Home release - Wick is Pain: A Brutal, Honest Dive into the Origins and Impact of the John Wick Phenomenon

By Mulder, 30 april 2025

Wick is Pain is not a slogan. It’s not even just a title. It’s a hard truth echoed by every stunt coordinator, director, and actor who helped bring the John Wick franchise to life—and now it’s the centerpiece of an unprecedented behind-the-scenes documentary. Directed by Jeffrey Doe and set for digital release on May 9, 2025, through Lionsgate, Wick is Pain opens the vault on the blood, sweat, setbacks, and raw creative passion that transformed an underdog action film into a billion-dollar cultural juggernaut.

The documentary, running 80 minutes, takes us all the way back to 2014, when the very first John Wick movie was far from the guaranteed hit it is now remembered as. As revealed in the trailer, the production faced serious financial hurdles. At one point, the film was shut down. We were panicked, director Chad Stahelski admits candidly in the doc, This is Keanu fuckin’ Reeves. You do not wanna let him down” Producer David Leitch adds that they were scrambling to find six and a half million dollars by Monday” and Basil Iwanyk goes even further, saying, I took money out of my house. We are doomed. We are completely fucked. This is not drama—this is history. The first John Wick almost didn’t happen.

But Wick is Pain doesn’t just recount obstacles—it documents triumphs. Through never-before-seen footage captured across a decade, both on set and behind closed doors, the documentary gives unprecedented access to the inner workings of the franchise. Fans will hear from Keanu Reeves himself, alongside Stahelski and other cast and crew members from all four films. The doc not only showcases the evolution of the series’ world-famous action sequences, but it also zeroes in on the physical and emotional toll of delivering such high-octane storytelling. The pain is literal and metaphorical—and it’s shared by everyone involved.

One of the documentary’s defining angles is its focus on the stunt work that redefined the genre. John Wick didn’t invent stylized action, but it certainly recalibrated it for modern audiences. Stahelski, a veteran stuntman turned director, approached the fight scenes not just as violent spectacle, but as carefully orchestrated set-pieces. That discipline is captured throughout Wick is Pain, with the documentary paying homage to the influences of martial arts icons like Jackie Chan and the intense preparation that Reeves underwent to sell every punch, flip, and headshot. It’s a franchise that speaks the language of Gun Fu, Kung Fu, and Wire F”—and Keanu Reeves, ever the craftsman, became fluent.

This documentary arrives at a crucial moment. With the upcoming spinoff film Ballerina starring Ana de Armas set for release, and John Wick 5 officially announced, the franchise stands at a creative crossroads. And yet, Wick is Pain chooses not to look forward, but backward—pulling us into the core of what made these movies resonate so deeply in the first place. It’s a celebration of what was nearly lost and a reflection on the collaborative passion that kept the franchise alive.

While many action films have made-of reels, few are as worthy of the deep-dive treatment as John Wick. The franchise’s defining quality has always been the intensity of its physicality—stunts so clean and ferocious they feel like modern dance, or sometimes like jazz. Whether it’s Keanu Reeves taking on armies of thugs with judo throws and precise headshots or the jaw-dropping swordplay with co-stars like Donnie Yen and Hiroyuki Sanada in later installments, these are sequences that demanded as much from the performers as they did from the audience’s adrenaline.

But perhaps the most striking element of Wick is Pain is the human cost it documents—not just the hours in training rooms or bruises on set, but the emotional burden of keeping the vision alive. According to the official synopsis, the doc explores how John Wick started as an independent film facing numerous obstacles, including financing challenges, but evolved into a phenomenon that redefined the action genre and launched three megahit sequels. And it does so not just with archival material, but with new interviews, fresh reflections, and a powerful sense of narrative closure—at least for now.

The visual presentation of the documentary also doesn’t hold back. The official poster art shows Keanu Reeves as Wick in his typical post-battle state: bloodied, bruised, and unbowed. It’s a perfect visual metaphor for the tone of the doc itself—one of survival and defiance, pain and progress. Every frame of Wick is Pain is meant to reinforce that what made John Wick exceptional wasn’t just the bullets and the body count, but the unwavering belief that movies could still feel this visceral, this committed.

And make no mistake—Wick is Pain is a film made for fans. Those who’ve followed the series from the moment the first trailer in 2014 appears will find a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes moments and production secrets. Even the timeline of its creation adds to its authenticity: the footage spans over ten years of filmmaking, offering a rare continuity and perspective that elevates it above the standard promotional EPKs or bonus featurettes we’re used to. This is a chronicle of cinema history unfolding in real time.

As May 9 approaches, the digital release of Wick is Pain is shaping up to be not just a documentary drop, but an essential chapter in the John Wick mythology. It’s more than an origin story—it’s an exploration of perseverance, of how pain was never just part of the fiction. It was the very real currency that made this entire franchise possible. From a halted shoot and maxed-out mortgages to one of the most recognizable names in modern cinema, the Wick team lived every moment they now share on screen. And as Keanu Reeves so aptly puts it, the statement John Wick is pai” isn’t a complaint. It’s a battle cry.

Synopsis : 
The true story behind the John Wick franchise, starring Keanu Reeves. What began as an independent film-facing numerous obstacles, including financing challenges-quickly evolved into a global phenomenon that redefined the action genre and launched three megahit sequels. Join Keanu Reeves, director Chad Stahelski, and the extended Wick cast and crew as they go behind the scenes of this billion-dollar franchise that almost never happened.

Wick Is Pain
Directed by Jeffrey Doe 
Starring  Keanu Reeves, Chad Stahelski   
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release date : May 9, 2025 (United States)
Running time : 80 minutes