We Need More Violent Rom-Coms

One big reason violent rom-coms would work exceptionally well in 2024 is that action movies have dialed up in intensity over the past decade. I already mentioned how John Wick changed the game by inspiring ultra-violent movies like Monkey Man and Nobody, but I need to remind you of one very important fact. Martin Blank (John Cusack) killed a man with a pen at his 10 year high school reunion long before John Wick took out three men with a pencil.

While the violence in Grosse Pointe Blank is pretty tame by today’s standards, it makes me wonder how a similar premise would play out if violent rom-coms were made with the same production values as today’s action movies that fall into the revenge porn sub-genre.

As the John Wick franchise continues to grow in popularity while generating multiple spinoff properties, I’m starting to think that we can easily get a couple of violent rom-coms that occupy the same universe. We all know that John Wick tried to walk away from his brutal past-life when he settled down with his now-deceased wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan), only to start popping off a relentless amount of rounds when his dog got killed. But let’s rewind the tape a little bit and see what a young John Wick looks like while he’s working under The High Table during his first go-around.

I want to see the story that involves John Wick meeting Helen for the first time, and realizing that he’s hopelessly in love with her while in the middle of a shootout. Maybe he tries dating for the first time while he’s still taking hit jobs and it doesn’t work out because he always shows up late to a dinner and movie date beaten to a bloody pulp, and he has to lie about his whereabouts to win her affection. I highly doubt that Derek Kolstad would want to take the franchise in that direction, but when I think about the idea of violent rom-coms, Keanu Reeves is one of the first people that comes to mind.

However, I’m also cautious about the idea violent rom-coms becoming the next big thing because the few titles I’ve seen are so fantastic that over-saturating the market with violent rom-coms could cheapen the idea considerably. One of the reasons films like Grosse Point Blank and Mr. Right hold up so well is because they do their own thing. We’re already dealing with a dreadful amount of “superhero fatigue” because the MCU and DCEU put out so many titles so quickly that they’re now pumping the brakes and rethinking their release strategies, so I’m guarded in my enthusiasm.

It’s quite possible that if any memorable and high-grossing violent rom-coms come out and pop off into the stratosphere, then we’ll be similarly fatigued with the premise.

That being said, I wouldn’t mind occasionally seeing a new wave of violent rom-coms if they were done right. With special effects in movies being better than ever, comedy continuing to push boundaries, and action movies racking up kill counts that filmmakers from the 80s could only dream of, it’s time we give violent rom-coms a chance to tug at our heart-strings while simultaneously beating us over the head. In the meantime, I’m going to watch The Terminator and 50 First Dates at the same time to see if they sync up at some point in time.