Oliver Stone Criticizes ‘John Wick’ Movies and More

The typically vocal director does not hold back when discussing modern movies, marketing and the resistance to his recent documentary about nuclear power.

(Left) Three-time Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone and wife Sun-jung Jung attend the 2010 Governors Awards in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, CA, Saturday, November 13. Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S. (Right) Keanu Reeves as John Wick in 'John Wick: Chapter 4.' Photo Credit: Murray Close.

There aren’t many people who would want to go toe to toe with Keanu Reeves’ assassin character from the ‘John Wick’ franchise. But director Oliver Stone sounds like he’s spoiling for a fight –– or a war of words, at least.

Speaking to Variety at the Transilvania International Film Festival where he was picking up a lifetime achievement award, Stone was unflinching in his criticism of the action movies where Reeves cuts a swathe through various enemies.

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Stone on ‘John Wick’

Here’s what Stone had to say about the ‘Wick movies:

“I saw ‘John Wick 4’ on the plane. Talk about volume. I think the film is disgusting beyond belief. Disgusting. I don’t know what people are thinking. Maybe I was watching ‘G.I. Joe’ when I was a kid. But Keanu Reeves kills, what, three, four hundred people in the f*****g movie. And as a combat veteran, I gotta tell you, not one of them is believable. I realize it’s a movie, but it’s become a video game more than a movie.”

It might sound surprising coming from the director of violent movies such as ‘Natural Born Killers’, ‘Platoon’ and the writer of 1983’s ‘Scarface’, but then much of his filmography has been about the horrors of such actions.

Stone was also vocal when it came to his feelings about modern movies’ style:

“How many cars can crash? How many stunts can you do? What’s the difference between ‘Fast and Furious’ and some other film? It’s just one thing after another. Whether it’s a super-human Marvel character or just a human being like John Wick, it doesn’t make any difference. It’s not believable.”

He’s also angry about the way movies are made these days:

“When they make movies now, they want to think about how do we market it, who’s going to watch it? Of course, that’s a consideration. But it becomes the sole consideration. You really have to have a bigger and bigger hit, which ruins the business because it makes the margins bigger, and of course that makes the cost of the film bigger.”

Keanu Reeves as John Wick in 'John Wick: Chapter 4.' Photo Credit: Murray Close.

Going nuclear

In his own career, Stone hasn’t enjoyed as much success as his 1980s and 1990s heyday, with his dramatic movies failing to connect with audiences and struggles to get documentaries made as he’s increasingly seen as a contrarian.

Most recently, Stone had to fight to make a documentary called ‘Nuclear Now’ about how nuclear power has been unfairly vilified (despite the likes of events such as Hiroshima and Chernobyl).

Here’s what he said about the frustrations of the new documentary:

“It was rejected. It was rejected at birth. No financing. No company wanted to do it. No Netflix. It’s crazy. People in showbiz are idiots. They just go with the trend; they just go with the fashion — it’s a fashion business.”

Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone (right) presents director Jacques Audiard, "A Prophet (Une Prophete)" (left) with a certificate of nomination for the 82nd Academy Awards at a Foreign Language Film Award reception held in the Grand Lobby of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, CA on Friday March 5, 2010. The Academy Awards for outstanding achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010. Credit/Provider ©A.M.P.A.S. ©A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved.