John Wick was released in US cinemas on Friday (24th October) and has already been hailed as a financial success, making $5.45 million on its opening night. So if you fancy seeing Keanu Reeves back where he belongs - in full action mode - here's what John Wick is all about and what the critics have to say. 

Watch the Movie Trailer for John Wick: 


Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick, a retired New York hit man who returns to his old ways when a gang of thugs destroy the last reminder Wick has of his late wife. Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones) star alongside Reeves as the film's protagonists. They are joined by the likes of Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man), Dean Winters (P.S. I Love You), Adrianne Palicki (Red Dawn) and Ian McShane (Deadwood). 

The film has been well received by critics who have largely commented on its violent nature. It has been described as the archetypal action film which offers impressive fight scenes and a relatively simplistic storyline. As Vulture's critic wrote John Wick is 'a beautiful coffee-table action movie.' However, others have also criticised the violent element of the film, with one critic remarking John Wick 'is a film where every human being is a sack of meat waiting to be tenderized' (Globe and Mail). 

Keanu Reeves plays lead character John WickKeanu Reeves plays lead character John Wick 

Granted, most have not hailed the movie as a classic or one which will go down in cinema history but critics have recognised it is a movie which has 'an impressively distinctive, self-contained world' (Chicago Sun Times). http://entertainment.suntimes.com/movies/john-wick-stylish-action-starring-keanu-reeves/  Overall the movie is evidently enjoyable, as long as you set your expectations low. As both the Rolling Stone and the L.A. Times writing John Wick is a 'B-Movie' which 'some of us can't get enough of.'

John Wick is out in US cinemas now and will be released in the UK on 2nd January 2015.

More: Keanu Reeves' John Wick has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes