John Wick: Chapter 4
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is exactly what you've come to expect with the franchise: a few cool key story points, ridiculous action sequences, and memorable characters, both friends and foes. Oh, and I'm glad they dropped the subtitle thing they did with John Wick 3 – Parabellum, something about that seemed out of place.
Maybe the best thing this franchise has done is it's willingness to continue one story with breakneck continuity from one film to the next. Chapter 4 opens right where we left off in “John Wick 3” with next to no retreading or refreshers. And I appreciate that. It's all about breaking new ground and pushing the story forward. The story in “Chapter 4” isn't bad by any means, but it did feel like probably the thinnest of the films. It's an incredibly simple plot that's all been revealed in the advertising – John can secure his freedom by challenging the Marquis - Bill Skarsgård (whose just awesome in everything by the way) – to a duel. The movie is basically John trying to secure and make it to the duel. Incredibly simple, but along the way there are so many thrilling encounters that I hate to echo what everyone else has already said, but yes; this is one of the best action movies ever made.
The action is top notch all the way through, there are so many moments that I can think of that are my “favourite” that in reality it all boils down to being unable to decide. The last hour or so has some scenes that feel very “video game” inspired, but they do it so well that it's never out of place. There is a room-to-room sequence that I would be shocked if it wasn't directly inspired by the video game “Hotline Miami”.
Donnie Yen is introduced as John's main foil in the film and he's just so, so good. I'm really thrilled with the recognition Donnie Yen is getting in the last decade, because he's been around for nearly as long as Jackie Chan or Jet Li and was always designated as a side character, often times in movies featuring those exact men. “John Wick: Chapter 4” really is going to be his coming out party for North American audiences, I would be shocked if he didn't blow up immensely after this. Not only is he absolutely awesome in this, but without spoilers, there's so much they can do with his character's backstory. He's a major highlight of the film.
Skarsgård, who I already briefly mentioned, kills it as usual as the big boss in this one. He's a great villain. Almost surprisingly so, despite him already being universally praised for his villain role as “Pennywise” the clown from the modern “IT” films. As just a side note, he's also an excellent villain on the short lived Stephen King TV series “Castle Rock”. I'm just a huge fan of this guy. He's not talked about enough in the realm of the best new actors on the scene.
Without giving anything away, they're intending to move away from “John Wick” as the protagonist and focus on other members of this assassin world they've crafted with a streaming series called “The Continental” and a film that takes place between John Wick 3 and 4 called “The Ballerina”. These projects will be the litmus test to see how the franchise can do without Reeves leading the way.
“Chapter 4” does run a little long, it's a nearly 3 hour epic, but given the events that take place I'm fine with that. There are some characters that are never explained properly, but I fully expect that this is a backdoor pilot of sorts for those characters to appear in other projects where they will be fleshed out better. One character seemingly has an entire notebook dedicated to hunting John Wick, and it's never really explained, even though that character in question keeps going back and forth between being an enemy and a friend to John. There's clearly more they're planning with him.
All in all an amazing (maybe?) conclusion to the “John Wick” movies, and let's remember the most important part: the hundreds and hundreds of dead bodies across the franchise are all the result of people harming John Wick's dog. If that isn't cause for what could only be described as a genocide of assassins, I don't know what is.
8.5/10
