We're thinking we're back! Nothing summarizes this matchup like the words "sweet revenge." John Wick and Taken are two fantastic action films revolving around uniquely skilled protagonists avenging the loss of dogs and people near and dear to them. Kyle loved the opportunity to re-introduce the "Keanu Lifer" back to the podcast. We also discussed how John Wick captures the essence of the classic action films we love while developing its own style. Enjoy John Wick Vs. Taken with guns blazing, or if you don't, we will look for you and we will find you. 

John Wick

Legendary assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) retired from his violent career after marrying the love of his life. Her sudden death leaves John in deep mourning. When sadistic mobster Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) and his thugs steal John's prized car and kill the puppy that was a last gift from his wife, John unleashes the remorseless killing machine within and seeks vengeance. Meanwhile, Iosef's father (Michael Nyqvist) -- John's former colleague -- puts a huge bounty on John's head.

• Rating: R (Language|Brief Drug Use|Strong Bloody Violence)
• Genre: Action, Mystery & thriller
• Original Language: English
• Director: Chad Stahelski
• Producer: Basil Iwanyk, David Leitch, Eva Longoria
• Writer: Derek Kolstad
• Release Date (Theaters): Oct 24, 2014 Wide
• Release Date (Streaming): Feb 3, 2015
• Box Office (Gross USA): $43.0M
• Runtime: 1h 41m
• Distributor: Lionsgate Films

Taken

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). Then his worst fears become real when sex slavers abduct Kim and her friend shortly after they arrive in Paris for vacation. With just four days until Kim will be auctioned off, Bryan must call on every skill he learned in black ops to rescue her.

• Rating: PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Violence|Disturbing Thematic Material|Language|Sexual Content|Some Drug References)
• Genre: Action, Mystery & thriller
• Original Language: English
• Director: Pierre Morel
• Producer: Luc Besson
• Writer: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
• Release Date (Theaters): Jan 30, 2009 Wide
• Release Date (Streaming): May 12, 2009
• Box Office (Gross USA): $145.0M
• Runtime: 1h 31m
• Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes.

[00:00:32] I love that quote because it's him defending why he's concerned for his daughter to his liar wife. Dude, his wife. Lenore, alright? Lenore is the worst! Dude, his wife is all up his ass in that movie. It's like, nothing could possibly happen to a little American girl overseas. Nothing ever happens to people.

[00:01:06] Didn't your heart just break a little when she was there? Oh, a lot. Just give the man some time with his kid. He's a former secret service agent. He's a hero. And he did the sweetest thing for his daughter, albeit weird timing right before she goes on stage. By the way, I know you're fixin to go do your thing, but uh I mean, that's just, you know, when civilians approach famous people, their judgment goes out the window.

[00:01:45] Uh, John Wick 4 was a masterpiece. You know, here's the thing. Drew is a giant MCU guy. What MCU is to Drew John Wick is to me, I, as everyone knows on this podcast, there's like 30 MCU movies and like four, it's perfect for me, John Wick, because, believe me, because for every 10 MCU movies, John Wick , [00:02:00] well, think about my favorite franchises.

[00:02:20] Like with total recall, when they remade it, how can you go from VOR Hoen to whatever they did? You know what I mean? With Robocop, they went from Vor Hoen to some, but they did. Yeah, and they just, they just. Basically, let people hack my favorites to death. Yes, we got T2, which is great, T3 is okay, but after that, it's like, Dear God!

[00:02:53] Alien was pretty good all the way through. Yeah, I loved Resurrection, I liked Three, there's some good ones. John Wick 4. That's not what this [00:03:00] podcast I know. So yeah, I love it. So yeah, this is my franchise, I love it. Um, and then when it comes to Taken, you know, I uh, you know, you can say what you want about Taken, but when I first watched it, I wasn't a dad, and so it didn't really resonate.

[00:03:27] Is there anything better than that? It's really rewarding. I feel like you can really get behind them, you know? Yeah. I made the mistake of watching that movie while I was working out. So I'm like f**king lifting weights, watching this dude f**k up these bad guys who were messing with his daughter. Yeah. I was just like.

[00:04:00] Yeah. But then when you see it so, like, perfectly laid out and you're like, it's such a compelling reason to get behind a character like, you know, abusing women and children and destroying lives and creating victims. Like that's like, okay, this I can get behind. Go f**k them up. We can just go ahead and say it.

[00:04:30] Open your mouth wide open and let the lava just go down your esophagus and enjoy living in melted captivity. Well said, guys. So anyway, I had to get that out there. It is actually, so we don't usually get too socially aware on this podcast. It happens to be something I'm passionate about. That's something we can all get on board with.

[00:05:07] Yeah. And he's, he's 49 and a half now. He's, uh, 59 now, when he filmed John Wick 4. Wow, dude. Man, this guy! He just keeps coming back! Good for him. He's so amazing! 59 and a half? He's 59 and a half in John Wick 4! I love it. And what they did with John Wick, to me, is they recaptured the heart of action that we love.

[00:05:42] It's modern, like it's modern storytelling, storytelling. New York looks great. It does. But it captures the simplicity, you know, and one of the critiques you'll hear about John Wick is the plot is a little thin But I was telling Phil before this the reason this I like this because it's you know One thing about mcu is and this isn't a knock against it, but it's got a lot of source [00:06:00] material It's infinite.

[00:06:23] This underground. Yes. And you can't help but go with it. I remember I fought it a little bit initially when I first wanted these gold coins, and I'm like, he's going to the hotel, and Lance Riddick is there, and I'm just like, I'm just kinda like, what? Now, he did die. He did. Rest in peace, Lance Riddick. He did.

[00:06:57] Like I guess the game, he made a sigil for his [00:07:00] character, uh, online the night before he died. No way. Yeah. Online. But he was a huge gamer, but man, he in the wire, he like, he like became one of my favorites on the wire. He was so good. He was just like an insanely iconic voice. He's like a very unique look, like he, he was just always a really enjoyable actor to watch.

[00:07:37] Oh, yeah. I usually don't care with celebrities, but, I mean, obviously, something happened to Keanu. How did he die, by the way? He had, he he wasn't old. Oh, no, he was like 60. 60? I I have to look it up. I don't want to say anything wrong. Yeah. Poor guy. It's really sad. I hate it. You know, so we're recapturing this this modern action that makes us feel like Arnold, that makes us feel like point break a little bit.

[00:08:09] And what a lot of people don't know is he was Keanu's stuntman on the Matrix. So he, on Matrix one, he was his stuntman. He actually broke his leg. Rando. Yeah, Rando. Yeah, that's intense. He broke his leg filming the train scene or the subway scene for Keanu in the Matrix. Um, and so many of the, the supporting cast are actually some of the best stuntmen in the industry because he's friends with all of them.

[00:08:44] He was Brandon Lee's stunt double on the set of The Crow. I mean, that is how legendary he is. He's a jujitsu. I, I've, to me, it's like, and we interviewed, uh, Mel Gibson's stuntman, Mick Rogers, the guy that invented the, the He was Mel Gibson's stuntman? No way. But his biggest thing was he invented the Fast and [00:09:00] Furious thing that allowed them to drive faster.

[00:09:16] There's a few, but as an action fan, like this is 10 out 10 for me. Yeah. So, uh, kudos to him and I, last thing I'll say is you two to blame for what happened to Kim and taken, I blame you two fully for this whole thing. Yeah. They're following them across you, not you as well. . Yeah. You two the band. Yeah.

[00:09:48] So there you go. And we gotta give a shout out to Johnny, and Johnny wanted me to tell you both something. So Johnny is a guy that's interacted with me a little on Instagram, he's a big fan, um, he always comments on the episodes, he's a great dude. Johnny Wick? Johnny Wick. [00:10:00] Maybe it is Johnny Wick. He has a cowboy hat in the picture, but maybe that's hiding a long mane of hair.

[00:10:17] Yeah, great recommendation. Yeah, and he wanted me to tell you guys that he is John His name is Johnny and he's also an Arnold lifer. That was his message to you too. Nice! So, so much. Good stuff. 86 percent of the fans preferred Wick here. I think we had something like 30 votes. Uh, and 14 percent taken, so obviously Wick was the slide here.

[00:10:52] Disagree. That was used for the audience. To further hate the antagonist. And this was a special dog. And to get behind the protagonist. This was [00:11:00] his gift to everyone. Now if Keanu's like out here kicking puppies, then sure, that's a problem. Yeah. And then he gets a dog at the end. He does. Uh, some reasons why people went John Wick.

[00:11:23] We've been getting a ton of love lately. It's just been good. f**k. Yeah, dude. Love us more. We love you. We love you. Long Tim. I'll put it that way. Just a few more comments here. Uh, Menored who's also in our private Facebook group. So if you're not part of the private Facebook group and you want to talk to other fans, join.

[00:11:58] The dog set off the whole [00:12:00] thing. So thank you fans. Keep them coming. Love the comments. Uh, and speaking of fans, last week was a big week for us. Um, we spent the majority of the week hovering around. We got to the number 37 movie podcast in the country. We got to number 1 in Belgium. We were number 1 in Belgium.

[00:12:29] Like, literally the first time we got in the top 20, like we were in 20 and then the next day we were number 180. It's just like, you just don't know. But anyway, you guys are really supporting. It felt really good to spend. That's the most time we spent and not only the top 100, but top 50 felt really good.

[00:12:57] Prothodonaries. Cause then, if, without that, neither of [00:13:00] us really say anything. Yeah. Until the end. And then we all just agree with Kyle, like, Yeah, you're totally right. Oh, yeah, I'm here. We'll just say Kyle's hype man, which is fine if we want to do that. I apologize, I'm experimenting with new things here and I'm, I'm kind of f**king it up.

[00:13:30] I like Complete opposite from the first time I watched it to the second time. I watched it The first time I watched it was when it came out, right? I thought it was a really good movie great action movie I didn't know who this liam neeson guy really was except he was in star wars Turns out he can do action and you know, whatever I was into it had a good time was not emotionally moved In any way.

[00:14:06] You got daughters in here. And by the end of it, when he rescued her, I was sobbing. Like I was so pulling for that character. For like, we already talked about it, it was such a compelling reason to root for a character. You know, just like, there's no one easier to hate than someone, you know, like a human trafficker.

[00:14:41] It's visceral. I'll actually say the puppy thing grounded it in a way for me, it sort of like, it made it relatable because a lot of these action movies kind of are like, sort of like out there and it's just this like world that you don't really relate to, but like having a woman that he was in love with who gave him a dog before she died, like that kind of brought it, [00:15:00] it rooted it in reality and made it really.

[00:15:19] So that's what John Wick was for me. And it was the plot to your point, Kyle, the plot was a little bit thin, which I think gets fleshed out further in the later movies. Because I actually love the world that it kind of escorts you into. And it, you, it kind of breaks the surface a little bit in the first movie.

[00:15:48] And one thing you were saying, one thing that hit me about the plot was, it wasn't just that his wife died, but this was the woman that was worth him getting out of the life. The only life he knew. Cause you learn that later in the installment, spoiler alert if you haven't seen all the John Wick's. You learn [00:16:00] later he was born, he was an orphan, he was a Russian orphan, he was taken in by the Russian mob.

[00:16:19] So, a big hole in his heart. And that's a great thing. for this matchup because they're both coming from a former career that kind of inform what they're doing in this movie and they both have a family member, you know, in one case it was a spouse that passed away and another was the daughter. But they're both for whatever reason.

[00:16:56] Beautifully said. Filskies. I had. scene [00:17:00] taken. It's been a pretty long time since I've seen that movie. It was probably around the time it came out. And once again, similar to Drew, I didn't really have any emotional reaction to Taken the first time around, even though just the concept of human trafficking is very disturbing overall because, you know, for those of you who don't know, it happens at sporting events around the country.

[00:17:41] that underbelly of humanity and, and, and bring some light to it. And even if it's kind of, uh, in a little bit of like violence porn, it brings some attention to it. So it's pretty hard not to get pretty pissed off watching that movie, especially as a father, you know, knowing that if somebody did that to your kid, you would, [00:18:00] you would turn the world over trying to hopefully at least.

[00:18:22] It wasn't like a great film. It's not going to go down in like, yeah, the pantheon of great filmmaking, but, um, it was just great. In spite of the fact that it wasn't, which is an odd concept. It kind of forced you to check a lot of of disbelief at the door and and just roll with it And it was and if you can do that, it's a really really enjoyable if not infuriating film Uh, John wick believe it or not had never seen it before watched it for this podcast for the first time And, man, that instantly, you know, to tag on to some Kyle ness here, it catapulted its way into my top 50.

[00:19:45] The gunplay and the action is some of the best out there, period. Easily one of the best action movies I've ever seen. It just kind of like embraces this old school feel, feel of mystery and a simple plot. Surrounded by incredible cinematography, [00:20:00] incredible choreography, and just amazing action. And I didn't mind how simple the plot was.

[00:20:17] Yeah, that was Bruce. Maybe Kyle has dementia. Maybe I have. Maybe I have dementia. And a cough.

[00:20:44] Well, here's what I'll say. Yeah. Well, think about it. Raw deal is basic action. Like, if you went to chat GPT and said, write a script for an action movie, it would, it would sh*t out raw deal, right? But Jonathan. That's really good. That's amazing. I love it. You [00:21:00] just said that. Ladies and gentlemen, raw deal.

[00:21:18] Alright, some guy gets a raw deal about something. Tell me He should probably have big muscles, right? Give me a title for a movie about a guy who gets a cake thrown at him and goes and murders people in the 80s. Chat GPT says raw deal. Raw deal. But, the reason I point that movie out, this is not a basic action movie.

[00:21:55] And it's, yeah. And he's wreaking havoc and doing all this violence, but it's, it's like a bloody dance. [00:22:00] Yes. And I'm like, that was a choice. And it was made by a guy that was a lifelong stunt man. I'm like, there's something beautiful. And I love this week, love. I love the repartnering of Chad Stalsky and, and, uh, Keanu Reeves.

[00:22:30] I was like, you take every one of the sex traffickers Oh, yeah. and you make them feel the full experience. of every ounce of pain that's available. And for that Neeson's a funny action star. I mean, he, this reinvented his career. He was mostly a dramatic actor. Um, you know, his life changed dramatically when his first wife passed away.

[00:23:07] I mean, he obviously made an impact. With these movies. Also, can we point out, Taken is yet another movie where a Liam Neeson Padawan goes, uh, kind of off on their own. Like, Liam Neeson sucks at raising up younger generations. Yeah, he does. His daughter goes and gets abducted, Anakin goes off and gets abducted, Obi Wan kind of sucks at teaching people.

[00:23:46] He's just And I, I have some stuff about this later, we have a category about it. I have a special set of skills. It's almost like the movie trailer guy. Everything is very little. I will find you. I will kill you. My favorite quote, one I texted you guys. ESPN. [00:24:00] What does he say? If you would stop obsessing over your damn desk.

[00:24:22] I'm like, we get it. Your former buddy that you used to work with has a new job. It's less stressful. Relax. But boy, does Liam take it to the French. Yeah. So anyway, I, you know, taken wasn't great, but I, I super enjoyed it again. The idea of crushing sex traffickers and women abusers. Before we rando, just a quick pitch.

[00:24:56] And now Phil is making a list! I have a list. You have a list. I'm pretty [00:25:00] sure it has 50 things on it. I gotta move around. You gotta order, but we're gonna start. We're gonna do little 5 minute vignettes. Guys, I've started my top 50 videos. Yeah! Drew's gonna join us! He's got one! Drew's gonna join us! I'm holding up my iPhone with the notes app open and it says top 50 and there's one movie it says John Wick.

[00:25:35] That, like, if those movies were to come on, we are in, we're watching them, doesn't matter when, where, how, like, those movies are just, in our, in, in our lives, they matter. These are 50 of the easiest shortcuts to joy. Yeah, so, I can't wait to see all of your comments completely ignoring that and saying that, like, some movie that I acknowledge Is on my top 50 and you guys sh*t all over me because it sucks and I'll be like I know but you don't [00:26:00] listen So f**k you So if you're one of the people that has been pinging me hitting me up saying hey, give me that top 50 list It's coming baby.

[00:26:26] Yeah, and that's one thing you hear, that's one other criticism you hear is like, there's probably some better names out there than the John Wick thing, but. There was already a, uh, horror movie starring Ashton Kutcher, I think. Baba Yaga. Yeah, there's probably some Boogeyman titles out there. But funny enough, this, this rando also affirms our decision.

[00:27:01] And it worked! It worked out pretty good. And everything you hear about it, you know, bullsh*t, celebrities suck, we love movies, but f**k celebrities. But everything you hear about Keanu is that he is one of the most genuine, best humans. In fact, I don't know if you guys have seen pictures he takes with fans.

[00:27:28] Well, he had a girlfriend that died in an accident and actually it hurt him. That's crazy. Yeah. Liam Neeson's wife died and Keanu Reeves girlfriend. Yeah. It really f**ked him for a while. He was, people would say they'd see him in public and he hadn't bathed in months. Like he was He, like, I think he really blamed himself.

[00:27:58] I would call myself a [00:28:00] lifer of, of Keanu. Good to know. Not of Liam! Heh heh heh. I love you guys. Originally, John Wick was 75 years old in the script. Yeah, they wanted to be an older guy that was way out of would have been awesome. It kind of would have been, and so they were entertaining older actors, although I think Chad, because of his relationship with Keanu, always had him in mind.

[00:28:39] Not everybody uses live ammunition, but everything that you are seeing on screen, Keanu practices with live ammunition at Terran Tactical. So all this was memorized at Terran Tactical with live ammunition. He's an amazing marksman. He takes this sh*t very seriously. You're a gun guy. You would love it, dude.

[00:29:15] Did I tell you guys I love him Would you call yourself a lifer bridget moynihan who plays? Uh, helen wick his wife to be married to tom brady. There we go. That's who that is. Yep She, she's the mother of his first kid. The one that he's doing his revenge tour on Instagram, showing how great of a dad he is, lately, is like, Look at my kids, they exist!

[00:29:51] But she Bridgette read nothing after her initial scene. So she actually, when she went into filming, she didn't want to know about John Wick's past life. Cause she wanted her character to kind of [00:30:00] exude this, this person that loved him for who he was. Didn't know about his assassin career. So she actually went in blind.

[00:30:21] Lionsgate executives were very apprehensive about that being the plot point. And Chad Stahelski talks about it on the, uh, on the commentary. That the studio thought it'd be like, We can't have you killing this dog. And they kind of kill him in a brutal way. So that was a point of contention. But they did eventually realize that this was a good plot device.

[00:30:51] I exactly, I've never understood. I'm sorry if that offends you guys. I love my dog. My dog is my, my ride or die, but f**k, just remember it's a movie. It is a [00:31:00] movie. The real dog. It wasn't graphic. Like you just kind of heard the dog whimper. It wasn't like you like saw a dog get crushed or something like it.

[00:31:26] So, I, I, I. I'm not gonna say I'm a big Marilyn Manson fan, I like some of his songs a lot, but um, the way that they ended up using Killing Strangers as a song is, they wanted Marilyn Manson cause he does some soundtrack stuff, um, we actually, oh, Resident Evil, he did, his band and him did some of the songs on that.

[00:32:00] So I guess what they do is they use a placeholder song. Yeah, they do. And then, so they went over to Marilyn Manson's house. And they were talking, like, Hey, we've been using this comp, we like it. And he was like, Actually, I got this other song. And so they're drinking absinthe with Marilyn Manson in his mansion.

[00:32:35] Pretty badass. It's a pretty like, yeah, it's like a really dark, but rad rock and roll song. It is, and it's the song. I mean, it's the movie. KILLING STRANGERS! That's what the movie's about, we're killing strangers for the most part. It is, but like the hook is, so we don't kill the ones that we love. Yeah, that is kind of weird.

[00:33:12] That's not ketchup. Randos for taken. Brian Mills, in order for him to do this. C. I. A. badass stuff. He actually went out and worked with a special air service soldier named Mick Gold, who was, uh, you know, this hand to hand combat special, so he got the real training just like Keanu did, and it shows, because the moves aren't super flashy in the movie, and they're very, like, effective.

[00:33:50] It was more realistic, I think. Um, this is hilarious, Liam Neeson thought this movie was gonna go straight to DVD when it was over, filming. He just had no confidence. I think it's probably because he didn't have the [00:34:00] confidence in himself, cause he had never really done a lot of action. At least that I'm aware of, I'm not like super, but he says, hadn't done a lot of action, he thought this movie was gonna be a huge flop when it was over.

[00:34:24] And maybe it was just me because I was 20 at the time when it came out and that, that concept hadn't really. Dawned on me so maybe that was maybe that was just my age or maybe that was just how it hit a lot of people at The time but and there at Liam was good And there was a lot of Memorable lines and just the like we've harped on many times like it was just such a compelling reason to root for that character So for whatever reason it really struck a chord with society it did because they made three really successful I never saw the other two either Yeah, what's the premise?

[00:35:10] Let her get taken! And then she's, like, all happy when she comes back, but in the back of her mind, she's really like, Well, now I can't run away with my weird husband from 24. I really, in the X Men movie specifically, I really liked Famke Janssen, like she was in Goldeneye, and she's done some She was in Rounders?

[00:35:46] Like, that's not how a mom reacts when she finds out her daughter is in the hands of a sex trafficker. A mom's life is all but over if she finds that out. And I just didn't believe it. She didn't You're destroyed. There was no sense of urgency. There was no, like, [00:36:00] there was just the emotion was not there.

[00:36:16] Well, and she shouldn't even have been thinking about, like, it, it just, the overwhelm of fear and panic about, oh my gosh, I may never see my daughter again. And the torment that she might be going through in this very moment. It's a good observation. Should have destroyed her. Question to you then. Do you think this was writing?

[00:36:50] that role? Jennifer Aniston. Actually, yeah. Interesting. She might have been too young at the time. No, she, she would have been about the right age. Jennifer Aniston's been old for a long time. I think she was seventy, seventy five in that. I'm just [00:37:00] kidding. Yeah, but instead she played it very stuffy and, and it was just, yeah.

[00:37:19] I don't think Anybody knew this. I didn't know this. Maybe a lot of diehard fans knew this. Liam Neeson was being courted for a different action hero before this movie, like, while they were courting him for Taken. Little character named James Bond. No way. He was in consideration. He said, his quote was, I was heavily courted, but let's put it this way, I'm sure the other actors were too.

[00:37:56] That's rough. Cause Royale came out. Natasha Richardson passed away. I could kinda see that if they were [00:38:00] going for like the, kind of the Sean Connery throwback, like that aged, kinda griffle, griffled, gristled, you know, hardened. I think he would do a good job. Not better than Craig, but better than Pierce. He might have been better than The movies are good though.

[00:38:25] That is our randos. Uh, shall we dance? Get the goddamn off me! Sorry. Top Bill cast! I think we go Liam vs. Keanu. Kyle, what do you think? They're both ass to do less of the opposite thing. I think Liam carries less physical acting weight. Keanu carries so much. Wow. Physical weight. Yeah, that's a great point.

[00:39:05] I think if you boil it down to both. Of those things, Keanu does them both better. I just think, yes, Keanu didn't do as much dialogue, but when he did, it mattered. And I, I really just think this is, this is where you want Keanu. Yes. Right. He gets criticized that he's not necessarily super dynamic, but he's an incredible stunt man.

[00:39:46] Wow, well said. This is extremely difficult, because I think that Liam did a fantastic job with this role, and really surprised a lot of people. I didn't see this coming, and I don't think a lot of people did. Like, no one thought of Liam Neeson as like, a Bruce [00:40:00] Willis. Type, you know, every man action hero and it's not quite action in the in the traditional sense, but it does have you know Pieces of that remnants of that, but I think he was really believable as a dad, you know Just really chasing after his daughter But Keanu man, uh, I'm so torn It's really difficult for the things that you just said like his dedication to the craft and just you can tell that like his being able to act that physically like being that physically attuned to You know what the role that he's playing is not an easy feat like you don't just walk in and just like press You know go and just start doing that like that takes a tremendous amount of work So I guess uh, I guess i'm gonna go keanu just because I like keanu better generally.

[00:41:02] Keanu, he doesn't say he has a very special set of skills. So how do you actually know? Two, Liam played Qui Gon Jinn in Star Wars. Keanu played a guy in the Matrix who got sucked into a computer. How many lightsabers does Keanu have? Yeah, Keanu has no lightsabers. Liam has at least one. Three, everybody that Liam brings up fails and turns against him and or falls into slavery.

[00:41:42] I was being a sarcastic, a sarcass holder. There we go, John Wick. Off to a hot start. That wick is burning. John Wick, one to zero. Get that burn God damn it! Someone else do this other end. You need water? Uh, I believe we call this going bronchiole. [00:42:00] I'm just gonna name a few here because Do that support cast!

[00:42:26] If you were on NBC last year, John Wick, Michael Nighy, NickVist. NikeVist. Oooh yeah. Uh, forgive me for butchering. Malcolm Allen, Willem Dafoe, Dean Winters. From the famed, what is the uh, Allstate commercial, that's right. Oh, that's his name? He's also on 30 Adrian Palicki, uh, yeah, John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick, uh, we'll stop there.

[00:43:17] Interesting. They became friends there, and so he put him here. He's the guy that the, he's the cleaner. The guy that comes and cleans up the bodies. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't recognize him. I like him, but he, he looks so old now and I, I didn't, I didn't, it wasn't until the commentary was like, that's David Patrick Kelly.

[00:43:50] Mayhem. It was. That, everything about John Wick, from a character standpoint, was far more memorable, even if you didn't know who those characters were. Um, also, who's the [00:44:00] guy, there was a supporting cast guy in John Wick, the one who played the son of the Russian dude, he was in, um, Game of Thrones, he was fantastic in Game of Thrones.

[00:44:26] Given that it's thin, we have so many big players, Willem Dafoe, Lance Riddick, so many great actors. Uh, you know, Michael Nyquist does a lot of foreign films, that's probably where most people know him from. I didn't know a lot about him going into this movie. They all deliver here. I just can't think of one performance.

[00:44:58] He does not go on that terror [00:45:00] because somebody killed his dog. That is not why. No, the dog represents his relationship. They kind of killed his wife. in a way. It represents his relationship. The dog is the straw that broke the camel's back, but there's a whole litany of, of sh*t that goes on before that, like him originally being in that life, him leaving it because he finds a person worth leaving, that woman dying, her leaving him a gift.

[00:45:33] That's what they all keep saying to him and, and they proved him right. I've heard so many people say that it's like a movie about, oh, it's, it's literally just a movie about a guy who gets his dog killed, then he goes on a rampage. It's like, dude, if that's what you think, you weren't, you weren't paying attention.

[00:46:03] You just have to be looking for it. Well said. Very well said. Uh, to me, it's John Wick. Easy. To me, like, taken, nobody else mattered in that movie, to me, from an acting standpoint other than Liam. I don't mean any disrespect, but they were just, anybody could have. been plugged in to play any of those parts. I love Famke Jansen, like I said, but I don't, I think this was one of the weaker things I've seen her in, and I don't think she was given a lot to work with, and I think anybody kind of could have played what she, what her role was.

[00:46:45] And him punching him. Believed him. Like you kinda liked him standing up for John Wick and you're like, okay. Now that's kinda when the plot thickened and that car, you know, the, in the garage scene or whatever. One of the things I loved about John Wick was how they never quite explained the John [00:47:00] Wick thing until later in the movie, but they just.

[00:47:22] slow trailer, it was almost like a trailer or a hype piece for John Wick, the whole movie. Like, it was like the first 30 minutes were like, just little pings to the audience of why John Wick is the sh*t and like informing you of his background and you know, and then finally I'll just say one of my favorite, like, I haven't, I haven't dived as deep into his back catalog as I'd like to, but Willem Dafoe is an actor that I really, really like and everything that I have seen him in, I've really loved his, his stuff and I thought he was really good in this movie.

[00:48:18] But what do you guys think? Best line? I'm thinking I'm back versus I've got a set of specific skills. Oh, I mean, I can go first here. I feel like that's a layup for Taken. The special set of skills thing was. It, that was a complicated moment in cinema because I'm not sure that people knew what to do with that.

[00:48:55] Like the special set of skills thing was, it was just, there is, has there ever been a more on the [00:49:00] nose line in a movie? Like he's just sitting there, like, imagine you're on the other end of that and you're like, who the f**k is this guy? Like with no context. He's there telling you. flip? Patty's a bird?

[00:49:29] So the taken is a very quotable movie. And that's kind of what it's known for better or worse, specifically that quote is really, really famous. I don't, what was the, what was the quote? Uh, the, uh, I'm thinking I'm back. People have been asking me if I'm back and I'm, and I haven't been really sure. I wouldn't even, it was a nice.

[00:50:06] I think the best lines come from Viggo, you know, the three, he killed three guys with a pencil and a bar. To me, those are the best lines, but this is kind of the signature. Oh, and you've got, you've got. I'm back, which was the Michael Jordan thing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I'll be back. And then you got I'll be back, which is Schwarzenegger.

[00:50:41] The way he delivered it, I kind of bought that he's in a different atmosphere. He entered a zone. He was able to separate himself from the fact that it was daughter, and he went straight to, like, special ops guy and be like, you could tell he was just postulating the number of ways that he could kill this person.

[00:51:18] I have to like, this is go time. I have to work. And he entered this. It's almost like a mamba mentality thing where it's just like this. I've got to win the game now. Nothing else matters This is just what I do. Um, yeah It was a really kim doesn't survive if he's not able to do that because he does it the first time he actually does it Is the scene leading up to that phone call, which is when he's telling her what to do, when he's giving her instructions about where to go, he doesn't even know the room, and he's telling her where to hide, and he's telling her to get a description.

[00:52:05] It's John Wick. And we do this with action. Who is more of a badass? We got two guys, very special skills as a film lover and an action lover, both very fun skill sets to watch on screen. Who is more of an action badass here? Interesting. This is a loaded question. Kind of, I'll go. I mean, you can take it a couple of ways.

[00:52:41] Like, cause you can't help but put yourself in like, man, if my daughter's life was. Hanging in the balance, how would I respond? Like, and you just can't help but admire a father that's willing to go to the ends of the earth for his daughter. So in that sense, boom. Liam Neeson, what a badass. But, but to me, the term badass is, like, speaks more to, like, [00:53:00] coolness.

[00:53:27] Just more of a badass. The way he goes about his business. I don't know. That's tough. Cause Liam does some cool stuff with beating the sh*t out of people too. The electric chair? The homemade electric chair? That's tough. It's tough. But, uh, yeah. I'll stick with Kevin. That's the scene that sticks out to be taken is the homemade electric chair.

[00:53:54] He was like, it'll stay on for three or four hours. Man, um, I honestly think [00:54:00] because he's such a dork, I would go, Liam here, here's the thing, like Drew said, it's kind of a toss up, it could go either way depending on how you interpret the question. To me, like, the unassuming guy, like, coming out and just assassinating the f f**k out of people.

[00:54:34] Like, it's, it's, it's all believable. Yeah. And whereas John Wick, it's a little excessive. Like, you could tell this guy pops a freaking, he pops a circuit in his head, and it's just over. He's like, you stole my car, you killed my dog, my wife is dead. f**k you! And he's just going on a killing spree. Which it's like, dude, I can sympathize.

[00:55:11] He, he broke, uh, conventions concerning torture. Like he just went above and beyond to save his daughter and, and left a body count behind him. That was. Just out of control. So to me, I go Liam, just because you wouldn't expect it out of that character. Yeah, I'm switching mine. You talked me into it because of the, the, the tipping point to me is the time situation because Keanu had already lost everything.

[00:55:54] He like, he just, he goes all out. And I will say, like, um, someone [00:56:00] Getting revenge on a lost loved one is one thing, but like, to me, really, seeking out and rescuing a daughter as a father, you don't see that a lot. First of all, in our society, fathers are not glorified for whatever reason. They're just not pictured as heroes.

[00:56:34] I walk it back I go Liam Neeson. I love so much of that and I actually was surprised with myself But I actually also went Liam Neeson or you know, Brian Mills for the most part because yes Wick is a badass But everyone's kind of playing with the same skill set. You know what I mean? In the WIC universe, because WIC is an enclosed universe.

[00:57:28] And, but he, you know, he gave her medicine and healed her, like, he, he kind of, like, he was cool and separated, like, he kind of separated his operational mind and his fatherly mind, but he somehow was able to still have, like, sympathy, so I, I do think, to me, that is badass, as a father, I'm like, yeah, that's pretty cool, and I love the different tools he pulls out, I can see why he was in the running for Bond, when he made the homemade electric chair, and his different torture methods, and, did you, this is a small thing, but did you notice that he honked at the people in the trailer when he's driving out of the, when he takes the girl and he's [00:58:00] driving out of that park or that industrial park, whatever, where all the women were held.

[00:58:19] Totally. And so. Yes. That's so well said. Whereas, John Wick's obviously the alpha badass. He's just brute forcing his way into f**king everything. Yeah, everyone's kind of playing chess, and everyone's very eloquent. The way John Wick is designed, so I think badassery, just like pure skill set, goes to Brian Mills here.

[00:58:51] It was like, it's like this big kind of mysterious web of like evil. Like, holy sh*t. How like, once you start pulling at this thread, how dark is [00:59:00] this going to get? And that was kind of like, yeah, it got pretty dark, possibly backed by government power. And then just like the end scene when they're walking out the.

[00:59:27] So it's just, they're complete departures. One is like, Ha ha, this little scrawny is gonna get his or whatever. And then the other one's like, Whoa, this is really kind of sad and dark. Worst parent, Lenore or Vigo? I know it's, I know the parent, like you would think it would be Mills because he's the other parent.

[01:00:00] He was like a CAA contractor. Of some sort. Never came home because he was always working. That was what we got. And so, given that you were married to this guy, Even if he couldn't tell you everything that he did, which is very likely, you were probably aware that he was a tool in fighting some of the darkest sh*t going on in the world.

[01:00:31] and being a part of this thing. Kind of because I know what happens here. Seen it before. This was my job. And the wife's like, Everything is fine! It's basically Disney World! You know, so he just has to let her go. Like, that mom was, was like, willfully and aggressively ignorant. And I could not stand her character.

[01:01:10] That guy was destined for destruction anyway. I mean, he's raising a, he raised a little boy in an environment where he had no shot. I mean, let's be honest. Like, and then he was mad at him for making the decisions that he was making. For stealing someone's car. And then he beat the sh*t out of him. Yeah, like, I, the, yeah, I'll go Vigo.

[01:01:42] And then the minute he drinks the vodka, he punches him in the stomach and makes him throw it up. And he's like, but, but this is a crime family. I mean, this is what mafia is. You, it is, you, you, they grow up to take the mantle of the family. Lenore is like actively empowering her daughter to lie. Right? Yeah, [01:02:00] I mean, she knew.

[01:02:19] You're gonna chase U2 around Europe? At least go for a better band. Pink Floyd reunited or something. Bon Jovi. Easy, easy, easy. Let's not be disrespectful. You guys have heard 80 percent of U2's records, right? I do like U2, but are you really gonna lie to your special walks husband? Yeah, I'm just not gonna put my kids at risk for U2.

[01:02:58] You know, it was originally called [01:03:00] Scorn. Then Keanu Reeves just kept calling it by the character's name, so they just changed it. You know, there are movies named after the, the protagonist. It is kind of funny here, you could have called it The Boogeyman, like you said, or something like that. Baba Yaga. The Boogeyman sounds like a horror movie, though.

[01:03:28] John Wick's better than all those guys. The research did give me an idea for a category. Does John Wick sound more like a movie about a candle salesman, or does Taken sound more like a Mariah Carey record? Ooh, or some kind of bop record. This could be a really bad category. I don't even know. It's not super strong, but I think Taken sounds more like a Mariah Carey album.

[01:04:05] Yeah. Come down to John's Wick. Ooh, go down on John's Wick. We've got Cinnamon, we've got Autumn, we've got October Bliss. I don't know, the Taken thing, I can see that. I think John Wick definitely sounds like a candle salesman. Now, would anyone make a movie about that? I don't know. But people have made movies about some pretty weird things, so.

[01:04:41] I love it. So who won? Oh wait, you haven't talked to him. You, you gotta go. I do think Taken sounds more like a Mariah Carey record, but just this weird idea of someone just selling candles, like a guy named John Wick, and his name is Wick, and his whole life is candles, just makes me laugh. Yeah, he sits there at night, like, smelling different waxes, like, Oh, this one will be great for my fall edition.

[01:05:16] There's only a total of 2, 700, or sorry, 2, 781 words spoken during the movie. 18. 37 percent of those are, come from John Wick. 511 words, that's all Keanu Reeves dialogue. He has like, less than 20 percent of the words spoken as the protagonist. I think the longest sentence in the movie is I'll get you some kibble tomorrow.

[01:05:55] Yeah, exactly. He does, he never shuts the f**k, you can see why Famke left his [01:06:00] ass. Are you talking again? Shut the f**k up, Jesus! Every time they argue while they were married. This waffle maker has a sticking problem. John Wick's lack of dialogue or, uh, what I wrote down as Mill's halting literal way of saying everything.

[01:06:44] I'm like, how are you not freaking out? Like how are you even able to be talking normally right now? You're just like talking all this special set of skills. Duh. I mean it is it's special. It's it's a set It's it's skills, but I I prefer To just [01:07:00] Like, uh, be a little bit more curious, like leave, leave a little more to be interpreted to the audience.

[01:07:26] They leave a lot to the wind and John Wick's lack of dialogue in that movie, I think kind of plays into that. So yeah, his, yeah, his lack of dialogue just adds to the mysterious air of that entire movie. And, uh, so yeah, John Wick landslide in my opinion. Yeah. Neither of these movies wasted any time. I mean, they were like, they were both like under two hours, right?

[01:08:01] Yeah. It's a quick, it's a quick watch. I went John Wick here too because I actually like Liam Neeson's delivery and I like his interpretation of the character. I think it, it's very distinctive. No one else really talks like Liam Neeson, in fact, I don't know if you guys, what is the movie, Ted with the bear?

[01:08:35] And he's doing this very serious take and dialogue. He's like, you've done me a huge service here today, because he lets him buy the Trix. Cause he's not a kid, and he tucks him into his jacket. Well, I mean, even in Star Wars, when he's talking to, like, little Anakin or whatever, he's like, I am measuring your midichlorians.

[01:09:06] But sometimes, sometimes the very deliberate, literal way of speaking works. And then sometimes it's hilarious. And it's, it shouldn't be because it's very serious. And the quote I used at the beginning of the show during our quotes, when I said, now, now's no time for Dick measuring Stewart. He's trying to convince a guy to help him find his daughter who's been sex trafficked.

[01:09:41] What's the quote? I'd be curious to know what Liam made on this. I think he made two or five on the first. 10 on the second, 20 on the third. Wow, just doubling each time? This is the quote I keep making fun of. Don't you really? And I texted this to you guys, this is from our text chain. This would have been much more easy if you would have been more concerned about my daughter and [01:10:00] less concerned about your goddamn desk!

[01:10:23] It is. And honestly, one mention of the desk is fine, but he mentioned the guy's new desk job, like, three times, and by the third time I'm like, WHAT THE f**k ABOUT THE DESK?! Why don't you put some lips underneath your desk so it can blow you? Now's no time for desk measuring! My desk is bigger than yours, and I don't even have one!

[01:11:02] I love that scene because like the neon lights, it's not, cause you know when they do the 80s neon vibes in some movies, it's a little much, it's kind of blinding. Here it's very subtle. Subtle. The music's good. Like, there's so much visual stuff happening that I don't even think about, like, wow, they're not really saying a lot in this movie because I'm just so entertained, but I'm thinking constantly about how the dialogue is making me laugh at a subject matter that is not funny.

[01:11:44] That's why I'm Phil. Now's no time for podcasting, Stuart. Also, Stuart, like, it's just weird saying, talking about dick measuring to a guy named Stuart. Stuart's a guy that wears, like, you know, overalls, and he's, you know, he's buying crayons.[01:12:00]