to Hong Kong action flicks, with a little bit of Greek mythology thrown in for good measure. However, Keanu Reeves' titular assassin is also reminiscent of the gunslingers in Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti Westerns. Director Chad Stahelski has cited those movies as an influence on "John Wick," with Clint Eastwood's The Man with No Name character in the "Dollars" trilogy being an obvious inspiration. That said, there is another beloved Leone Western that informed Stahelski and Reeves' action saga, and you're probably familiar with it.

Wick is a lone wolf action hero who does most of his talking with guns, swords, fists, and library books. The character doesn't have a lot of dialogue in the movies, but he doesn't need it to convey his thoughts and intention. This creative decision was inspired by Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" — a true epic that is rightfully regarded as one of the best Westerns of all time. The film uses dialogue sparingly, which helps heighten the tension during its most memorable sequences. Dialogue is mainly used when it matters, similar to the "John Wick" movies.

As documented by Vulture, Stahelski and Reeves watched Leone's film and decided to remove lots of dialogue from the original "John Wick" script. One of these moments occurs when Reeves' character responds to a priest by saying "uh-huh" during a shootout in a church, which is simple and to the point. The original idea, however, involved the characters waxing philosophical about mortality for a minute, but Leone's school of filmmaking prompted Stahelski and Reeves to take the "less is more" approach — a lesson they've carried with them since them.