MovieChat Forums > John Wick (2014) Discussion > Everyone knows John Wick, but the russia...

Everyone knows John Wick, but the russian kid has never heard of him?

posted 9 years ago by OLD_ACCOUNT_skribb_Mk2
27 replies | jump to latest

I mean, his dad is well aware of him, it seems like the entire city knows who he is, yet the mob boss's son decides to act like a *beep* towards him. I find it implausible that he had never heard of Wick before.

I liked this movie a lot , but the opening premise or whatever seemed hastily put together. In a sense, the maguffin (russian punk-ass kid) shows up in the first 3 minutes, like wtf?

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[–] filmmekker 9 years ago

The kid seemed properly stupid and self absorbed to be aware of what came before him. I had no p0roblem with it.

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] OLD_ACCOUNT_skribb_Mk2 9 years ago

Ah, you're saying he just didn't care or had enough foresight to NOT mess with Wick. That seems plausible.

[–] puschit-1 9 years ago

I may be wrong because I have seen it only once but as far as I know he knew who John Wick is (at least he heard his name and some stories) when his father told him and punched him. He probably just didn't knew how Wick looked like, so didn't recognize him at the gas station.
This may or may not make sense depending on the amount of years between the events of the movie and Wick's retirement. If Iosef wasn't in the mob at that time, it would be plausible that he only knew stories but has never seen the face.

[–] OLD_ACCOUNT_skribb_Mk2 9 years ago

The dad punched him AFTER the kid stole Wick's car. Because he was pissed off that he had unleashed "the boogeyman" and knew that WIck would murder his son

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[–] puschit-1 9 years ago

Yeah, so? He then explains who Wick is but Iosef seemed like he didn't hear this the first time. That monologue of Viggo was partly for Iosef to explain how serious this is, partly for that associate that wasn't allowed to leave and, of course, exposition for us, the audience.

Have you never heard stories about someone without knowing how he looks like?

[–] OLD_ACCOUNT_skribb_Mk2 9 years ago

1. kid steals Wick's car (doesn't he know what Wick looks like at this point?)
2. dad tells kid that Wick is serious business
3. kid by now is aware that the guy who's house he broke into is Wick

or did I completely misremember the movie?

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[–] puschit-1 9 years ago

1) He steals his car. He knows Wick from stories but he doesn't know that this person is Wick because he doesn't know his face.
2) Dad tells him it was Wick and assures he is serious business
3) Kid is now aware that Wick the legend he heard of and the guy he robbed are one and the same person.

Basically, imagine you run into a guy you don't recognize and make fun of him and later you are told "hey, this is [local legend], you are in trouble now".

For example everybody who has ever been to the redlight disctrict and party zone of my hometown has heard of this "Negerkalle" guy who was famous for his antics running clubs but you don't know his face unless he interests you enough to google his face (which probably doesn't work because that's his street name).

[–] OLD_ACCOUNT_skribb_Mk2 9 years ago

Is negerkalle a german nick name? Because that sounds exactly like a swedish nickname too lol :)

Okay I get it now, guess I had it the wrong way around. thanks for clarifying

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[–] puschit-1 9 years ago

Yes, that's german. The city I was talking about is Hamburg :)

[–] fire-baby 9 years ago

whoa whoa whoa.... i dunno where the previous poster got this....:

1) He steals his car. He knows Wick from stories but he doesn't know that this person is Wick because he doesn't know his face.
2) Dad tells him it was Wick and assures he is serious business
3) Kid is now aware that Wick the legend he heard of and the guy he robbed are one and the same person.

... load of bs from, but oookay lol... nowhere in the movie is it implied, suggested or mentioned that iosef knows anything about a man named john wick.... that poster literally pulled points #1 and #3 out his/her butt.... the first time iosef hears about john wick aka the boogeyman is when his dad tells him, after he steals the car, after he kills the dog, after aurelio slaps him....

the whole conversation viggo has with iosef, telling him about john and basically his rise to power, anyone with ears can tell it's the first time iosef has heard the story....

sorry if i sound rude but i hate when i see such blatant misinformation....

It's mercy, compassion and forgiveness I lack. Not rationality...

[–] OLD_ACCOUNT_skribb_Mk2 9 years ago

So i WAS right then. Yay ;D

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[–] Mickyfinn 9 years ago

What he would have to know about Wick to not make the fatal mistake (assuming he heard of Wick) is what he looked like and what kind of car he drove.

What's kind of missing is how he found Wick's place. If they followed him there, great. If they found it out by his license plates or something, then he would have come across the name - which is again a bit of a problem IF he knew who Wick was. This would leave me to believe he didn't know of Wick.

I think the best conclusion based on what the film is telling us is at he (somehow) didn't know of Wick, or at the very least didn't figure who he was at the gas station (doesn't know what he or his car looked like). And furthermore didn't get a name while finding out the address.

Although all this could be explained by him being a dumbass young punk - which may be the most plausible and easiest answer.

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[–] theclarkone68 9 years ago

He could have heard about Wick before, but quickly forgot the name. It's not a name that stands out, and is easily forgotten. He could have heard the stories in the past, but blew them off just as he did when his father told him in the movie. Would there be a reason why he would remember Wick from the past even if he was told about him?

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[–] g_ring123 9 years ago

John wick been out the game 5 years or so. I dont know how old Ioseph is supposed to be in the movie (very early 20s I would guess) that make Ioseph about 15 or so the last time John Wick was in the Game. Maybe the kid was in boarding school at the time, or with his mother oblivious to the criminality of his father.

[–] Dustbowler 9 years ago

A young, self-absorbed punk being clueless really isn't that hard to believe.

Who says violence is not the answer?

[–] Planet-38 9 years ago

Agreed. It wouldn't be the first time someone younger dismisses the old guard as immaterial. Been guilty of it myself; it seems to be a common scenario of callow youth. Even legendary directors, software giants, sports legends, etc. can be thought of as "dedushka" and not in a respectful way.

[–] userrrrr 9 years ago

for your own sake, i really hope you dont speak the way you type.

🐙

[–] k2000kid 9 years ago

The kid had heard of him. only never seen him.
John wick was the kaiser soze legend in this film

[–] jco41566 9 years ago

John and his wife had been dealing with her ILLNESS for five years...Viggo said that while John had his wife he himself had his son...so the retirement most likely was as long as the son is old.

Perhaps even if his son was five or six, he may have heard of Wick but had no visual to associate him with. Most likely the bad guys don't go around talking about Wick's exploits and that would implicate their involvement if ever recorded.

EDIT...
Upon re-watching It was mentioned that he left the business 5+ years ago.

[–] mjscarface 9 years ago

Everyone knows who Wick is because they're in the business and also we never meet anyone who isn't a crook in the film.

Iosef didn't know because he was just a layabout who didn't seem very involved in the organisation.

[–] m_mayhem 9 years ago

The kid was a dumbass and self absorbed it seems quite plausible that the young punk wouldn't know or care about the history of even his fathers own organization.

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[–] brferrell 9 years ago

He knew who he was,just not what he looked like. He was punk coasting his dads name,money and power.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] brferrell 9 years ago

Yes you are right. Knew of him then,he was a big deal in the organization.