Ranking the library fight scene in ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ (2019)

Last month, we revisited the library (adjacent) fight scene in Thor: The Dark World (2011), which was set in and around the Old Royal Naval College Library in London. So why not revisit another memorable library fight scene, this time in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum (2019), set in the iconic New York Public Library.

I was inspired by an article in The Ringer, an exhaustive look at “Every John Wick Kill, Ranked.” And this article really does what it says: it ranks every single killing across the first four John Wick films (a fifth movie is rumored but has no release date yet), totaling 415 notches on John Wick’s belt. Exhausting indeed. This is why the internet exists, y’all, so we can enjoy these deep-dives into pop culture! OF COURSE, for me, the most memorable kill in the entire John Wick series thus far is the library fight scene in the third film (uh, spoiler?), but of course, I am biased! I was intrigued to see how highly this fight scene ranked for a non-librarian.

And out of 415 total kills in 4 movies (thus far)… the library fight scene ranked at an impressive #12! I was secretly hoping for a top 10 finish, but it’s not far off!

I did laugh at the brief write-up for this scene, and the observation that it was befitting to have a library-centric scene in a film with the word “Chapter” in its title, LOL! 😀

“After absorbing one of the world’s longest front kicks ever, Wick gets a read on the situation and kills overeager henchman Ernest (Boban Marjanovic!) by snapping his neck over a book. It’s amazing, and almost necessary because the word “Chapter” is in the film’s title.”

Mark Hofmeyer, “Every John Wick Kill, Ranked,” The Ringer, 20 Sept. 2023

Do you agree with the ranking? Where would YOU rank the library fight scene and kill from John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum?

If you’d like more insightful details on this library fight scene, please revisit my 2019 post, First impressions: ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ (2019) and its memorable fight scene in the NYPL.

Sources used

• Hofmeyer, Mark. “Every John Wick Kill, Ranked.” The Ringer, 20 Sept. 2023. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.
• Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “First Impressions: ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ (2019) and Its Memorable Fight Scene in the NYPL.” Reel Librarians, 12 June 2019.