Movies - TV
John Wick’s 12 Best Kills, Ranked By Brutality
By KIRA DESHLER
12. Knife to chest
“Chapter 2” introduces Ares, a member of crime boss Santino D’Antonio’s security detail, as one of John Wick’s notable adversaries. Wick plunges Ares’ knife through her hand and into her chest during their showdown, and while her quick death isn’t as brutal as it could have been, it’s still hard not to squirm seeing a hand being stabbed.
11. Sword in torso
One of Wick’s go-to moves when wielding a blade is a hammer technique to further drive the weapon into his opponent, as he uses in his fight against the assassin Zero in “Chapter 3.” It’s not the most brutal kill, but what makes it difficult to watch is knowing Zero is a big fan of the man pounding a sword through him.
10. self-inflicted
The first film’s climatic knife fight against Viggo Tarasov ends when Wick pulls his opponent’s weapon into his stomach, allowing him to break Tarsov’s arm to gain the upper hand. It’s unclear whether John stabbed himself as a strategic move or if it’s a signal that he’s lost the will to live, but the stunt is startling either way.
9. Brains blown out
While most of Wick’s gun kills tend to blend together, the club shootout in “Chapter 2” shows just how gruesome they can be after the legendary assassin shoots a goon point-blank in the back of the skull and splatters his brains. This sequence reminds the audience just how brutal close-range shots are compared to long-range ones.
8. Close-up shotgun
Wick proves he’s a master with any firearm during the action-packed sequence in the catacombs in “Chapter 2” after getting his hands on a shotgun. When Wick runs out of ammo, he presses the weapon against his opponent’s chest and forces him to the ground while he reloads, then shoots the pinned man in the chest.