Before the high-octane action of John Wick, many action movies felt predictable and worn out. Sequels like Taken and A Good Day to Die Hard didn’t really offer anything new, but John Wick burst onto the scene with a fresh take on the genre. Interestingly, the film The Man from Nowhere was a major influence on John Wick, and you can now watch it online.
The film’s combination of shooting and martial arts was incredibly exciting, and it stood out with its distinctive look and feel. It’s funny, because now, over ten years and many copycats later, that same style of action – the kind popularized by John Wick – is starting to feel predictable. The directors, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, have mentioned a Korean film among the inspirations for their groundbreaking 2014 movie.
How The Man From Nowhere Inspired John Wick
You can now watch The Man from Nowhere on YouTube for free. The film features Won Bin as Tae-sik, a quiet man who becomes friends with a young girl next door. When she’s kidnapped, Tae-sik’s hidden skills are revealed as he takes on the criminals responsible.
In a 2014 Reddit discussion, the creators of John Wick, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, mentioned the 2010 film The Man from Nowhere as a key influence. Stahelski was even involved in plans for an American remake of it. Though The Man from Nowhere is more realistic and less visually flashy than John Wick, the two movies have many similarities in their themes and action.
Both stories center on grieving widowers who have withdrawn from the world, until something new offers them a reason to reconnect. For one, it’s a puppy, and for the other, it’s a friendship with a young girl. When these sources of hope are threatened, the main characters transform, donning stylish suits and embarking on intense, skillfully executed revenge missions.
While The Man from Nowhere features exciting action, it’s primarily a suspenseful thriller. The action sequences are stylish but brutally violent. Unlike John Wick, this film delves deeper into emotional territory, telling the story of a withdrawn man reconnecting with his compassion and rediscovering what it means to be human.
Why The Man From Nowhere Is Worth Watching
When The Man from Nowhere first came out, people often compared it to Man on Fire, and that comparison makes sense. More recently, it’s been recognized as a major inspiration for John Wick. While the action in this film is excellent—particularly the final shootout and knife fight—fans of John Wick should know it’s more of a dark and realistic thriller.
Simply put, The Man from Nowhere is a must-see film, and its perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes is well-deserved. The acting, especially from Won Bin and the late Kim Sae-ron, is phenomenal, the visuals are stunning, and it’s considered one of the greatest Korean action movies of all time.
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2026-02-04 01:39