If you’ve been wondering what movies to watch in your free time, look no further. In today’s time and age, movies and media are easier to access and enjoy than ever before. Streaming services like Netflix, Disney +, HBO Max, and Paramount +, to name a few, give you the power to watch any movie anywhere, any day, at any time. Well, with this information, if you are into action movies then today is your day. Here are some recommendations from action movie enthusiasts at the iSchool that will surely make your day or even make your collection of movies if you are the collector type. 

“John Wick”

“John Wick” is a fantastic R-rated franchise worth watching for the action enthusiast. It tells the life of a retired hitman living what is a normal life, but things go downhill for him because of the loss of his wife and the killing of his pet dog that his wife left him before dying.

The killer of his dog was none other than the son of the mafia boss who John used to work for. After this, John Wick reprises the role of  Baba Yaga, the hitman, to get revenge for his dog.

Gabriel Garcia, a former iSchool student, is a big fan of how the first movie plot started with the murder of his dog but prefers the plot of the third movie: “Yes I do like the John Wick movie plots. If I had to choose, the third John Wick movie has the best plot out of the other two. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the fourth installment.” Going on with what Gabriel said that the plot was unique, studio executives also had in mind what kind of plot they wanted. They made sure they would make the best movie for action enthusiasts.

Before the creation of the unique plot, Studio Executives had in mind killing off John Wick’s family instead of killing the dog that his deceased wife had left him. Director Chad Stahelski stated, “This familiar setup, already seen in dozens of generic, predictable vigilante thrillers, would’ve taken away everything that made the John Wick script unique.” 

He starts eliminating the people on his way to get to the mafia boss’s son. Once he does that, he kills him, but the Mafia boss gets up and fights John Wick.

Gabriel was not only shocked about the plot but also liked how well the fight scenes and the choreography were in the first installment. He said, “Another reason I would say is the violence and the choreography. The fight scenes that Keanu Reeves is in are really intense and always keep me at the edge of my seat.”

This is of course how the director and the studio executives wanted people to feel. Studio Executives stated, “ the action scenes in John Wick would be much more beautifully staged, shot, and realized than the action scenes in most of the other thrillers getting churned out by Hollywood.” “John Wick” is known to be the bloodiest and most gory film with high suspense scenes.

The second and third installments both have equally the same action, bloody, and gory scenes, in which we follow him through a bounty on his head after the killing of another mafia boss in a hotel. In the third movie, we see John Wick running and hiding from the various assassins that want to kill him, so he gets help from an old friend and drives to the desert to prepare himself while hiding from the assassins and then goes back to end the bounty. 

The franchise itself is one of the most popular and greatest franchises mostly because of its storytelling, violence, fight choreography, and elaborate gunplay. 

Actor Keanu Reeves mostly makes up the movie’s blockbuster film because of his fantastic performance and his great acting as a retired hitman. But not only that, he is a really humble person on the inside. He dedicated himself to giving the best on every installment. 

John Wick is one of the best films ever created that made Gabriel say “I wouldn’t really change anything” which is exactly correct because Hollywood executives also say “Ultimately, there’s no special ingredient that makes John Wick an imitable template for a relatively low-budget movie that launches a high-grossing franchise.” 

“The Dark Knight”

The Dark Knight was made in 2008 and is one of the three best live-action interpretations of the popular DC superhero Batman. Christian Bale plays Batman, and his main antagonist Joker was portrayed by Heath Ledger.

This movie’s plot, iconic characters, and action sequences make up for a good and loved movie for all of the Batman fanatics.

Johnny Schlossberg, a student at the iSchool stated, “I guess the plot is good because it is constantly asking questions, it’s like always making the protagonist face new scenarios, It’s not like a basic villain like hero kind of thing. Like the villain’s goal isn’t to kill the hero, it’s just to cause chaos.” He also said, “The action sequences are very good, it is an action movie but you’ll find when you’re watching it the best parts of it may not be the action.”

Christopher Nolan wanted it to be the most down-to-earth superhero movie of the caped crusader that not only focused on Bruce Wayne but also learned more about the characters and their development. Nolan stated, “‘The Dark Knight’” is not one’s typical superhero movie, nor does it play out like one. The middle act of the film shows Rachel Dawes being murdered by the Joker and Wayne’s newfound ally Harvey Dent suffering horrific facial and psychological wounds that derail him as a person.”

The movie’s setting takes place after a year of the first Batman movie from the series, and it starts with a heist that was made a mystery until the five-minute mark. At the same time, a new character comes into a play named Harvey Dent played by Aaron Eckhart.

Throughout the whole movie, Batman has to deal with the Joker’s terrorist-like plans; hurting and killing people just for the fun. This clearly indicated to the audience that the Joker was a maniac, a force not to be reckoned with that had to be stopped.

The Dark Knight was a movie that just really felt realistic and scary because of the great performance that Heath Ledger played as the Joker. Johnny clearly stated that “When you watch it you’re locked in you know everything is interesting, it doesn’t get boring, it is like the definitive action movie you know.” 

To Johnny it was interesting but, the other people in the audience stated, “The Dark Knight portrayed destruction in a way that made audiences feel both uncomfortable, and unsafe.”

In the end, Harvey and Rachel, who were in a relationship, are taken hostage as part of one of Joker’s plans. Gordon manages to save Harvey but Rachel dies in an explosion.

Harvey works with the Joker and becomes Two-Face with the goal to kill Batman. Batman in the end stops the Joker but Harvey commits suicide.

Batman is blamed for killing Harvey Dent, so his only option is to run from the cops. With the iconic roles and the complexity of the plot, “The Dark Knight” is an iconic and irreplaceable Batman movie.

Both Johnny and the critics have the same ideas regarding director Christopher Nolan’s vision: “Wouldn’t say I would change anything but there is like, it is very close to perfect but it’s just like there’s always going to be room for improvement and like there’s always going to be a better version,” stated Johnny. 

Critics say, “The Dark Knight took a far different approach with several story arcs and thematic elements woven into one overreaching message.”

“The Great Escape”

The Great Escape is notionally one of the oldest and most interesting war movies in cinematic history. Produced in 1963, the movie took place during WWII. It told the story of the escape of a group of allied troops. 

American Captain Virgil Hilts, played by Steve Mcqueen, and British leader Roger Bartlett were among the prisoners in this group held captive in a German POW (prisoners of war) camp. These allies not only planned a way to escape but also found a way to distract Nazi forces from the battlefield helping their fellow comrades in the war. The allied troops managed to escape by digging a tunnel under the prison cells, but when it come close to escaping things start to get intense with the troops  

Orrie, an iSchool student stated, “It is an escape movie which I enjoy, they add a lot of storylines that all connect at the end and it’s good”

Critics stated, “It’s a film fathers like to share with their families, and husbands like to enjoy by themselves while their wives are off on a weekend trip.”

This is obviously what director John Sturges aimed for and successfully achieved. He also managed to make the audience and Orrie feel suspense. 

“Yes, the action scenes were exciting and suspenseful,” Orrie stated. Orie’s feelings ties to what the critics said  – “it’s got a wartime setting, action, suspense, a crackerjack cast that includes James Garner, Charles Bronson, and Steve McQueen, and, of course, one of the greatest cinematic motorcycle stunts of all time.”