Check Out How Keanu Reeves Learned To Shoot Guns For 'John Wick'

Keanu Reeves learned how to shoot guns for John Wick, find out how he did it!

John Wick is not your average action movie where the directors, cinematographers, and editors use mechanical trickery to hide the inadequacy of the fighting prowess of the actors involved. John Wick is a movie directed by a stuntman, Chad Stahelski, so he is not going to compromise something he dedicated all his life doing. And for the film, Chad got exactly the people who won’t mind coming in and doing their stunts and putting in the work to make sure the movie is true to the script put in front of the director.

John Wick was such a game-changer when the movie came out in 2014, wide shots, no shaky cameras while filming hand to hand fights and extremely low trickery plus they invented a new way to fight in the movie. The film redefined the way action movies are made, and with one movie, the shaky-cam action film was outdated and made to look ugly. The reason John Wick is as good as it seems is because of the actor playing the beloved assassin, Keanu Reeves.

Source: Empire

Keanu Reeves is one of the most dedicated actors in Hollywood, the man learned Kung-Fu just to be in The Matrix, and so you know he will do anything for the role, for example; learning how to shoot a gun.

In the movie, the gun shooting done by Keanu Reeves is all him and no one else. He is not a gun enthusiast or grew up surrounded by gun, but still, he was shooting like a pro. You can ask any stuntman and professional gun users, and they will tell you, John Wick is like porn to stunt people, and Keanu is doing almost everything to perfection, or as much the movie would allow him to be.

Watch: The trailer for John Wick: Chapter 3

So, how did Keanu Reeves learned to shoot guns as he does in the John Wick movies?

Well, like with everything in the world, to master something, you need to go to the master and learn how to do it. It is exactly what Keanu did; he went to Taran Butler, who owns Taran Tactical, the place where most Hollywood stars go to train on the gun craft. The first thing Keanu learned was how to handle the gun and how to make best sure you are using the guns safely.

The stance matters, Keanu was taught to always treat the front of the range as a 180-degree panel behind which the gun is not supposed to come. The first thing Taran teaches as the range is a simple combo to get the feel of the weapon and how it is supposed to recoil. The technique is simple, you out two bullets to the body and one bullet to the head.

Watch: Keanu Reeves trains with Taran tactical

Keanu learned to shoot by being safe, always keep your safety on, keep your fingers away from the trigger at all times unless you are shooting, and treat every gun as if it is loaded. The other thing Keanu did really well was he dedicated himself to work, and there was no course cutting, you learn to handle the gun and then finally you can get started.

Taran also trained Keanu with some notes from the director Chad Stahelski who wanted Keanu to learn all the reloading technique and also he was trained to reload a shotgun quickly. Those shots of Keanu sliding his hands over the bottom of the shotgun barrel were him reloading the gun.

Watch: Catacombs fight scene in John Wick: Chapter 2

The best tip to learn how to shoot a gun like Keanu is, first of all, be safe while handling the gun and put in hours and hours of time on the range. The only way to get a feel for the gun is to shoot it multiple times, clean it, and then shoot it again. Keanu is one of a kind; there is no comparison to the man and the dedication he shows every day. Just because we won’t be able to match his level of commitment doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

John Wick 3 was one of the biggest movies of 2019, and people showed up in droves to support the film. It all showed when John Wick set another milestone for the franchise by grossing over $580 million for the series. The awesome thing is the series is not over yet with Chapter 4 already being announced and set for release on 21 May 2021. We can all be certain, Mr. Wick will be back with a vengeance, and he will be bringing some robust weapons along to kill some people who did him wrong.