The story focuses on John Wick (Reeves) searching for the men who broke into his home, stole his vintage car and killed his puppy, which was a last gift to him from his recently deceased wife.[6] Chad Stahelski and David Leitch directed the film together, though only Stahelski was credited.[1] Kolstad had completed the screenplay in 2012 and further developed it for Thunder Road Pictures.[7] The film was produced by Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road Pictures, Leitch, Eva Longoria, and Michael Witherill. It marks Stahelski and Leitch's directorial debut as a team after multiple separate credits as second-unit directors and stunt coordinators. They previously worked with Reeves as stunt doubles on The Matrix trilogy.[8]
Stahelski and Leitch's approach to fight scenes drew upon their admiration for anime[9] and martial arts films.[10] The film used fight choreographers[11] and gun fu techniques[12] from Hong Kong action cinema.[13] The film also pays homage to works such as John Woo's The Killer, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge and Le Samouraï,[14] John Boorman's Point Blank, and the Spaghetti Western films.[15]
The film was met with positive reviews, with critics labeling it as one of Reeves' best performances and one of the best action films of 2014. It grossed $86 million worldwide against a production budget of $20–30 million. A sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2, was released in 2017, and was met with comparable critical and commercial success.
