The first John Wick film hit theaters in 2014 and was a shot in the arm for the action genre. The fight choreography – particularly the refreshing lack of cuts – was the main draw. It was a simple, streamlined story. Retired hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) sought revenge on the thug who killed his dog and stole his car. Each subsequent sequel added more to the story and revealed more about Wick’s life and the expansive underworld of assassins he was once and now again a part of.
If you thought Chapter 3 was big, hold on tight. Chapter 4 ups the ante again, and is the biggest of the bunch. We have pit stops in New York, Morocco, Osaka, Berlin, Paris. There are multiple massive, outrageous set pieces that would be the hallmark moment of almost any other action movie. Heck, there are more brilliant action moments in this single movie than some entire franchises have.
While these added layers are effective and worthwhile additions, the story remains relatively simple, an expected part of any John Wick movie. John Wick is still searching for a way out – again. After his actions in the first movie…and the second…and the third, that possibility is increasingly more difficult to achieve. He now has the full weight of the High Table to contend with this time around.
Taking the reins this time is the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), a high ranking High Table member. Leading the efforts is an old friend of Wick’s, Caine (Donnie Yen). Like John, Caine has unsuccessfully tried to retire from the hitman game. But with the High Table using his daughter’s life as leverage, he doesn’t really have a choice when the Marquis tasks him with taking out John Wick once and for all.
Before getting into the action highlights (and there’s plenty to get into), Chapter 4 also features some effective character work. Bringing in Wick’s friends – in addition to Caine, Hiroyuki Sanada plays another long-time friend, Shimazu Koji, the manager of the Osaka Continental, adds yet another layer to the character that we hadn’t seen before. The story gives those two impressive depth and development when you consider they’re both brand new characters.
But even with interesting and engaging characters, the action is always going to be the main attraction in the Wickverse. The same clean, sharp fight choreography that we’ve come to expect is still present and awesome as ever. What’s most impressive, though, is how that same sensibility seamlessly transfers from one-on-one close combat to larger brawls, chase scenes, and shootouts. Even with constant gunfire, packed dance clubs, the cover of the night sky, there’s never a moment where you struggle to follow the action. You can account for every single bullet, punch, swing of a sword, and whip of a nunchuck.
The fights and big set pieces are made all the more impressive with impeccable production design. The action is big, and the set pieces are big to match. Everything about the High Table screams opulence and the sets fall right in line. With how big, loud, and lavish they are, it all feels right at home with the aesthetic and tone the movie sets up. And we can’t leave out the stunning cinematography. Every single shot is taken with such care and precision, from establishing shots to an intense and frenetic car chase and shootout in Paris and everything in between and beyond.
The characters are great as well. John Wick is John Wick, so we all know what we’re getting there. Yen and Sanada are established legends in their own right. It’s an absolute blast having them added to the canon. Koji’s daughter Akira (Rina Sawayama) gets a few moments of bad-assery, even in a limited role. Scott Adkins shows up as a German adversary who Wick fights in one of the (many) standout sequences. Skarsgård feels perfectly suited to this kind of Bond villain-esque role, and he eats it up.
The production design, cinematography, characters. That’s all well and good. But fans of the John Wick franchise will come into this movie with one main question. What about the action? To put it simply, it still rules. As great as it is, though, this is where my only real complaints come in, and they’re intertwined.
More than the first three movies, Chapter 4 has a much stronger focus on guns. There is still plenty of close combat fighting, but most of the bigger sequences are centered around guns and shootouts. That’s not inherently a bad thing. But for my personal tastes and preferences, the actual fighting with fists and swords and other weapons will almost always be more fun to watch. That being said, though, the same approach to those fights is used with the gun sequences, so the end result is still super slick and stylish.
But the extensive gun fighting leads directly into my biggest problem: every character apparently has impenetrable bullet proof clothing. We’ve seen it used before in the series, but not to this extent. I don’t hate this as a gadget in this universe; it’s honestly very fitting. But Chapter 4 leans on it too hard. In a series where you already need to suspend your disbelief a decent amount (especially when it comes to how much pain someone can take), this took it a step too far. But let’s not dwell on this too much. If this is the biggest issue with an action movie, then that movie is sitting pretty.
It was mostly pretty easy to look past, with how big and kick-ass everything else was. Whatever you want out of an action movie and its fight scenes and action set pieces, Chapter 4 has it all. The third act is basically a pure adrenaline rush with one awe-inspiring sequence after another. In particular, it features an extended one-take overhead crane shot that is honestly one of the coolest things I have ever seen in a movie. And then the movie does it again a minute or two later and it’s just as incredible the second time.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is an absurd movie, there’s no questioning that. But that’s what fans come for. Four movies in, why would you expect, or want, anything different at this point? All we need is a simple story that’s easy to follow, clear motivations, and impeccably crafted action. Chapter 4 has that in spades. For the action, the main attraction, it pulls out all the stops and then some, helping cement it as the best in the series.
Score: 92/100
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