John Wick is back, and he is deadlier than ever.
I don’t even know if he’s human at this point - he’s an unstoppable force.
"Amen"
So, let’s talk about “John Wick: Chapter 4”!
It all started back in 2014, when Theon Greyjoy just couldn’t help himself yet again,
and killed John Wick’s puppy as well as stole his car.
Ever since then, John has been on the path of revenge, leading to his quest back to freedom, and
we have been enjoying the expertly choreographed action scenes, bathed in neon lighting.
The franchise has been consistently impressive,
taking the action and the body count to new heights with every installment.
But my confidence in the film series lessened after Chapter 3,
which I thought lacked the magic of the first two films, and also just felt too long.
So, as you can imagine, when I saw that the runtime of Chapter 4 is just 10 minutes
shy of 3 hours… I had some concerns about what I was getting myself into.
But it was so much fun!
Get ready, action fans, because this one is a crazy ride, unlike anything you've seen before.
So, let’s start at the beginning. The story is just as simple as it has been throughout the
entire franchise: John wants to be left alone and there are many people standing in his way.
This time he is taking the fight all the way to the High Table, and the crime lords are not happy.
The bounty on his head keeps growing as is the number of his enemies,
but he is determined to fight his way to freedom.
Will he finally succeed this time?
I’m not going to tell you, you’re going to have to watch the movie to find out.
But what I will tell you is that I’m pretty sure only the “John
Wick” franchise can keep getting away with this level of over-the-top action.
And despite my doubts, I am here to embrace it.
Now, all of us were already expecting “Chapter 4” to be bigger and crazier,
pushing the action and the signature Gun Fu further than ever before.
But this is on another level even for “John Wick”:
the movie is mostly action, it’s pretty much non-stop.
The fights just keep going, the bodies keep piling up, the assassin fashion is as slick as ever,
and the stunt and fight choreography is out of this world - you just can’t help being impressed.
I was trying to figure out what my favorite action scene was for this review,
and I’m honestly having a hard time deciding - they all range from great to amazing,
and each scene has its own distinct elements that make it memorable.
If you love action - you’re going to love this film, there’s no question about it.
Something that I did not expect them to lean into as much as they did is the physical comedy,
and “Chapter 4”, unexpectedly, is the funniest and the most entertaining film in the franchise.
It’s not like any of these movies have been particularly subtle or elegantly written,
but Chapter 4 really leans into some of its over-the-top elements,
and they know they’re going over-the-top so they embrace the more comedic aspects of that.
In some cases it does get too ridiculous, though that will depend on how you feel
about this kind of comedy, but overall I was having a great time with the darkly comedic
tone they went for and the audience around me was absolutely having a blast - laughing,
gasping, applauding… it’s definitely the type of film you should experience with a crowd.
The writing on the other hand is… not amazing?
And look, I am not being unreasonable here, I don’t go into a John Wick film expecting
it to blow my mind with its writing, but this was still rougher than I expected it to be.
The main issue is that as soon as there’s a break in the action for longer than a few minutes,
the energy and tension just drop because there really isn’t much substance to maintain it.
You start getting impatient, and wishing they would move this thing
along, because the dialogue in particular just isn’t great.
You have a villain who mostly delivers villainous speeches when he’s on screen,
which gets old pretty quickly.
You have Keanu Reeves who seems to have very few lines,
compared to the rest of the franchise, and even those are very hit or miss.
And you have some characters that are cartoon level caricatures.
So, while, once again, you don’t watch these movies for the writing,
when you have a film that’s almost 3 hours long, you need a little bit more to keep you going
because as glorious as that action is, there comes a point where you start getting tired.
Proper expectations are key, as always, and if you’re looking for
great writing - I don’t know why you’re still waiting for it in this franchise.
That being said, if they’re going to keep making these movies, especially if they're
going to keep making them this long - they need to do at least a little bit better.
But on that note, here’s something I’ve appreciated in every “John Wick” movie,
and particularly in the sequels: world-building.
The structure of this criminal organization has always fascinated me,
and all of the lore and rules really add a lot to the movies.
Chapter 4 once again expands on all of that,
building on things that were introduced earlier, adding new layers - I love it.
Plus, this film takes us to a few different locations and it uses them well: obviously,
there’s New York, but we also get Japan, Germany,
and France, and each of these has some fantastic action set pieces - John
Wick just can’t stop by without killing a few dozen people… or a few hundred.
Things tend to escalate when he’s around, OK?
Let’s talk about the cast though, because it is stacked!
The regulars are here. of course: Keanu Reeves is destroying everyone who gets in his way,
Ian McShane is back with all of his charisma, Laurence Fishburne is great,
though I wish he had a bigger role - it’s good to see all of them back, and they do not disappoint.
The newcomers though are just as exciting.
First of all, Donnie Yen is fantastic.
How can you not love Donnie Yen?
He plays a blind assassin, Caine, and he is equal parts deadly, cool, and hilarious.
He also delivers the best "Fuck off!" line in the history of cinema.
He’s just wonderful, I could watch an entire spin-off about his character.
They are working on a spin-off film titled “Ballerina”,
and that’s supposedly in post-production now, but I don’t think Donnie Yen is in that one.
He needs his own movie.
Hiroyuki Sanada is also in this, and in my opinion every movie needs more
Hiroyuki Sanada - the man is a legend and wow, does he get to show off his skills here.
Scott Adkins has a quick, but memorable role and is in a pretty crazy action scene as well,
though he is barely recognizable.
Shamier Anderson is a big highlight, and he’s a lot of fun to watch.
And our main villain this time around is Mr. Pennywise, Bill Skarsgård,
who is doing a really weird French accent (I’m not sure what happened there), and unfortunately
the writing doesn’t do his mustache-twirling (minus the actual mustache) character any favors.
But even with that, he still has the presence and the charisma to make this work.
The third act is where the movie really came together for me.
And this isn’t to say that it’s not good leading up to it - I was
thoroughly enjoying everything that came before.
But to me the third act is where the movie truly shines in every aspect,
and I promise, it’s not just because it’s happening in Paris.
I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m not going to get into the details,
but the combination of the Parisian landmarks, the absolutely insane action,
and the movie’s dark sense of humor really brought it home.
Also, I loved how they approached the final standoff and the way it was done -
that was easily one of my favorite parts of the film.
Does the movie occasionally cross every possible line of believability?
Yes, it certainly does, and suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy this film,
more so than with the previous three.
But it’s also clear that the filmmakers knew their audience, they knew they were being ridiculous,
and they went for it anyway because at the end of the day it’s a great time,
and as I mentioned earlier no other franchise would be able to get away
with the things “John Wick” movies get away with.
Did it need to be almost 3 hours long? No, of course it didn’t.
But was it still worth my time? Absolutely.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” might occasionally feel like a video game, especially when it
comes to the dialogue, but it’s also the most fun movie in the franchise.
It’s big, it’s loud, it’s over-the-top, it has a great cast and a great sense of humor.
The action scenes are truly unlike anything you’ve seen before,
and even when the movie goes too far it’s still one hell of a ride.
If you’re an action fan - you have to see it.
If you’re a Keanu Reeves fan - you have to see it because
you know it’s about to go down when he says:
"I’m going to need a gun"