Every Dog Has Its Day
John Wick is a simple thriller in truth but one that backs up its simplicity with adrenaline-soaked fights and gorgeous cinematography.
If you’ve finished streaming this one and are looking for alternatives – fret not! We’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top 10 picks.
Of course for all the movies we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link so you can check out our full thoughts on that and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with.
So without further ado, we present 10 movies to check out when you’ve finished watching John Wick.
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Identity is an exciting, action-packed thrill ride from start to finish. While the sequels work to flesh the world and characters out a lot more expansively, the close-knit simplicity of the original is partly why this film works so well.
The story revolves around a super-soldier known as Jason Bourne. Dumped out at sea with bullet holes in his back, Bourne can’t remember who he is or what led him to end up in the ocean. With assassins after him, Bourne sets out on a thrilling cat and mouse chase to recover his memories while trying to stay alive.
While the sequels are more closely aligned to John Wick’s revenge mission, the original is undoubtedly the best of the franchise.
A History Of Violence
A History of Violence is an interesting movie, one that delivers a fascinating and well-worked thriller in the process.
The story here revolves around Tom Stall, a humble family man who owns a popular neighbourhood restaurant. One night Tom stops a crime inside the restaurant and finds himself thrust into the throngs of heroism. Following this, mysterious people begin to follow Tom’s every move.
This smartly written film manages to leapfrog over most of the thriller tropes you’d expect. In doing so, this movie delivers an unpredictable and tense picture well worth a watch.
Taken
“I will find you… and I will kill you.” This confident, chilling speech unknowingly cemented Taken’s place in thriller history. While the film itself doesn’t do anything particularly original or outstanding, it does deliver one heck of a rollercoaster ride.
The story essentially revolves around 17 year old Kim, who’s extremely close to her Father, Bryan Mills. Retired from the CIA, Bryan heads over to California to be close to her. Kim has other plans though – which include jetting off to Paris with her friend Amanda. Tragedy strikes, Kim goes missing, and she’s held to ransom by an Albanian gang.
Bryan inevitably finds himself thrust back into action again, jetting off to Paris to get revenge.
Packed full of decent action and some smooth cinematography, this is an action-packed thriller that has no right to be as good as it is.
The Raid: Redemption
The Raid: Redemption is quite possibly one of the best action movies to feature a barebones story. While this is a quintessential part of most action flicks, The Raid feels like a normal action movie on steroids.
Our tale takes place deep in the heart of Jakarta, Indonesia. There, Lieutenant Wahyu organizes an apartment building invasion. However, this also happens to be the safe house for powerful drug lord Tama.
What ensues is an action-packed thrill ride, one that sees these officers fight for their lives against these armed and deadly gangsters.
Action doesn’t get better than this; if you haven’t seen it already, The Raid: Redemption should definitely be on your watch-list.
Man On Fire
Man On Fire is a dark, gritty crime thriller. In a way, it feels inspired by The Punisher, with John Creasy in the driving seat hitting back and gaining vengeance in the way he deems fit – even if that’s not always morally sound.
John, as it turns out, is a hard drinking burnt out ex-CIA operative. When he’s hired as the bodyguard for 9 year old Pita Ramos, his life changes forever. Pita is kidnapped and Creasy finds himself forced to try and bring her back no matter what.
The action is well shot and while the synopsis makes this sound like an ordinary thriller – it’s definitely not. There are some wonderful moments here that make Man On Fire unlike many other movies of its kind.
The Killer
The Killer is a brilliant Chow Yun-Fat film. It’s a movie that blends thriller and action together nicely with a simple but effective story.
The plot here follows hitman John (or Jeffrey depending on which version you’re watching) who’s planning his retirement. On one of his final jobs however, John accidentally shoots a singer named Jenny. Partially blinded, John saves the girl from a gang of thieves, leading the pair to fall in love.
Hot on their heels however is Inspector Li, who’s intent on tracking down John and bringing him to justice. This unfortunately comes to the attention of the mob too, who refuse to pay John for his final job – a job that would allow Jennie’s eyesight to be fixed. Step forward some gorgeously shot fights.
The story is simple but the action works beautifully to coincide with this, delivering an enthralling martial arts film.
Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
Kill Bill is one of Quentin Tarantino’s bloodiest movies, and a brilliant revenge thriller in its own right. Split across two volumes, this tale of revenge and retribution uses a simple set-up to deliver a flashy, visually impressive modern epic.
The movie centers on a woman who’s known simply as The Bride. After awakening from a four-year coma, she exacts revenge on Bill and the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad after killing her husband and taking her baby.
What follows is an action-packed movie that stitches together a number of well-choreographed fight sequences around a dramatic, character-driven romp.
Haywire
Haywire is a formulaic action thriller but what it lacks in originality, it more than makes up for with impressive action and a decent performance from Gina Carano.
The story centers on freelance covert operative Mallory Kane, who works as a black ops super soldier. When she’s betrayed, she seeks revenge against those who have double crossed her.
With an international manhunt underway, Mallory pools her resources to hit back.
Die Hard
One of the greatest Christmas films of all time, Die Hard is the quintessential action flick.
The story itself centers on an NYPD officer called John McClane who tries to save his wife and several other people who have been taken hostage.
With German terrorists fronted by Hans Gruber, John finds himself stuck inside the building and forced to fight back alone.
Die Hard is great fun and while the sequels try to replicate the magic the original conjured, none have come close to this gem.
The Man From Nowhere
The Man from Nowhere is another well-paced action flick straight from South Korea.
Our protagonist here is ex-special agent Cha Tae-Shik whose only connection to the rest of the world is a little girl called So-Mi. Her Mother, Hyo-Jeong, smuggles drugs from a drug trafficking organization and entrusts Tae-Shik with the product.
When the traffickers find out, they kidnap So-Mi and her Mother, leading Tae-Shik on an enraged mission for vengeance – even if that means putting his own body -and livelihood – on the line.
This movie has a lot in common with Man on Fire and in a way actually usurps the American version. This a dark, moody picture and well worth a watch.
So there we have it, our 10 Movie picks to keep you busy after watching John Wick.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!