I watched “John Wick,” an action and thriller movie about a retired legendary hitman/assassin named John Wick. The movie begins after the death of his beloved wife, and he receives a puppy as a last gift from his wife, who wished for him to have a companion in his grief. At a gas station a Russian man wants to buy John’s car, and when John refuses, he breaks into his house with his group of friends that night. They beat John, kill his puppy, and steal his car. John finds out that the group are a part of the Russian mafia in New York, and comes out of retirement to get his revenge.

I liked this movie, but I was expecting more complex fight scenes for the hype the movie has. One of my favorite parts is the assassin hotel, because I haven’t seen that concept in action movies before. Even though I already knew the dog died, it was still upsetting to watch.

This movie relates to doubles and doppelgangers because John has trouble reconciling his two different identities. John Wick is the infamous hitman the mafia calls “Baba Yaga,” but he is also a loving husband who retired from violence for his wife. His life seems to be split into a before and after– his dark and bloody reputation before his wife, and after he retired and put away his weapons. Except his wife dies, and the puppy she sends him to help him grieve is killed by punks that force him back into his hitman lifestyle. Getting back into the game brings him back to places he used to frequent and people he used to know, but he is hesitant to accept that his peaceful retirement is over.