BY MŌEH MUHAMMAD ON JUNE 22, 2020 IN FIRESIDE MANHOOD CHAT
Note: Since John Wick 4 is upon us, I decided to repost this article. John was right until he made these mistakes in part 2. He’s attempting to survive since he made these couple of mistakes.
If you haven’t seen John Wick 4, please do! It’s wonderful. I’ll be seeing it again soon. Until then, check out this article.
The Movie industry stumbled upon two cult classics in 2014
Like most guys that I know, I’m an action movie buff. Being even more specific, my friends and I are into “mannish movies”. What are Mannish movies? Mannish movies are: mob movies, historic movies, martial arts movies, military movies and other genres of movies along that line. And let’s not forget the Marvel and the DC comic movies too! Like most guys, I only tend to watch romance movies, suspense and all around chick flicks when I’m “asked” to watch it. I’m pretty sure you guys know what I’m talking about…
In my opinion, only once in a while do you get a multitude of great movies in the same year. And it’s really rare to have two great movies come out back to back. In my opinion, 2014 was one of those years. The Equalizer came out in the month of September and John Wick came out the following month. Both were great movies. And being that they were so good, I ended up seeing both of those movies several times. What great movies.
Why did I enjoy those movies? Why did my martial arts comrades, law enforcement buddies and military buddies love those movies? Because they were real in so many ways. The combat scenes were so realistic. Brutal and straight to the point. To all of us that studied the arts (martial arts), all of the combat scenes looked like many of the things that we’ve practiced in class at some point.
But John Wick was on a whole other level! Why? Because anyone who carries a firearm for a living saw some aspect of the fundamental training that we were taught. But, what John did with those guns was next level. For example, anyone in any type of law enforcement is familiar with the basic bent elbow technique. Well in the first combat scene when the killers raided his house to kill him, he performed an advanced level of the bent elbow that I or any of my colleagues have never seen before! John also used his weapon as a blunt object to strike his attacker (in the throat) to give him more time to reload! He also performed an ippon seoinage (one arm shoulder throw) while having a weapon in his hand. All of the techniques were very realistic. I can’t tell you how many martial artists or law enforcement comrades that I know nearly dropped tears discussing John’s combat skills or “gun game”!
I don’t think anyone knew that both of these movies would grow to become cult classics and trilogies. They put the movie out, and I guess they began to realize that they had cult classics on their hands. What do I mean? Consider the fact that according to Wiki, only $20-30 million was invested to make John Wick. John wick would approximately gross $88 million dollars. Four months after the release of John Wick, John Wick 2 got the green light. They then invested $92 million dollars into John Wick 2. They eventually grossed $171 million dollars (approx.). With John Wick 3, they spent 171 million to make the movie. They grossed $326 million dollars. Like I said…cult classic.
At the time of this writing, John Wick 4 has already been slated. I haven’t heard anything yet about the Equalizer 3, but I’m sure it’s coming. And by the way, yes I know that the Equalizer is the reworking of an 80’s show called ‘The Equalizer”. But I assure you that no one that I’ve ever met in my age group or younger than my age group, knew anything about that show. We went because it was starring Denzel Washington.
The Synopsis of John Wick 2
But let me get straight to the point. John wick was a great movie. Then John Wick 2 came along. That’s when it got really interesting. After John gets his car back, he goes back home and eventually goes to sleep. The next day, his friend Aurelio comes to John’s house to take John’s battered car to his shop to repair it. Later on that day John re-buries his weapons and suit in his basement. In his mind, he was done…back to retirement.
The doorbell rings…
As soon as he finished burying his weapons and his suit in his basement, John hears his doorbell ring. He answers the door to find an old acquaintance. It is the crime boss, Santino D’Antonio. John lets him in. After the pleasantries, Santino gets straight to the point:
Santino: “Listen John, with all sincerity, I don’t want to be here.“
John: “Please don’t. I’m asking you not do this.“
Santino: “I’m sorry. No one gets out and comes back without repercussions. I do this with a heavy heart John. But remember if not for what I did, on the night of your impossible task, you wouldn’t be here, right now like this. This (pointing around to John’s house) is because of me. This in part is mine.“
John: “Take it back.” (The marker that Santino pulled out of his pocket)
Santino: “A marker is no small thing, John. For a man to grant a marker to another is to bind a soul to a blood oath.“
John: “Find someone else.“
Santino: “Look at this (the marker). What is this? You Remember? This is your blood (his fingerprint in blood, that’s in the marker). You came to me. I helped you. If you don’t do this, you know the consequences.“
John: “I’m not that guy anymore.“
Santino: “You’re always that guy John.“
John: “I can’t help you. (He slides the marker back to Santino). I’m sorry.“
Santino: “Yes you’re right. You can’t…I’ll see you soon John. You have a beautiful home, John.“
Antonio leaves John’s house and then blows it up with a grenade launcher. John and his dog survive the explosion. We all know John…we know how he thinks. You and I both know what he has in his mind to do next. But before John does what he has in his mind to do, he goes for council.
Mr. Winston…
John with all of his frustration walks all the way to Newyork city with his dog to the Continental to speak to Winston. Winston kept it blunt, fair, and honest with John.
Winston: “What are you doing Jonathan?“
John: “He burned my house down.“
Winston: “You rejected his marker. You’re lucky he stopped there. What the hell were you thinking giving a marker to a man like Santino D’Antonio.”
John: “It was the only way I could get out.“
Winston: “Ohh. You call this out? What did you think was going to happen? What did you expect? Did you really think this day was never going to come? What does he want you to do?“
John: “I didn’t ask. I just said no.“
Winston: “Two rules that cannot be broken:
- No blood on Continental grounds
- Every marker must be honored.
Now, while my judgment comes in the form of excummunicado, The High Table demands a more severe outcome if their traditions are refused.“
John: “I have no choice?“
Winston: “You dishonor the marker, you die. You kill the holder of the marker, you die. You run, you die. This is what you agreed to, Jonathan. Do what the man asks. Be free. Then, if you want to go after him, burn his house down, be my guest. But until then…“
John: “…Rules…“
Winston: “Exactly. Rules. Without them we’d live with the animals.“
Honoring the marker…
John goes to the museum to speak to Santino. He goes there to see what was the task that he owed Santino.
Santino: “I didn’t want to do this, John. Had you stayed retired, I would have respected it.“
(When John asks Santino what does he want him to do, Santino tells him that he wants him to kill his own sister, Gianna D’Antonio. After getting over the shock that this man would want to kill his own sister, he asks him why. Santino explains)
Santino: “There are 12 seats at the High Table. Camorra, Mafia, and Ndrangheta. Chinese and the Russians….when my father died, he willed his seat to her (Gianna). She represents Camorra now. And I can’t help but wonder what I might accomplish in her stead.“
John: “You want me to Kill Gianna D’Antonio?“
Santino: “I could never do it. She is my blood. I still love her.”
John: “It can’t be done.”
Santino: “She is in Rome for her coronation. You will take the catacombs in…“
John: “It doesn’t matter where she is.“
Santino: “That’s why I need the ghost, Lo Spettro, John Wick. That’s why I need you. Do this for me, and your marker is honored.“
The Mission….
John goes to Italy to fulfill the mission. He sneaks into Gianna D’antonio’s house. As soon as she sees John, she knew that her life was probably about to end. She asked John who desired to have her killed and he told her it was her brother. She then tells John that she always lived her life on her own terms and then like a brave soldier she took her own life by slitting her own wrists. John then shoots her in the head to fulfill his obligation.
A snake…is a snake, is always a snake…so what does that coward, Santino D’antonio do after John completes the assignment for him (to fulfill his obligation to Santino)? He sends his female muted killer-Ares and a crew of hitmen to have John killed to “tie up loose ends”. This obviously was a bad decision. John kills all of them, except for Ares. She gets away.
Cassion…
As John attempts to escape from Gianna’s house unnoticed, he bumps into Gianna’s head of security, Cassion. Being a hitman himself, John and Cassion know each other. When he sees John, he asks him the obvious question:”John, are you working?”
John answers yes. Then he asks Cassion the same. Cassion answers yes. Then he asks John is he having a good day? John says, “Yes”. Then they shoot each other! Being that both of them have on bullet proof lined suits, they both get knocked off their feet but are not injured…just in a lot of pain. John gets up and runs away. Cassion tells the guards to pursue John as he goes to check on Gianna. Cassion realizes that John killed his ward (Gianna). Now for the rest of the movie, John not only has to deal with Santino’s crew but also Cassion because he Killed Cassion’s boss, Gianna.
The Contract
As John is getting ready to leave the Continental in Rome to head back to New York, John gets a phone call from Santino:
Santino: “Hello, John. I understand if you’re upset. And I know it might feel personal. But what kind of man would I be if I didn’t avenge my sister’s murderer? ”
John hangs up the phone on Santino as he’s in mid sentence. Then immediately, Santino places a seven million dollar bounty on John’s head. John now is being hunted by all of the assassins in New York. Now we all know what’s next…the boogey man is back. And he is focused on one person…Santino D’Antonio.
John is in full “boogeyman” mode
As soon as Santino places the bounty on John’s head, he then goes to the Continental (in New York). Winston now has a frank conversation with him.
Winston: “He completed the task. The marker is over. Mark it (sign off on the contract being fulfilled).“
Santino: “If Mr. Wick isn’t dead already, he soon will be.“
Winston: “You have no idea what’s coming, do you?“
Santino: “I have everyone in NewYork looking for him. I doubt we will see him again.“
Winston: “Do you know? You stabbed the devil in the back and forced him back into the life that he had just left. You incinerated the Priest’s temple. Burned it to the ground. Now he’s free of the marker, what do you think he’ll do? He had a glimpse of the other side, and he embraced it. But you, Signor D’Antonio…took it away from him.”
Santino: “He was already back.“
Winston: “Oh, he came back for love, not for you.“
Santino: “He owed me. I had every right.“
Winston: “And now he’s coming again. He did tell you not to do this. He did warn you…“
Later on, John eventually finds Santino and he goes to do what John Wick does best. He goes to the museum to kill Santino and he eventually kills all of Santino’s security team. Santino gets away and runs to the only place where he should be safe- The Continental. Why should he be safe there? Because no “business” is allowed on the Continental grounds.
John tracks Santino to the Continental. He finds where he is, and he goes to see him not even putting away his gun. Santino is sitting there eating some type of meat (in duck fat), when John finds him. He tells John how nothing beats duck fat. Then he reminds John that as long as he stays there he can’t do anything to him. As a matter of fact, he might stay there indefinitely. He’s gloating….
As Santino is telling this to John, Winston is in the same room. He reminds John of the rules of the Continental. He tells John to walk away. He tells John to not forget the rules. As he’s saying this to John, Santino also says, “Yes John walk away…” As he’s saying this, John shoots Santino in the head and kills him. John tells Winston that it’s over now. He then walks home with his dog.
Winston calls for John the next day. When John meets him, Winston tells John that he has broken the rules, so he must pay for what he has done. The High Table has doubled the reward on John’s head now- $14 million dollars for killing a member of the High table. Now every assassin must hunt him down. He then tells Winston, to tell all of the assassins, that if they come for him, he will kill them all. Winston then tells John that he has one hour until the contract is in effect. As John is running with his dog, you see all of the undercover assassins watching John and looking at their watch. In one hour the hunt will begin. To be continued…Part 3.
John was wrong
When I saw the end of the movie, when John shot Santino, I immediately had mixed feelings. I had mixed feelings because it was a good movie, but I sensed that John broke some rules, or should I say laws. What laws am I referring to? Yes, he broke the laws of the world that he belonged to…but more importantly, he also broke the laws of our world…the world of men. It would take time for me to be able to understand all of the laws he broke. Why? Because in the same year John Wick 2 came out, it was the same year that I would become an understudy to my mentor. And this man who would help me to understand the higher arts and sciences of manhood.
As I spoke to many guys, I also began to realize that not too many guys realized all of the man laws that John broke. Let’s discuss what John Broke.
Broken Rules
1)He conducted business with a male with no character
As a man, character is an important thing. Integrity is also an important thing also. What do I mean by character?
The dictionary defines Character as the following:
A) One of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual. The complex of mental and ethical traits marking often individualizing a person, group, or nation.
B) Main or essential nature especially as strongly marked and serving to distinguish.
C) Reputation
D) Moral excellence and firmness (a man of sound character)
E) A person marked by notable or conspicuous traits (quite a character.)
What is the meaning of Integrity?
The dictionary defines integrity as:
A) Firm adherence to a code especially moral or artistic values: incorruptibility.
B) An unimpaired condition: soundness.
C) The quality or state of being complete or undivided. Completeness.
My mentor taught me that Character was, “The overall body of works of a person”. In essence , character took time to reveal because it was the total essence of the person. And after watching this person for a length of time you learn their ways; you can now pretty much predict what a person will and will not do. Based on their character, you can know if what someone tells you about a person is true or not . For instance, if you know this person to be a snake…a liar or a thief, if someone tells you that that same person lied or stole from them, based on what you know of them, you can believe them. Why? Because you know their character.
Now when a person says, “That person has character.” What they are saying is that this person has good moral character. The problem is that it appears that everyone knew that Santino had no character. John did too. In other words he had bad characteristics. They probably knew this because of how he dealt with people and issues in the past. And everyone knew about who he was as a person…that he was a snake, that didn’t live by principles. He only lived for greed and power. And based on his hunger for greed and power, his personal rules could change.
A man of character doesn’t conduct business with a man that doesn’t have character. Why? I can name at least two reasons:
- Because he will usually attempt to put you in a position that will compromise your principles.
- He will use your friendship and trust for his unscrupulous dealings.
This is why Winston said to John, “…What the hell were you thinking giving a marker to a man like Santino D’Antonio?” Crooked individuals will always put you in a compromising position. And why would they do things to a person of honorable character? Because they know that people trust your character. So they can get away with their madness under your reputation. So a man of character would never deal with an unscrupulous person. John compromised this principle because he wanted out. He was willing to sacrifice his better judgement over love. We’ll dive into that subject at a later time.
Because John owed him, now John was obligated to do something so despicable and dishonorable. John is not known to hurt people that he had relationships with. He was well acquainted with the late father and the sister. Doing these things would dishonor the respect and friendship that he had with the late patriarch. This coward made John compromise the essence of who he was. But that’s what people of low character do.
2) He broke his word
The underworld that John Wick belonged to, like any society or organization had rules. One of the rules that existed was that there was to be no “business” allowed in any of the Continental Hotels. What do I mean by business? I mean killing. All of The Continentals were considered “Switzerland” in that underworld. What do I mean by Switzerland? The Continental was to be a neutral ground. Where an Assassin can “relax” without the fear of his life being in danger. And the punishment for violating these rules was death. Remember Ms. Perkins who attempted to kill John at the Continental in John Wick 1? She was eventually killed on the orders of Winston for breaking that rule.
John was so enraged with Santino’s treachery that he violated his word. This is forbidden in our world. Many times female friends of mine and female relatives, have done things that were in pure violation. When pressed for a reason, if they were honest, they’d say, “I did it because I was angry.” This is acceptable for women, because she leans towards emotion. Her first response is to react out of emotion. If she has evolved, she can overcome her emotions and respond with logic. I know many women that can do this. But in the world of men, it is forbidden and looked down upon to react out of emotion. And in some societies, you can lose your life. In the world of men, you look like an underdeveloped male when you are reacting from emotion and not reason. It is in violation of the way of men.
3) He violated his friendship
And lastly, John out of emotion, disrespected his friendship with Winston. Friendship is a sacred thing in the world of men. And to violate it over emotion or lust is a serious and grave violation. And usually if men hear that you have violated your friendship with another man, you are not worthy to be trusted. Even women, hold the “sorority of womanhood” sacred, and if one female in the circle violates another, then that female can be ostracized.
John was in such rage, that he disrespected his friends establishment just-to kill Santino.
Many of my friends on several occasions bit their tongues at the disrespectful or demanding behavior of my ex. I have friends who have wives or girlfriends that I don’t like because of their character, but there is nothing that she could do to make me lash out verbally at her. I would deal with him over the issue, as they would deal with me. Why? Because of our friendship. Because of our friendship, certain things can’t be violated. Even if I was John, I’d have to walk away. To violate your friendship is unmanly. And to be honest, Winston had the right to end their relationship. Why, because he disrespected him by disrespecting his abode…his place of business. He had no respect for their friendship.
Conclusion
- He conducted business with a male who didn’t have any character.
- He broke his word
- He violated his friendship over emotion.
There is one other thing that John violated. But I won’t speak on it today. Maybe another time. Until next time.
And Remember!
Be a Man…
Leave a Reply