It's packed with the most unstoppable assassin action yet, but how will fans feel about that
nearly three-hour runtime? Here's the best and worst things about "John Wick: Chapter 4."
One element of the "John Wick" series that can
prove divisive is the way it handles pedestrians. Shootouts and fight scenes throughout the
franchise often take place in crowded locations packed with extras, but all these onlookers never
react to the bloodshed happening right in front of them. This isn't an issue in the first film, but
all of the sequels take a more heightened-reality approach to the crowds of civilians.
Several people can get gunned down close enough to them to be in the splash zone,
and the civilians will just keep on dancing to the music even as bullets fly. For some,
this is part of the campy fun of the series. For others, it is one step too far removed from
reality to avoid breaking immersion and making the world feel artificial. It can begin to seem
like there are no normal people in the world of "John Wick" and that everyone is an assassin
or works alongside assassins in the underworld. "John Wick: Chapter 4" and the other sequels would
benefit from the inclusion of more characters outside of the assassination game to provide
contrast. John Wick's deceased wife Helen and Caine's daughter Mia are normal civilians, but
neither of them has a real presence. This issue makes it harder to buy into the world of "John
Wick" as a functioning society with each sequel.
"Amen."
After the relatively straightforward and
simple first movie, the settings and backdrops of the "John Wick" sequels have all been impressive,
varied, and well-integrated into the action set pieces. "Chapter 4" raises the bar in stunning
fashion by turning the plot into a full-fledged globe-spanning adventure. New York City remains
an important location in this latest outing. However, the plot also finds John Wick returning
to the Sahara desert of "Chapter 3" to visit the Elder, as well as traveling to Osaka, Berlin,
and even Paris for the showdown with the Marquis. Adding to the effectiveness of the locations
themselves is the way in which they are shot. The prior "John Wick" movies are no slouches when it
comes to their visual aesthetics, but "Chapter 4" arguably has the best cinematography of the bunch.
The change from the steely, muted color palette of the first movie to the increasingly more colorful
sequels is also a welcome progression.
The first three movies mostly line up when it comes to the rules of the universe,
but "Chapter 4" changes a few things up and asks you to turn a blind eye to the discrepancies.
These issues might have something to do with original screenwriter Derek Kolstad being
completely uninvolved with "Chapter 4" for the first time in the history of the series.
One of the biggest inconsistencies is how easy it is for John to travel this time around. A huge
part of "Chapter 3" is devoted to his struggle to get from New York City to Casablanca. This
requires him to secure passage from the Ruska Roma, which involves them tearing his ticket for
a one-way trip. In "Chapter 4," John makes the same international journey off-screen,
with no mind paid to how he gets there. He travels around the world without any
difficulty -- despite the bounty on his head being significantly higher than ever before.
It is also unclear why John needs to go to Berlin to get the support of the Ruska Roma after he
previously met at their headquarters in New York City. The complete absence of the Director is
especially conspicuous when she seems like the perfect person to solve John's specific problem.
The "John Wick" movies
always have strong soundtracks, mixing the series' original score by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard
with pre-existing music to great effect. Though there are plenty of memorable needle-drop moments
in the previous films, "Chapter 4" has arguably the best overall soundtrack of the entire series.
Bates and Richard return as the main composers and reprise the familiar themes while ensuring
the music continues to evolve and feel fresh. The needle-drop moments between the original
score are a cut above the already-high bar set by the series. Fans of French electronic music will
be especially thrilled as tracks from popular artists like Gesaffelstein and Justice show up.
One of the best musical moments in the entire film is actually a reprise of a song first utilized in
the original "John Wick." The song "LED Spirals" by Le Castle Vania makes a welcome return to the
soundtrack of "Chapter 4" -- after previously scoring the centerpiece shootout that takes place
in the Red Circle nightclub in the first movie.
If there is anything that hurts the action of "John Wick: Chapter 4," it is that John
feels a bit too invincible at times. Part of the joy of the first "John Wick" is how
much pain he suffered and how wounded he was by the end, and yet still came out on top. Giving
John a bulletproof suit in "Chapter 2" runs the risk of making him too indestructible,
but the film finds a way to balance the scales and keep the sense of danger intact.
By "Chapter 4," John begins to feel a bit too superhuman. It really only becomes a
major distraction when it comes to the multiple two- to three-story falls he takes and bounces
back from like they're nothing. These land in stark contrast to the fall he takes from
the roof of the Continental at the end of "Chapter 3," which requires substantial
time to rest and recover before he's ready to fight again. John takes two huge falls
of a comparable size in "Chapter 4," not to mention the various other hits, stabs,
gunshots, and hundreds of stairs that he falls down. Yet, he hardly bats an eye at all the
physical trauma this time around. The stakes of the action feel a little lower as a result,
though the very end of the film course-corrects for the better.
The "John Wick" series is almost as much
about dogs as it is about action. The murder of John's puppy in the original film is, of course,
the straw that breaks the camel's back and kicks off his quest for vengeance. Each subsequent movie
keeps canines as a part of the series' DNA. In "Chapter 4" a new dog is brought into the
action, owned by the Tracker, aka Mr. Nobody. We see this dog in some creative new ways,
like running and leaping across the tops of cars in a shootout set in front of the Arc de Triomphe.
The best moment involving the dog is actually a choice made by John. Though the dog and Mr. Nobody
have been trying to kill him, John saves the dog when she is about to be killed. It is a perfect
moment of redemption for John after what happened to Daisy all the way back in the first movie.
"John Wick: Chapter 3" ends with a massive
cliffhanger. After throwing away the freedom he earned from the high table to defend Winston,
John is double-crossed. Winston shoots him and sends him off the roof of the Continental.
The first three "John Wick" movies all take place within a short time span, each one beginning right
after the previous one ended. For the first time, "Chapter 4" picks up following an extended gap in
time after John and the Bowery King are both fully healed. Once John is back in action,
he only has his sights set on the High Table, not on Winston. When the two do cross paths, John lets
Winston off the hook extremely easily, and the two become chummy again and spend the rest of the film
working together. The promised vengeance against Winston never happens, nor does Winston ever
truly reckon with his act of betrayal. This is particularly hard to buy given that one of John's
defining character traits is that he can't let things go and always needs to settle the score.
"What have you done?"
"Chapter 4" brings a focus back to John's deceased wife, Helen,
in key moments that are quite effective and help make the series feel like it is coming
full circle. Her presence is less prominent than in the first movie but far more impactful than
it is in the other sequels. In one key scene, John lights a candle and pays his respects to
her before having a friendly conversation with Caine about why. John says he doesn't believe
she can hear him or feel his presence, but he does it anyway because he could be wrong.
John's most vulnerable and human moment in the entire film arrives when he tells Winston that he
wants his epitaph to read "loving husband." He's an infamous assassin with a legendary reputation,
yet he only wants to be remembered in relation to Helen. And finally the quick flash of Helen
in John's dying moments is a beautiful way to tie it all together and provide a fitting
conclusion to Mr. Wick's journey.
The first "John Wick" movie and its first sequel give John a clear goal to work toward in typically
violent fashion. "Chapter 3" is the first time where John's motivation starts to falter. But
"Chapter 4" is a step down in the motivation department, as John doesn't really have a good
reason for the bloodshed at all this time around. As characters say as much within the film. Winston
tells John that what he's doing is pointless and won't accomplish anything, and he's right.
The Marquis calls John a man with nothing to live for, nothing to die for, and nothing to kill for,
and he's also right. The film embraces this emptiness in John, but it is a genuine problem
with the central figure. John barely feels like a character anymore in "Chapter 4" and
is mostly just a vessel for other characters to exploit, try to kill, and get killed by.
"I'm going to need a gun."
"John Wick: Chapter 4" introduces many new characters to the series, and they are all
great. Chidi, Akira, the harbinger, Shimazu, The Tracker, Marquis, and especially Caine are all
fantastic additions to the "John Wick" world. Caine even steals the show from John Wick and
nearly begins to feel like the main character himself at points as he takes center stage
for stretches where John is absent. The post-credits scene teases that he
actually might become the protagonist of his own spinoff at some point in the franchise's future,
which sounds fantastic in theory.
Each film in the "John Wick" series has gotten progressively longer, but the biggest leap comes
with "John Wick: Chapter 4." This new installment is nearly three hours long. On the plus side,
the longer runtime means more action, and the film fully delivers in that category.
All the same, the hefty length is a clear hindrance. Too much of a good thing can still
become exhausting. The extended Berlin portion of the plot of "Chapter 4" is where the length is
the most problematic. This segment of the film is well-made but does not feel like an integral part
of the overall story. A new villain is introduced and immediately killed off in the form of Killa,
a fun character who unfortunately has no real purpose in the story. The entire Berlin sequence
could theoretically be left on the cutting room floor without affecting the story,
and the overall film would be much tighter and better-paced as a result. It would also lose
a couple of new characters, which would help "Chapter 4" feel less overstuffed.
It should come as no surprise
whatsoever that the best part of "John Wick: Chapter 4" by far is the action. Every "John
Wick" movie has had to raise the bar and find new ways to showcase Mr. Wick's lethal skillset.
"Chapter 4" continues to expand the styles of action on offer by incorporating exciting new
weapons like nunchucks and bows and arrows, and by making one of its main players, Caine,
a blind assassin with a unique fighting style. The introduction of Dragon's Breath
shotgun shells for one spectacular sequence is a fiery way to raise the shootout bar higher
than it has ever been before. "Chapter 4" has some shortcomings in the writing department,
but they are easy to overlook when the action is so incredible.