neo is approached by hundreds of opponents. In fact, most of the scenes that required stunts followed by a fight had Stahelski on stage.
But the role of Chad Stahelski in this production was based not only on following orders, on following the script. He was a martial arts stunt coordinator. P. A. Rondell, who worked with him in the department, described part of the dynamics in one sentence: “I’m a guest on your set“. Perhaps this control and commitment to what happens on stage was the starting point of what would become his career as a director.
Thanks to these projects, Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves struck up a friendship. Later, when searching for the figurine, Stahelski may have only had in mind the name he was to be a part of. John Wick (2014). Reeves, who was in a career desert without an attractive job and a declining career, answered the call.
From then until now, Chad Stahelski has worked on over a dozen other films. Among which, perhaps the most important are the following:
- 300as a fight director.
- X-Men Origins: Wolverineas Event Coordinator.
- Ninja Assassinas a doubles coordinator.
- The Expendablesand also as a doubles coordinator.
These are not the only projects he has been involved in over the past two decades. But these are productions recognized for their spectacle and degree of action; especially, 300 And Ninja Assassin. If they were mixed together with matrixthe result will probably be something very close to John Wick.
Chad Stahelski: From John Wick To John Wick 4
In Spain, John Wick It was not released theatrically. It arrived in DVD format, as Alejandro G. Calvo recalls. This is important data because it provides information about the size of the project. The first film of the subsequent franchise didn’t get very ambitious. To this we must add that he never had much research backing him up. However, the first part, also called another day to killcaused a stir among fans of the genre.
It was the beginning of a franchise with little storytelling aspirations, but with a clear story: a person who wants revenge for what others have done to him. Perhaps this simplicity, caused by the murder of John Wick’s dog, served as a bridge with the viewer: how can one not sympathize with the one to whom this happened? Is it possible not to justify such actions in a fictional universe?
Formula John Wick it worked. It was as if Chad Stahelski and his team were saying, “This is an action movie, let’s do it our own way and in a big way.” These forms have a lot to do with the director’s extensive martial arts career. From John Wick before John Wick 4the fights, the action sequences, and the way they’re written are the high points of not only the franchise, but modern cinema as well.
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The production that Chad Stahelski is trying to achieve is capable of refuting any credible argument. Through four parts John Wick, the director laid the foundations for a cinematic universe in which justification makes sense. Of course, there are conveniences, and the viewer must cling to the fictional pact. But when the implementation is inconclusive, none of the above can be confirmed or enforced. In this, apart from some details, this franchise seems undeniable.
Source: Hiper Textual
