At first glance, it seems wrong. John Wick is a film of visceral, tactile sound: the crunch of a suppressed pistol, the wet thud of a judo throw, the rev of a ’69 Mustang. The original English audio, with Keanu Reeves’s sparse, gravelly whisper, is half the character. John doesn’t monologue. He grunts. He says “Yeah.” He whispers “I’m thinking I’m back.” The meaning is in the absence of words.
In Poland, the lektor (voice-over lector) is a strange, ghostly tradition. Unlike dubbing, which replaces voices, or subtitles, which sit at the bottom of the screen, the lektor sits on top of the original audio. A single, calm, often male voice translates every line, while the original actor’s emotional tone bleeds through underneath. john wick polski lektor