Karl Puschmann: The John Wick prequel series is action-packed and morally questionable

Mel Gibson in The Continental: From the World of John Wick, streaming now on Prime Video.

With its violently imaginative action sequences and extreme style-over-substance philosophy, you don’t expect Keanu Reeves’ John Wick franchise to spark a “can you separate the art from the artist?” conversation. But here we are.

As the titular bringer of death, the real-life nice guy Reeves plays the role of the franchise’s avenging assassin with a stoic and singular determination. Over the course of four films, he relentlessly and very cooly dispatched any baddie associated with the gangster who murdered his puppy.

Right from the jump in 2014, John Wick shot straight to the top of the globe’s premiere action franchises. It modernised the bullet-fests of 80s action classics like Cobra and Commando and did so in a gloriously flashy manner. As cinema, the films are great fun.

With that success, a television spin-off is not wholly surprising. Streaming now on Prime Video, The Continental: From the World of John Wick is a three-part, feature-length prequel series set in the 1970s. It tells the tale of how Winston Scott, who was played by Ian McShane in the movies, comes to be the proprietor of The Continental, the franchise’s luxury hotel that operates as a safe space for the world’s assassins.

What does raise an eyebrow is the casting of Mel Gibson, the disgraced former action hero whose reputation was tarnished by racism, anti-semitism and allegations of domestic violence.

Colin Woodell as Winston Scott in The Continental: From the World of John Wick.

Playing to type, he stars as Cormac O’Connor, the series’ villain and boss of The Continental. He imbibes the character with a malicious glee and an enthused sadistic streak that’s so over the top he’s only a month’s growth away from twirling a moustache. But this is John Wick we’re talking about. It is not a franchise troubled by subtlety.

There’s no denying Gibson is pretty good in the role. There’s a reason he became one of the world’s most bankable movie stars. He’s clearly having a blast, chewing the scenery and filling the screen with a menacing charisma.

That said, it’s hard to ignore his real-life villainy while watching his on-screen villainy. Nobody’s perfect, and Gibson has apologised for his various behaviours more times than John Wick has shot his gun. People do deserve a second chance, but the fact that Gibson keeps having to say sorry suggests his words have been less than authentic and his soul-searching has been kept to a minimum.

Because The Continental is such a high-profile series, and one carrying a whole lot of fan expectations, it’s a puzzling, problematic casting choice. Especially when you consider Gibson is the only big name in the show.

Gibson aside, fans of John Wick will definitely want to check in to The Continental. The show delivers all the big, bombastic action set pieces you expect from a piece of entertainment carrying the John Wick name. The series opens with an extended bang and doesn’t let up. And while it doesn’t quite have the same frenetic energy as the movies, there are more than enough high-octane brawls and stylish gunfights to satisfy action fans.

Being a prequel, we know that Winston will be successful in his hostile takeover of The Continental. This essentially means that both sides of the “separate the art from the artist” argument will be able to enjoy watching what is certain to be a spectacularly violent comeuppance for Gibson’s character.