To be honest, John Wick: Chapter 4 isn’t the best action movie ever made, because of course it isn’t. That’s a ridiculous expectation to put on a movie. Over the past decade, however, the franchise has legitimized the idea; it was so fantastic that you could definitely expect this next installment to be the best action movie of all time. Aside from all the history and hype, however, a more realistic and authoritative view emerges: John Wick 4 is excellent. It’s silly, a little repetitive, and runs for almost three hours, and yet it’s so overflowing with stunning perfection (from a single shot to a whole sequence), that it’s hard to call it anything but incredible from an action perspective. fan.
Of course, if you are not a fan of great action movie, then this is not the movie for you. It’s long, exaggerated and obsessed with its own choreography, so anyone who isn’t into action movies will find the whole affair tedious. For those who do John Wick 4 may not be the best action movie ever made, but it sure feels like a mixtape of the best action scenes of all time. It’s a best-of, a playlist, a compilation for the diehards; are Now that’s what I call action! Combining sub-genres, stories and styles from around the world, this is an extremely cool, hugely enjoyable and utterly epic love letter to action cinema as a whole.
John Wick 4 takes its time
John Wick: Chapter 4 clearly picks up the plot and ending of the previous episode, although some time has passed. Wick, who has already defied the odds of survival after getting shot and falling off a tall building, is back in shape. The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) has taken in the rebellious assassin and nursed him back to health; they both hold a bitter grudge against the High Table, and the Bowery King hopes he can unleash Wick on his world and destroy it.
Already, John Wick 4 feels different from all the other movies. There’s a breathability, an atmosphere that allows time to pass without hundreds of hidden assassins trying to kill you. The first three movies took place in about two weeks, but it seems like quite a bit of time has passed before the new movie. There is ample quality, not only temporally but also geographically, that makes John Wick 4 feel more expansive, epic, and patient (and a runtime of nearly three hours certainly helps).
Wick travels to Osaka to see one of his few remaining friends, Shimazu, who runs the Continental Hotel nearby with his daughter. At this point, everyone knows that if they harbor or help Wick, they’re essentially disowning the High Table and admitting they’re fair game. Shimazu (a heartbreaking and dignified Hiroyuki Sanada performance) decides to stand next to John WIck, and Shimazu’s men are behind him. The High Table, seeking to eliminate Wick after his rebellion in the third film, raids the hotel and begins a brutal manhunt.
Even in his huge action sequences, John Wick 4 breathes and has room to move. Incorporating more and more characters (from Shimazu and his daughter to a mysterious bounty hunter named The Tracker and old friends like Winston), the film has a plethora of editing options, meaning an expertly choreographed set piece could literally take half an hour to complete. . . That’s about how long the hotel siege lasts, as we get a glimpse of multiple characters, their personalities, and their motivations.
The incredible look and stunts of John Wick 4
And boy, those glimpses are beautiful. Dan Laustsen, cinematographer for the past two John Wick movies (not to mention the visually stunning Crimson Peak, Brotherhood of the WolfAnd Nightmare Alley), really outdoes itself here. Laustsen and the increasingly imaginative and brilliant stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski have come up with some truly ingenious fight scenes with camerawork unlike any you’ve seen.
Wick closes in on the High Table, believing he can stop them by dueling one of their members, the psychotic dandy known as The Marquis (played with angry glee by Bill Skarsgård). Along the way, Wick takes part in sublime set pieces, whether battling dozens of men descending as he climbs stairs in a race against time, or using a motorcycle to battle several goons during rush hour in a battle around the Arc de Triomphe. . The film occasionally abandons a realistic, grounded perspective to take a bird’s-eye view of the action, as if studying a bullet-studded blueprint, or slows everything down to stylistically pure action melodrama. Laustsen and Stahelski capture it all, and it’s delightful.
New characters enhance the Wick franchise
The new character additions are some of the highlights of John Wick: Chapter 4. the follower, played by Shamier Andersonis an infinitely charming character who, like the film itself, almost seems like a hodgepodge of the best elements in John Wick. He is dressed like the Bowery King’s legion of unprotected assassins; he has a deep bond with his dog, like Wick in the movies and Halle Berry’s character in the third movie; he has changing names and a mysterious past, also called The Tracker, but Mr. Nobody. It’s a really cool character and it’s exciting to see how he actually helps Wick so that the bounty on the protagonist’s head will go up. The Tracker is no fool – he’s not going to compete against John Wick until he’s worth the right amount.
Shimazu is also a great character. While many people pop up in the John Wick world who have deep respect and admiration for the titular killer, but few seem to be so emotionally bound to him. Shimazu and Wick have a genuine bond, which makes the former’s sacrifice all the more heartbreaking. Meanwhile, another close friend of Wick’s is forced to track him down lest his daughter be killed. This is Caine, played by Donnie Yen, and he’s possibly the best new addition to the franchise.
Yen, so well known for his amazing skills in the IP man a series of films, among many others, gives a breathtaking performance here as a blind man who sides with the high table and the powers of an evil status quo to keep himself and his family safe. There’s a lot of guilt and sadness in the performance, but Caine is also just an extremely kind and charismatic man. Watching him slurp noodles as people kill each other around him, or listen to the sound of bullets so he knows where to duck, it’s clear that Yen is an absolute star. The conflicted, complicated, and infinitely charming character is honestly one of the best ever made in action movies.
John Wick 4 represents the best of action
Caine is symbolic of how John Wick: Chapter 4 takes from the action genre to celebrate, almost as Tarantino took from it extensively Kill Bill. Caine is clearly referring to Zatoichi, the blind samurai character from many excellent movies. The trajectory to a sunrise duel between two skilled characters is undoubtedly a tribute to Hiroshi Inagaki Samurai trilogy of the fifties. A tense card game (featuring a stunning and unrecognizable Scott Adkins) hearkens back to so much James Bond movies.
Engine sequences seem indebted to Police story. The Movies of John Woo (Hardboiled, The Killer, Face/Off) feel particularly prescient when considering the evolving loyalties of some characters. The staircase scene brings back memories The robbery, and The Marquis looks like it’s straight out of a Takeshi Kitano movie. Meanwhile, Johnnie To looms over some of the overhead and tracking shots. None of this is a bad thing; John Wick: Chapter 4 is all its own. The thing is, though, that the film is head over heels in love with the action genre, and while it may not be the best of all action cinema, it certainly represents the best of it. It reflects everything that is exciting, gripping and joyful about the genre.
While the ending is a bit mysterious and sure to spark discussions, it’s not necessarily set up John Wick 5. The film almost exists in its own universe, separate from the breathless and unforgiving trilogy of the first three films, and able to stand on its own as an epilogue of sorts. There really doesn’t need to be a sequel, and if there is, it might diminish the power of John Wick: Chapter 4. Prequels and spin-offs are already in the works, which should satisfy the understandably predatory fans. Instead of immediately anticipating another film, John Wick 4 encourages us all to take a deep breath and admire how minutely brilliant and breathtaking it is. This is a movie that values action, and in turn deserves active appreciation.
Produced by Summit Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures and 87Eleven Productions, Lion’s Gate is releasing John Wick: Chapter 4 in theaters from March 24.