The John Wick movies thrive on maximalism. It's their secret weapon. Released in 2014, the original "John Wick" appeared to be a revenge thriller built from spare and familiar elements. Instead, director and former "Matrix" stuntman Chad Stahelski, uncredited director David Leitch, and writer Derek Kolstad unleashed a sprawling underground of hitmen, John Alberto Leguizamo running a chop shop, and an underworld-only hotel that forbids assassinations on-site. "John Wick" took its world-building and stylistic excesses farther than unsuspecting audiences could guess. As a result, it was a smash at the box office. It's little wonder that "John Wick: Chapter 2" and "John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum" followed suit, financially and artistically.

Given that, let's look at the "John Wick" movie moments that deliberately took things too far and shifted the needle for the films they occurred in and for action cinema in general. The maximalism of "John Wick" is no longer the exception. It's the standard.

Daisy gets murdered (John Wick)

The inciting incident of "John Wick" is a dealbreaker for its audience. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) doesn't take revenge on the Tarasov crime family because they killed his wife (she's already passed from a terminal illness) or his mentor, Marcus (whom they hire to kill Wick). Wick goes full Baba Yaga on the Tarasovs because they kill his beagle puppy, Daisy. "John Wick" is the antithesis of DoesTheDogDie.com and a challenge to those who cannot tolerate animal death in art. For many, it goes too far. It's also an incredible storytelling decision.

Daisy is no mere dog. She's a gift from Wick's terminally ill wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan), his last living link to her memory and a totem through which to grieve and love again. In retrospect, the opening passages of "John Wick" are ludicrously subdued for this franchise. There's a world in which John Wick goes the way of Jackson Briggs from Channing Tatum's "Dog" and heals his heart through an animal-human bond. Sadly, it's not to be. Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) shifts Daisy off this mortal coil and John Wick is working again.

Given how wild the "John Wick" movies become, ending Daisy's life is a smart catalyst. It's a moment that goes too far for many audience members, but it also opens the door to a world of extreme (and extremely cathartic) action set pieces. It's the first instance in which "too far" is actually "just right" for this franchise.