Entertainment Weekly by Chris Nashawaty

John Wick, is not only a return to badass form for the actor, it's also one of the most excitingly visceral action flicks I've seen in ages.

The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis

Harboring few ambitions beyond knock-your-socks-off action sequences, this crafty revenge thriller delivers with so much style — and even some wit — that the lack of substance takes longer than it should to become problematic.

Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele

It's a B movie made with A-student love for the relentless thrill of bodies in brutal motion.

Austin Chronicle

At the center of it all stands Reeves, a convincing embodiment of both the calm before the storm and its subsequent capacity for ruin.

Austin Chronicle by William Goss

At the center of it all stands Reeves, a convincing embodiment of both the calm before the storm and its subsequent capacity for ruin.

Chicago Sun-Times by Bruce Ingram

A lean, spare, stylish and grimly, methodically ultra-violent extravaganza that provides star Keanu Reeves with a much-needed infusion of cool. And hard-core action fans with combat-centric cinematic expertise on a par with 20ll’s “The Raid.”

The A.V. Club by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

Their use of Kaleida’s sparse, slinky “Think” — one of the most effective and eccentric sound track choices in a recent action movie — underscores the sense that what the viewer is watching is essentially a very loud and bloody dance piece.

Hitfix by Drew McWeeny

John Wick won't redefine action movies, but it perfectly exemplifies what I want from an action film when I go. Have fun with the world, shoot the action well, motivate it in a way that doesn't feel cheap.

Paste Magazine by Scott Wold

The blood-slicked, vividly drawn film universe John Wick illustrates is such a generous slice of pulp that, even if not original, per se, it exudes a confidence rarely seen these days, surefire franchises be damned.

The Hollywood Reporter by Justin Lowe

Distilling a couple of decades of stunt work and second-unit directing experience into 96 minutes of runtime, Stahelski and Leitch expertly deliver one action highlight after another in a near-nonstop thrill ride.

Village Voice by Stephanie Zacharek

Reeves is wonderful here, a marvel of physicality and stern determination — he moves with the grace of an old-school swashbuckler.

The Playlist by Drew Taylor

There are enough pleasures going on in John Wick to elevate it above just another dumb action movie.

IndieWire by Eric Kohn

Neither surprising or groundbreaking in any particular way, the movie gives us what we want and leaves it at that.

The Dissolve by Tasha Robinson

Keanu Reeves is the perfect figurehead for this kind of yarn, as he was in The Matrix: Emotionless, poreless, and polished, his character is more a graven idol of vengeance than a human being seeking it.

Variety by Peter Debruge

If you can stomach the setup, then the rest is pure revenge-movie gold, as Reeves reminds what a compelling action star he can be, while the guy who served as his stunt double in “The Matrix” makes a remarkably satisfying directorial debut, delivering a clean, efficient and incredibly assured thriller.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service by Roger Moore

Reeves animates the action and the filmmakers surround him with wonderful co-stars; the quietly menacing McShane, the chop shop operator (John Leguizamo), the dapper “cleaner” (David Patrick Kelly of “The Warriors”) and the spitting, hissing Nyqvist.