John Wick: The Resurgence of the Bliksem Movie Genre

In this essay, Johannesburg-based Samnkelo Mdledle, a media professional whose career spans journalism, radio, and marketing, returns to long-form storytelling to revisit the rise, fall, and resurgence of the action film genre. Tracing its evolution from 1980s excess through the 1990s to the arrival of the 2014 Chad Stahelski–directed film John Wick, he reframes global action cinema through South African cultural memory and vernacular, invoking "Bliksem" (an Afrikaans slang term for striking or beating) as a local shorthand for hard-hitting, no-frills spectacle, before turning to what such revival might unlock for South African cinema.

Action movies, Action Bronson, Action Jackson, action packed! All mantras of pop culture derived from the Action movie genre. This category has been around as long as the silver reel itself, but if we are to be absolutely honest, the golden era of 'ek sal you moer' has to be the 1980s!

Burt Reynolds, Charles Bronson, Kurt Russell, Jean Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Silver Fox, Cynthia Rothrock, Harrison Ford, Bud Spencer and Terrence Hill, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis, as well as CHUCK FUCKIN-NORRIS!

80s Action films were undeniable, undefeatable, with spectacularly terrible CGI scenes, and equally terrible scripts! BUT WE LOVED IT! 'Can you diiiiiiiig iiiiit'-Warriors, 'Nok Sun kau'-Kick boxer, 'Get down'-Terminator' 'I dont step on toes little man, I step on necks'- Broderick, Missing In Action 3 'Adriiiaaaaaaaaaan' All the Rocky movies! I mean Yeezus, these lines were shocking, cheesy, and corny to say the least but they were highly effective and paved way to some of our greatest memories in the history of motion pictures.

The 90s continued the legacy and paid homage to its predecessor, the budgets were bigger, the cinematography improved, and movies raked in more moola at the box office, but the ethos remained kept, unhinged, and unmoved; Keep the biceps, keep the guns and keep the cheesy ass dialogue! Et voila! Action dinner is served!

Be that as it may, the genre declined after the 90s. Filmmakers felt a need to add more to a formula that wasn't broken. They felt a need to bring Academy Award winning scripts into an action movie, like a gorgeous woman feeling the incessant need to add plastic surgery to her body. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but you run the risk of constant dissatisfaction, and end up looking like….well, you've seen the celebrities who have gone that route! This was the same for action movies! I mean no disrespect to the 2000s but they never really gave, THAT GRIT!

Enter John Wick!!! John-they stole my car and killed my dog, the only remnant I have of my deceased wife- Wick! A breathe of fresh fucking air! John Wick is arguably the most celebrated action franchise since Die Hard. A movie birthed by two stuntmen turned directors staring the infamously monotonous Keeanu Reeves! In turned out to be a match made in grindhouse heaven. If the 80s were a proud father, they would be shedding bullet tears!

What is the formula? Its' all in the John! Never have we seen a film with such a heavy headshot count, we actually loose count of the number of times John Wick shoots villains in the head. It's one long, lovely and grotesque montage of action symphony and the only words you utter during the scenes are, Yho, Yhu, Moer, Yasis, we even chuckle at death! Those are the results of a true action movie! John Wick has developed a cult following, and conversation paralleled to that of Commando, Predator, Die Hard and Terminator to name a few, and Keanu Reeves has solidified himself as an action movie star with John Wick. It's funny because he had done a string of action movies before he partook in this bliksem of a gem!

Although the Expendables trilogy comes very close in terms of action (which it very well should looking at the cast of all three movies) it is the brooding energy of Keanu Reeves, the sleek action sequences, the locations, in fact the cinematography itself, that made this franchise ahead of the pack, and we are only two movies deep, in the trilogy!

Perhaps South African film makers can delve deeper into this genre, as South Africa is mainly known for its dramas and romcoms, but Five Fingers for Marsellies seems destined to break that cycle. Previously filmmakers like Neil Blomkamp decided to go alt left into the science fiction realm and with guts, creativity, and a pinch of white privilege, managed to make movies like District 9, Elysium and Chappie which were hailed as Hollywood successes. Black SA filmmakers ought to make the things that make the pots to be done and follow due process and explore this action genre; it may just lead to fruitful results at the Cinemas!

Imagine the remakes of Ikati elimnyama, Joe Bullet and the Gold cup, all of these are South African skop, skiet and doner movies! All hail the BLIKSEM.