Whereas an excessive amount of the main target of Netflix and all the opposite streaming providers is on producing new unique content material, my favourite factor about them has all the time been that they act as libraries for older films, permitting me to observe my favourite films for the one centesimal time, or permitting me to simply catch films i missed for the primary time.
This week, I observed that Needed, a 2008 motion film starring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie, was now obtainable with my Netflix subscription. I bear in mind desirous to see the film when it initially got here out, however for no matter purpose, that by no means occurred. I by no means acquired round to really watching, hell, I solely watched Jaws for the primary time lately, so I took the chance to take action, and found that it’s a reasonably enjoyable motion flick, with a remarkably stacked solid. Though a part of the rationale I cherished it might have been all of the methods it jogged my memory of my favourite trendy motion franchise.
Needed Gave Me Severe John Wick Vibes
One in every of my considerations sitting down to observe Needed was that, within the greater than a decade because it was launched, the motion, as innovative as it might have been on the time, might have develop into dated. Today, I examine principally any film motion sequence to the perfect of the John Wick franchise, and even right now, most films come up brief by that metric.
Needed’s motion isn’t nearly as good as the perfect of John Wick. It’s not even on par with middle-of-the-road John Wick. Nonetheless, what shocked me was how a lot Needed felt like nearly a prototype John Wick, as lots of the particulars of the older movie would discover their method into my favourite franchise. These connections are nearly actually unintentional. Neither Chad Stahelski nor David Leitch labored on Needed as stunt performers, however that makes the connections all of the extra intriguing.
It Has A Secret Society Of Assassins
The obvious connection between the 2 is that each Needed and John Wick have tales constructed round secret societies {of professional} assassins. Needed has The Fraternity, whereas John Wick’s group known as the Excessive Desk. The Fraternity is particularly referenced as being 1,000 years outdated. The precise age of the Excessive Desk is unclear, nevertheless it’s been indicated to be even older.
The Excessive Desk is definitely one in all my favourite elements of your complete John Wick franchise. I like the way in which the films have constructed it up over time, the way in which it has its personal foreign money and even its personal inns. The world-building of Needed isn’t practically on that degree. That is seemingly resulting from the truth that the unique comedian e-book supply materials sees the group as precise supervillains, so the murderer component is grafted on. Maybe if Needed had ever acquired the tried sequels, issues might have been expanded upon in a method to make The Fraternity as intriguing because the Excessive Desk.
Needed Has Its Model Of The Bowery King
John Wick has some fairly eccentric characters all through the franchise, however none are fairly as a lot enjoyable as The Bowery King. Lawrence Fishburne’s character is the chief of a bunch below the Excessive Desk who typically play the elements of the world’s homeless inhabitants, resulting in them wanting much less clean-cut than John Wick and others. The Bowery King makes use of pigeons as a method to collect and ship data to his folks.
If the Bowery King’s pigeons are “rats with wings,” then he’s not that completely different from The Exterminator, a member of the Fraternity who has an affinity for precise rats. It’s not laborious to think about that within the John Wick universe, The Exterminator can be one of many Bowery King’s troopers. Though I’m unsure the Bowery King would have sacrificed his pigeons in the way in which that Needed kills quite a lot of rats.
It’s Even Obtained Widespread
Among the finest issues Needed has going for it’s its unimaginable solid. It’s acquired James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman in main roles. Terrance Stamp is there in a strong supporting function, and a really younger Chris Pratt is there in a pre-Parks & Recreation look. There’s even an actor who would go on to be an enormous a part of John Wick: Chapter 2.
Years earlier than Widespread would seem within the first John Wick sequel as Cassian, he appeared in Needed as a member of The Fraternity, merely known as The Gunsmith. His function in Needed is far smaller, nevertheless it’s not precisely laborious to see that Cassian and The Gunsmith have so much in… nicely, frequent.
The Ultimate Motion Sequence Is Very John Wick
On the finish of the day, each John Wick and Needed are films centered on constructing nice motion sequences. That mentioned, they arrive at them very otherwise. John Wick is all about sensible stunt choreography, and whereas Needed actually has loads of that, it’s equally involved with its cool CGI bullet firing sequences, that are, with out query, nonetheless fairly cool.
There isn’t essentially an motion sequence in Needed I might examine favorably to something in John Wick, though the massive finale sequence, which sees James McAvoy’s character bounce by means of a window and begin mowing down everyone he sees, comes shut. The sequence isn’t filmed in the identical method a John Wick battle scene can be, however the idea, seeing the hero mowing down numerous unhealthy guys, selecting up recent weapons alongside the way in which, and firing by means of the lifeless cranium of a earlier sufferer, is totally one thing we might see within the subsequent John Wick film, every time it occurs.
In all honesty, I want I had seen Needed again in 2008, as I in all probability would have loved it extra. Within the years since, motion cinema has been raised to a degree that makes the film really feel like a product of its time. Nonetheless, Needed was a step on the trail that introduced us to a world the place the John Wick franchise exists, and did its half to encourage, nonetheless unintentionally, the perfect motion film franchise ever.
As lately as 2020, Needed director Timur Bekmambetov expressed curiosity in nonetheless making the sequel. Maybe if it ever occurs, it could actually take some inspiration from John Wick.