Few movie franchise deserves a documentary treatment, but the journey of the John Wick action series from independent film to billion-dollar franchise is an intriguing one. Wick Is Pain is such a perfect title, which was borne out of a remark director Chad Stahelski made to its star, Keanu Reeves, more on that later. Stahelski was a former stuntman who had been Keanu’s double in the Matrix, as well as serving as the film’s martial arts stunt coordinator. Apparently, his big break came from The Crow (1994) when he was the stunt double for his friend, the late Brandon Lee. 

The behind-the-scenes story of John Wick is a captivating tale about indie filmmaking, brought to life by first-time directors Stahelski and David Leitch, who bonded over their love for martial arts. While the revenge plot might seem simple, the journey to bring it to the screen was anything but easy. In fact, there was a moment when the film almost didn’t happen because of a $6 million funding shortfall that threatened to halt production just hours before they were set to start filming. Eva Longoria became the unlikely savior–she swooped in at the last minute to help out, and apparently, she still gets her check in the mail.

Directed by Jeffrey Doe, I really appreciate how candid and straightforward the team is about the grueling production process and the risks they took to make it happen. We also hear from producers Basil Iwanyk and Jason Constantine, as well as screenwriter Derek Kolstad. They talked about how controversial the ‘puppy killing scene’ was, but of course, the dog was more than just John’s pet; it was the last connection he had with his deceased wife. That ‘Wick Is Pain’ remark is absolutely spot on, as Stahelski really pushed Keanu to the brink during his training so he could do his own stunts. The character also endured all kinds of pain from his enemies, but even after getting punched, stabbed, hit by a car, etc., he’d still get up and keep going. The trainers discussed how Stahelski knew how much Keanu could handle, which definitely enhances the raw authenticity of the action scenes.

As an action movie fan, I enjoy watching the training sessions, the gun-fu pre-visualization, etc. There are treats for budding filmmakers as well, as they share the writing process, storyboarding, and the whole collaboration process. I learned that Keanu was pretty hands-on in the writing as well as the stunts.  I like the ‘warts and all’ approach as they didn’t sugarcoat the process, but even though the two directors don’t often see eye to eye, they’re both passionate about making the movie as good as possible.

Stahelski and Reeves have a good rapport; they clearly love working on the franchise that’s become the highlight of their respective careers. While Stahelski stayed on as director for all of the John Wick movies, Leitch decided to branch out to other action films. He made Atomic Blonde with Charlize Theron the same year as John Wick 2, and his latest movie was the well-reviewed Fall Guy.

What I find really amusing is that Stahelski and Leitch initially resisted being labeled as action directors. The first cut of the movie was considered too slow because they focused on the drama of ‘sad and depressed John Wick’ dealing with his wife’s death. But eventually, they figured out that they should embrace their action skills and enhance Keanu’s reputation as an action star even further. After all, that’s exactly what the audience craves from this franchise.

Considering the nature of the documentary, it tends to be a bit self-indulgent. Similar to the fourth installment, this doc also drags on a bit at 2 hours and 6 minutes. I found myself zoning out in the last 20 minutes since they had pretty much covered everything that needed to be covered.

Still, watching this made me appreciate the franchise even more. The grit, struggles, passion, and well, pain that went into it are pretty inspiring. No wonder it’s become one of the most copied action movies of the past decade. You know a franchise has become iconic when a movie is referred to as a ‘John Wick type of action.’ With Ballerina coming out this weekend and chatter about John Wick 5, it looks like this lucrative franchise is here to stay.

Have you seen Wick Is Pain? What do you think about the John Wick franchise?