John Wick Opening

Sequence Analysis

By Hamzah Ali
Cinematography

There is an establishing/wide shot to set the scene and tone of the film. In the background we
see a city skyline and in the foreground we see what looks like some sort of warehouse on the
outskirts of the city near the docks.
There is then a zoom in as a car rolls into view and crashes, this movement mimics the cars as
it moves fast forward, however the zoom continues, building suspense as an unknown
character exits the damaged vehicle.
Following this there is a low angle mid shot of the person exits the car, this angle puts the
audience in a position of inferiority and weakness, however the man is injured and looks weak,
his position of vulnerability and weakness contrasts with angle used. Although this angle could
have been used to show that even though this character is wounded he is resilient and still
maintains a position of power, emphasising his strength and superiority.
Close up of hands covered in blood suggests there was a struggle with some violence that
may have resulted in a murder. From this the audience can infer that the sub genre of this film
is crime.
Over the shoulder of video being played to show what the character is watching and then a
cut to a mid close up of his face to show his emotion/reaction to it. He looks sad, tired and
looks to have given up as he falls to the ground.
Sound
Non-diegetic sound of radio asynchronous. This could
be a part of the scene as it could be playing from the
car that is later seen in the scene, or it could not be part
of the scene and used to set the scene.
The radio juxtaposes the scene as it mentions bright
and sunny weather while the scene has low lighting and
features a lot of cold colours.
Music is slow which mimics the slow movements of the
character who is wounded and moving slowly.
Synchronous sounds of video on phone shown being
played establishes background relationships and
motivations of character.
Editing

Limited editing/cuts to represent the character being

weak and slow as he is wounded so would be slow. They
also build tension and suspense to the film which show
that is a thriller film.
Fades to black to show transition of time, then title of
film revealed.
Mise-en-scene

All black suit hitman

Black jeep broken down enigma raised
Black is a mysterious colour that is usually associated with power,
death, evil, and mystery. It typically has a negative connotation
but also represents strength and authority. In heraldry, black is the
symbol of grief. Therefore the fact that a lot of black is used in this
scene e.g black suit and car is significant as it has strong
symbolism and connotations for the themes of the film.
Wedding ring shown on bloody hand, cuts to video of him and a
women which could be his wife.
Low-key lighting is used which is a common convention of thrillers.