How To Create A Terrifying Protagonist 

"This is a story of a dragon . .and *you* just got in its' way." Goes UNBELIEVABLY hard

“I heard you struck my son?” “He stole wicks car and killed his dog.” “*Oh.*”

A villain turn protagonist? nah A terrifying protagonist? _yeah_

another really cool thing about the john wick movies. “bottomless mags” don’t exist here. if you know the gun he is using, you can count the amount of times he shoots and he is always out when he should be it’s another great detail

John wick is not a villain. Morally deprived protagonist, yes. He kills, but only those who have caused him harm. Basically he is an anti hero

John Wick telling Francis to go home is the epitome of "I can kill you anytime any place, but I have no reason. Don't give me one."

8:55 And the truly brilliant part of this exchange is they're speaking to each other in code. John is asking what to expect inside, Francis answers.

One review I saw of John Wick stated that the key to having an all but unstoppable protagonist is that it has to look absolutely &$@%ing exhausting. Wick annihilated everything in his path, but he looks like he wants to just collapse halfway through

Something you missed is the second fight we actually see, in his home. That is one of the biggest intros, especially when it comes to seeing his skill. He looks at reflections, windows, everything to get more intel on WHERE they are.

John Wick: imagine all the things a good movie needs… and multiply it by 6!

Keanu hands down made that movie. dude spent THOUSANDS of hours learning the guns and training to fight. that's just craftsmanship above perfection at this point

1:01 The whiplash with the fart sound and then him burying Daisy got me thinking hard

the first time i saw this i immediately felt the awe of pressence when the cops showed up. not for wick's ability to kill, but because he has *power* over everyone else in the film. you know nothing of his past yet and it still tells you EVERYTHING. i just remember chuckling because i was so excited to see everyone's reactions to him. yeah, that's right, its john wick. AHHHH!

_"Yeah..."_ Also, something interesting with the conversation with Francis outside the Red Circle, his comment on how much weight he lost is actually Francis telling him how many guards are inside

baba yaga as a nickname for john wick is probably the best misunderstanding of russian folklore in the history of cinema

“He the one you send to kill the boogeyman!” Is the greatest line in movie in history. Thank you Theo for killing his dog.

4:45 "Good evening John 😐" "Good evening Jimmy" Dead body in the corner: "Good night John 😀" "Good night Jimmy"

that was the saddest part of the John Wick Series. In the first movie he was truly terrifying, but after that he lost this aura of a real reaper, someone who instills fear in even the most harden criminals. They were good movies and i watched them all and i enjoyed them, its was just a bit sad to see him become just a real good hitman and not the "Baba Jaga" he was in the first movie.

I really liked John Wick, but I'll always remember seeing the 4th installment at the Paris Grand Rex. When John speaks with the continental owner here, he says something like "I'll kill them all" in a very strange delivery and the whole room burst laughing.

Another cool detail moment that someone else in the comments on another John wick video explained is that the conversation that wick and the bouncer at 8:51 had actually contained intel and wasn’t just “ey wassup bro move” Apparently the “you’ve lost weight” is code language In Russian or something for how many guards are inside, and the bouncer replies with over 60 lbs which converted to kg is about 28kg aka 28 guards which means the guard (at gun point and being threatened) told John how many guards there are inside. If I find the original commentor I’ll edit this one and explain a little better because I forgot like half of the stuff😅

One more thing that makes John unstoppable and terrifying. He's Keanu Reeves.

Time to wait 1 month for 10 minutes of quality

Interesting thing, John Wick the most powerful and destructive person in his world. Usually a protag is the underdog, often at the mercy and afraid of of the might the antag(s). It is switch around in John Wick films, the antags are afraid of the might of John Wick. This is one of the many reasons why John Wick is so interesting. I really cant think any other media that does something like that but only one show, a recent acclaimed anime called Frieren: Beyond Journeys End. Basically, follows the story of a seemingly aloof elf girl coming back after defeating the demon lord and she struggles with the idea of her longevity leaving her ageless while watching her friends and comrades dying of old age. We later come to learn that she is one of the most powerful beings in her world and the demons, ruthless human mass murderers, are deeply afraid of her and call her Frieren the Slayer. She is the John Wick of her world, very talented and a force of nature to her enemies. Frieren and Wick are both terrifying protagonists.

John Wick 2, when "serving the marker" for santino, i could swear it felt like payday 2 gearing up. From buying intel, to weapons, to armour.

i've seen alot of John Wick videos, and this might be the best

0:34 Story of A WHAT! (Yakuza reference).

Yes, the rolling all the way down the stairs was kinda goofy. There was an underlying point to it, though. It was symbolic as well. He had made it "out" of the life and been thrown/fell back into it. He was once again trying to climb out but was losing the fight and himself. Then a friend told him he had to get up and get to the top, again. So he did. This led to him getting out again.

I’ve loved the franchise since I first watched. But I never realized scenes like the beginning in chapter 1 are a sign of symbolism. Nice work on explaining the symbolism

One thing I really loved about the first John Wick is how grounded and realistic it was. Like you mentioned, the movie used real world gunfighting tactics for the shootout scenes. All that went out the window as the series progressed though, and each movie just had another layer of nonsense to the criminal underground(seriously, is everyone in NYC an assassin?) and the gun fights with the completely impenetrable bulletproof clothing were just plain silly.

i think the bulletproof suite took away the sense of danger that the first movie had. he was basically invincible and there was less of a sense of risk to me.

man every time i see a compilation or explanation about john wick i always end up rewatching the movie again. by this time, maybe its already the 50+ time i watch the first john wick. absolute masterpiece!

7 Deadly sins... 7 Pillars of wisdom...

Watching the setup for the battle across Paris in 4 I was thinking “come on, this is a gun movie, dragon’s breath is not a combat round, why get that wrong” and then all is forgiven when you get to the Hotline Miami scene and it’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen

John Wick puts the ''pro'' in ''protagonist''

All the terror subdues a little when you know that “baba yaga” means “old woman yaga” and is the name of Slavic witch-like folklore character.

4:40 had me on the floor dyin😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

John wick : "Dont" Cool lady : "He shot my dog" John wick : "I get it" Yeah we do John, we do 😅

"It's not about what you did... It's about who you did it to"

“The bodies he buried that day…laid a foundation of what we are now.” Is one of the most badass lines I’ve heard in a movie

bro your shit is awsome! please keep putting these videos out this is a literal gold mine for good content!

Another thing that idk if it was missed or intentionally skipped over: I love Keanu, I think hes great and will watch things just bc hes in them. And I think he deserves praise and applause, but hes not really award winning. I think that is also what helped this movie out a ton. They leaned into his style/ cast the perfect person for this style of movie. And with limited "acting" and a lot of hard work and choreography and actual effort, made something so much better than if they decided to throw in an audience pulling action star Denzel, Cruise, Statham, etc.

I wish i could watch it again for the first time. That character expo scene from Viggo had me on the edge of my seat

one thing i love the most about john wick is that there's never any vin diesel ass shit of him being a womaniser like every other character in his type of role. he's just a dedicated and broken man who misses his wife and dog. it doesnt feel like a power trip meat riding story, just a fun action film with good cinematography.

"this is a story of a dragon, and you just got in its way" Oooo tae, damn that opening is epic

I really like how John Wick isn't like superhuman, he is essentially like going through a Souls game: cautiously and taking enemies out individually. He is also not known as like evasive ninja where nobody can land a hit, nor an invincible juggernaut, but someone with "sheer fucking will" to make anything happen. He isn't invincible, it is his will that made him look like The Ancient Demon from Fear and Hunger from the POV of the antagonist.

The first time I watched John Wick, a couple years after it's release, I was blown away. I thought it was a really well thought out and written movie. The second and third, not so much. And I'm glad the fourth finally put and end to this story that didn't need to go beyond the first chapter.

Another thing to point out is in the scene where we essentially meet the antagonist he is talking to his son and telling him all about John Wick and how he (his son) messed up big time by going after Baba Yaga

If you think about it. This whole franchise is a horror movie from the point of view of the monster. Vigo left him tied in a chair . Got in his car and rounded the corner just to come face with john again. Thats horror.

John wick Series is a top 10 movie series imo and one of my favorite protagonist

So what I got from this is I needa watch all John wick movies because I’m missing out

The Genesis Arms-12 in the last movie was pretty cool. Only problem with Dragon's Breath is your target has to be soaked in some sort of flammable liquid in order for it to go up in flames like it did in the movie. I'm not complaining though, it's an action movie. If it was actually realistic Wick would've died in the first movie. Dragon's Breath is still one hell of a cool party trick to start a Bonfire.

To me, him falling down the steps was crushing. It felt like the final nail in his coffin, until cane helps him get back up. Yes it looked silly, but i couldbt help but cringe and snear at the pain john must have been feeling

Dude you should totally consider doing Kung fu Panda 2!

Rip my guys family, held by mark

Interestingly enough, as someone doing a lot of writing, including action, I've actually come to all the same points as shown int he video on my own, Through not as exclusively from John Wick but other stories but good and terrible. And less about a good terrifying protagonist, though these do help on that front too, but rather how to make a good action story in general. What I like about this video is it takes all these conclusions I came to and formats it into 10 minutes of a cohesive explanation with examples. I may have figured this out on my own, but having something that explains in a simple yet intelligent way is beyond helpful for my writing. Thanks man. Though if I could take one bit from this video and force it into every single writer in existence's mind it'd be the "Take what you like an find fun, and amplify it best you can, take what you don't care for and find boring and simplify and shorten it best you can"

I understand this in a very real personal sense. I have friends, yes... But even if they are friends they are somewhat fearful of me. I ask them why and they can never put a finger on it. But I make them anxious, jumpy, and wary. This tends to happen in a public setting to... I have had friends go with me to public places, shopping for example. And people are actual fearful of my presence. It is not something I do consciously or even know why it happens, but it does. I have even asked them in other peoples presence if I made those around me scared, and they say yes... but they can not put their finger on exactly why. On the plus side I do not get bothered by people in public much. Lol. But even with my closest friends it is present.

5 and half more years til John's Mustang is sarcastically fixed

I love Chapter 2, I think it is genuinely a true great action movie, so I forget how great the first film is, which is a similar thing with Alien and Aliens or Terminator 1 and Terminator 2. That opening in Chapter 2 with Peter Stormare's description of John Wick still gives me chills.

Thought the thumbnail said Bazinga. That is all I wanted to say, goodbye

John Wick character is build on a basis that its not the man who is cruel and violent that should be feared. Its the one that used to be like that and can be like that, but chooses not to. The whole 1st and 2nd movie are basically movies made out of a short poem/quote "Demons run when a good man goes to war". If anyone seen ie. a family member or a friend that usually has this demeanor of being very kind, loving etc, being pushed to violence, they know. People like that can be terrifying when pushed over the edge. Its not that they "snap". They will calmly walk close and pummel the oponent into the ground. Sometimes not even changing their expression. There wont be hate, there wont be anger. Opponent is just an obstacle, a threat, a problem to solve. Thats why John Wick of first 2 movies is scary. In every other movie or universe, he would be the antagonist, or at least that one very efficient killer that will come for you no matter what, and cant be persuaded or reasoned with. Not because he is insane or anything. He simply... IS. There is a target and a way to eliminate it, nothing else matters.

There are plenty of hate-able villains in fiction but I wish there were more protagonists in fiction who were feared or managed to become feared over the course of the story. Someone perfectly willing to victimise the said villains. (with who is a "villain" being determined on the basis of the reasons that caused a character to harm someone ... usually, a villain is the one causing harm without provocation). Way more interesting.

The best thing about John Wick is he is like everyone else only he can actually do it.

"The No. 2 pencil is mightier than the glock"

All I could think about during the stair scene of John Wick 4 was the panel of Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. "I warned you about the stairs bro"

Never watched the movies, now I want too, John wick is the perfect protagonist, has enough humanity to make him feel human and yet has enough power to feel stronger than human.

I think the seven steps is definitely a nod to the seven layers of hell as he's descending in to a world of hell, back from the 'dead', etc

This man played most of my fave editing music in 1vid. Amazing!

I'm one of those jaded oldies who generally hate modern movies/music and pop culture, once I watched the first one I was born again, I had to watch the rest.

"Oh". 'nuff said

the level of quality on these vids is crazy yo

"John is the dragon" and unfortunately for everyone that stands in his way there doesn't exist a knight with shiny enough armor no sharp enough sword to face that dragon

i haven't seen john wick yet but this has convinced me to watch it congratulations.

If the villains had just bashed John and stole his car, everyone probably would have been like "whoa guy, it was just a car. Calm down, and think this about your actions". But the MOMENT they beat the dog to death? EVERYONE collectively went "aw H*LL no, f*ckin kill'em, john!"

I love so much when he throws pistols or guns when his ammo runs out and doesn’t have the time to reload or don’t have any ammo at all 😂😂

Filming an action scene using wide shots and without cuts so you can see what's going on is basic film making in HK actions flicks. But you can only do that if the actors are actual action-based actors who have to train a lot to make these actions look believable and good. That's old school HK martial art movies always use actual martial artists.

I watched the first movie and while it was decent I came out of it mostly thinking this same thing. John Wick is an actual monster.

4:41 the desk worker reviewing the bodycam

The vine booms get me everytime lmao

10:05 I've walked those steps. They're no fucking joke. Falling down the entirety would be a mother fucker.

1:01 the sound effect was so unexpected 😂

How strong should we make John Wick? Yes.

I mean, that dog is cute asf so if I see John Wick literally shoot down a person, all I'd do is walk away as if I didn't see anything.

"Afraid so Francis. Why don't you take the night off.." "Thank you sir" Immediately leaves. Hahahahahahaha. Sometimes it's the little things

maybe its just me but the first john wick was the best of them all. it was dark and gritty and then went too hollywood with the sequels. its like why I enjoyed the earlier jason bourne movies.

That beating markiplier in subs in the end was deviously underratingly funny

While I generally agree with your points, John Wick's universe is inherently very silly to me. So I understand on some level that he is an absolutely terrifiying entity in his universe, it never felt that way to me.

I just thought of a different version of the movie. A one where the dog dies of old age and John Wick goes after the grim reaper. 🤣

Oh my penguinz0 really outdoing himself :0

Damn, I just watched a John Wick video. Looks like I need to watch all 4 movies again.

This is a man that has left the scene. He completed a near-impossible task and earned his freedom. This is a man that, if shown in his prime, would be dropping hundreds upon hundreds of people in a 2 hour film, and it would qualify as mass homocide.

Goodnight, Jimmy!

John Wick... Not exactly the boogyman, but the person you send to kill the boogyman.

Loved it!! Subscribed insatntly!!

I love it, brilliant analysis of John Wick. This concept is something I have spent hours speculating on and you summed it up beautifully. And I definitely subscribe, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time, I hope he lets your family go free😂.

Imagine if fast n Furious would have used the same approach after part 3.

wait so.. keanu is actually a possible john wick irl, thats crazy. luckily he's a sweetheart haha

Personally, Robert McCall is as terrifying or dare I say even more terrifying than John Wick, especially with how little the audience know about him.

2:39 buddha walked on 7 lotus flowers when reborn

1:58 Oh shit, i own that same coffee cup.

If the whole thing wasn't awesome, I would have walked away over that silly stair scene.