This is my first time editting, but I made some for my John Wick friends, inspired by this Rogue One gifset. I unfortunately don't know how to make gifs yet, so stills will have to do for now.
(Please do not repost. The images are on lousy resolution anyways.)
This little post I made on Akira and John exploded more than I expected, so I shall offer more interesting observations that I noticed about lighting choices/colour symbolism in the John Wick movies. Before we get into it, I would like to recommend these analysis [1, 2] by @evren-sadwrn on Marquis de Gramont, John Wick and Helen Wick talking about the same topic as I am below.
Charon
Most of Charon's scenes throughout the franchise were otherwise dark backdrops only brightened up by the lamps/light sources around him, which exemplifies the fact that he is the most reliable, dependable and trustworthy character, ally and friend in this dark criminal underworld, fitting for someone named after the ferryman of the underworld in Greek mythology.
The only scene where Charon notably breaks this pattern was his final scene when the Marquis shot him when he and Winston and everyone else were drenched in the Marquis' harsh golden lighting, which was heartbreaking to say the least.
Marcus
Similarly, Marcus' scenes in the first film had mostly grey backdrops, representing the stability, monotony, and lack of transformation of his life, in contrast to John who just lost his wife at the time.
The two exceptions happened during the two most important points of his character arc, the first one being darkly-lit when Marcus decided to not shoot a resting John from the Continental's window and warned him instead, and the second one being brightly-lit when Marcus got beaten up and then killed by Viggo in his home for helping John. These two scenes were also backdropped by yellow lighting as opposed to the blueish hues from his previous scenes.
Cassian & Ares, Gianna & Santino
I'm putting these four characters together in the same section because they share a common theme in terms of lighting choice, especially during their last scenes. Both Cassian's and Ares' final fight with John ended in brightly-lit settings with white lights. On the other hand, both Gianna's and Santino's death scenes took place in darkly-lit settings. The parallels, man, the parallels!
Caine
The lighting choice for Caine was kinda hard to pin down, and I think it's because it's meant to represent the emotional conflict Caine faces throughout Chapter 4. The fluctuation between light and dark, neon and natural lights reflects his dilemma very well, with his darkest lit scene arguably being his duel with Koji, where it's also the only scene he took down his sunglasses, thus signifying his lowest point in the movie.
But I think it's also worth noting that despite being the obvious second main character after John in the fourth film, Caine was merely a side actor basking in other people's spotlights, whether that be the Marquis' harsh golden lights, Koji's neon lights, or John's (more accurately Helen's) yellow candlelights/sunlight. Caine was a supporting role up until the post-credit when he gets to reunite with his daughter. That's when he gets his own spotlight and arguably the brightest scene he's ever appeared in.
Okay, that's all I could find as of now. There are definitely more characters to dissect and study but I will stop here. If you want more analysis like this, please reblog.
Caine as John Wick's Mirror: A Somewhat Coherent Analysis
What is even a 'mirror' exactly, narratively-speaking?
A mirror character is someone who reflects the hero, usually by highlighting similarities, and is therefore used to help enhance the themes being explored in the story. They can share personality traits, values, skillsets, even goals and narrative arcs, but how the pair of characters differ in their approach to these commonalities is what makes this literary device so interesting.
Caine as a character in the John Wick universe is so fascinating to me (not many people are able to go toe-to-toe against the Baba Yaga himself) and while a lot of my fascination and enjoyment can be attributed to Donnie Yen's performance and his chemistry with Keanu Reeves, what I want to talk about is the writing of his character, and how well Caine served as a mirror to John Wick, the protagonist.
I think to analyse Caine as a character, we need to first look back at another character who most closely served a similar function as Caine towards John Wick: Cassian.
Cassian and Caine are the only two people in the John Wick movies who fought John Wick squarely in a one-to-one match as equals, and got a gracious send off by John in return. Neither of them wanted to or asked to be made an enemy of John Wick (in fact, it was John's actions that caused both men to pit against the Baba Yaga), but each of them took up their role within the story with much dignity and fairness, and in the end were rewarded with John sparing their lives.
Cassian provides lovely contrast to John in Chapter 2. He is the first to show us a character on the same playing field as John Wick who could sit next to the legendary Baba Yaga and share a drink and enjoy a conversation before Caine or anyone else did.
Cassian and John respected each other, knew each other's preferred drink and promised to make the other's death quick, but it seems that's all there is to their relationship, and the moment they stepped out of the Rome Continental all bets are off.
Their motivations are widely different at this point in the story, and Cassian as a character feels more like an obstacle in John's way that John had to face eventually.
Speaking within the confines of the individual movies that they first appeared in, I will argue Cassian from Chapter 2 aligns more closely with the Tracker/Mr. Nobody from Chapter 4 when it comes to his place in the overall narrative, and it is Santino who's on the same level as Caine, because Santino had history with John, asked John about his wife, knew John personally and was the reason John broke Continental rules and would eventually go up against the High Table.
To add onto this, Cassian more importantly serves as a greater parallel to Ares being bodyguards of the D'Antonio siblings with the way John left his opponent's knife in Cassian's chest and kept him alive because John respected Cassian vs John pulling Ares' knife out of her chest and letting her die because John couldn't respect Ares.
At the end of the day, John and Cassian are both men who were ultimately bound by their loyalties to Santino and Gianna respectively, whether that be out of a Blood Marker or out of a sense of duty.
On the other hand, the relationship between John and Caine is the literal heart of Chapter 4.
Yes, Caine has parallels with other characters too. He and Koji were fathers trying to protect their daughter if it meant throwing away their shared brotherhood, he and Mr. Nobody were pawns under the Marquis' thumb tasked with hunting John Wick, but these parallels take a backstage to the parallels between John and Caine.
They are retired hitmen who were forced back into their old life and pitted against each other in a duel to the death through circumstances out of their control. Neither of them had any love for the High Table, and neither of them wanted to hurt or kill the other either. They have the physical evidence to show of their past/present servitude to the High Table (John's ring finger and Caine's eyes), and in contrary to the Marquis' own evaluation of their character, both men had someone to live for, die for, and kill for.
Where they differ is that, one is driven by a sense of loss to remember his dead wife, and the other is driven by a sense of protection to keep his daughter alive. (It's interesting to note that Helen's death had nothing to do with the High Table at all whereas Mia was only alive thanks to the High Table's grace.)
This dilemma of choosing between their loved one and their past friendship is key to Chapter 4's theme of what it truly costs to obtain freedom. It reminds us that John isn't a perfect martyr for rebelling against the High Table with how much trouble and pain he caused to those around him, including Caine. But it also doesn't absolve Caine from the bloodshed he's responsible for despite his hands being tied by the Marquis, or the fact that killing his friend is wrong.
Caine: We are damned, you and I.
John: On that, we agree.
I think that Chapter 4 introducing Caine early on in the movie, definitely much earlier than Cassian in Chapter 2, tells us how important Caine's role is to John's goal of achieving freedom and peace. (The most notable example is Caine helping John up the stairs of Sacre-Coeur after he got kicked down these very same steps by Chidi.) In the same vein, Caine wouldn't have gotten his happy ending if John hadn't made the ultimate sacrifice of saving his last bullet to shoot the Marquis.
Not only that, Chapter 4 also shows us several instances of genuine camaraderie and companionship between John and Caine underneath their antagonism, not just how well they worked together and understood each other when they had a common enemy in sight (first in the Berlin nightclub with Killa, and eventually during the sunrise duel with Marquis de Gramont) but also how much they cared for each other deep down.
John and Cassian are colleagues, but John and Caine are close friends. And I think that's why Caine makes for such a good mirror to John Wick, and is the one most deserving to send off John Wick for good in the final chapter of the franchise, that is until John Wick 5 comes along. :(
Tagging @evren-sadwrn, @chaoticgardenbread and @jotunvali02 <3 <3
i rlly like stealing headcanons from yu/silly anyways do u have john wick headcanons no pressure ofc mootie patootie
riccardo scamarcio going through an existential crisis for the soul
I will always forever love this photo, it’s in my favorites album in my gallery 💕
Silly John wick headcanons here we go‼️
John likes to stand in front of the tv like how little kids do (inspired by this image from destination wedding 💀)
Viggo is on level 7163 of Candy Crush
^Whenever he’s not in a meeting or doing business, that’s what he’s doing
Iosef complains about it too; saying if he can’t play COD, he can’t play his ‘stupid puzzle games’ (he’s just salty he got his Xbox taken away)
If Gianna did spontaneously take Santi with her to go out, she would force him to take her instagram photos whenever the sun was shining perfectly and the wind was blowing through her hair
^it left Santino in tears
Gianna watches my little pony when she’s extremely bored (especially the rarity episodes)
The D’Antonio siblings always take pictures of the other sleeping and it’s become a joke to a routine now
Ares and Chidi have a sibling bond; whenever Santino and Vincent are too busy arguing, they just mess around
^Chidi likes to give her piggy back rides around the halls cause Ares basically weighs nothing to him
Cassian is also like a brother to Ares
The bodyguards having a sibling-like relationship <3
Tracker and his Daisy love to people watch
^ he’s one of those dog owners that give their dogs 5 course meals
Akira really likes popsicles; she would be eating one any time of day or weather
