The John Wick franchise gained a reputation for it’s long-take, stylish action sequences when the first film hit cinemas in 2014. A big part of those action sequences are the realistic representation of the guns and how they are used. Keanu Reeves can often be seen reloading his weapons remarkably smoothly, with video of his skills appearing online throughout the years.

But with the intensity of the action sequences and the determination to make everything realistic comes a nuance of guns in that they sometimes jam. So when filming a scene that requires Wick to shoot and the gun jams it would make sense to re-shoot that scene when the gun is fully functional, but that’s not entirely realistic. Whilst speaking on The Empire Film Podcast, director Chad Stahelski talked about how they would handle when the gun jams.

Chad Stahelski

“There are at least a half a dozen times in the movie where Keanu’s actual gun jams. 90% of films would cut. It happens at the beginning of the Riyadh fight. It happens in the hotel lobby fight. He just clears his own gun and keeps going. He’s doing real clearing, real reloads. That’s the fun thing. So reality sometimes gives you the diversity you need.”

Little nuances like this really help add an extra layer to the already detailed world and film. And it has been highly praised by critics and loved by fans, turning the small budget first film into a now critically and commercially successful trilogy with a fourth film on the way in 2021 and a spin-off TV series also in the works.

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