John Wick: Chapter 4 Review

Photo Credit - Lionsgate Films

He only wanted to be left alone to mourn his deceased wife, do some stunt driving, and kick it with his dog Daisy. That was the plan until that POS Theon Greyjoy switched IPs and randomly decided it was a good idea to kill his puppy. The aftermath? An immersion into the deadly world of John Wick.

Three films and an insane body count later, we’re invited back to Wick’s world with John Wick: Chapter 4. In JW4, Wick (Keanu Reeves) is on the cusp of freeing himself from the High Table for good, but his newest and most potent enemy stands in the way.

Three-plus films in a series is for tentpole stuff like Marvel films, etc. The fact that the Wick franchise is one of the rare original intellectual properties to make it here is a testament to its quality. That also makes it fair to ask this question: do we need another John Wick movie? The answer is a resounding YES!!!

In general, JW4 is the same movie as the others. It has plenty of action, well-choreographed fights, impressive cinematography, and the same story. Yet, JW4 manages to up the ante showing sometimes it’s not what you do but how you do it.

Action is the hallmark of the John Wick franchise, and JW4 builds on that by incorporating more trained martial artists. Using physical combat instead of computer-generated images (CGI) makes the fight sequences special.

However, the use of martial artists like Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins, Hiroyuki Sanada, and to a lesser extent, Reeves gives those scenes a polish and authenticity that pushes them to elite. It’s unlike anything that has hit the screen in recent memory.

How JW4 is shot trumps its predecessors by being more stylized and infusing numerous styles. Cinematographer Dan Lausten uses the camera as equal parts chaos merchant, arthouse purveyor, and classic cinema enthusiast.

The chaos comes as Lausten alternates between wide shots and Stedicam to both show and make the audience feel what’s happening in the fights. The use of color and wide shot framing makes the arthouse feel apparent, especially in the Osaka Continental fight scene and meet up in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The classic cinema vibe comes through in various landscape shots from Morocco, Paris, and Berlin and the use of shadows and darkness, characteristic of noir films.

The battle in a Paris apartment is the scene that epitomizes the blend of JW4’s multi-influenced cinematography. It’s as much an adrenaline rush as it is an aesthetic marvel for artists and cinephiles.

There’s nothing new about the story because we’re still basically at John Wick trying to kill his way out of his dark past, but JW4 is the best-written of the series. The tale as old as time revenge story that has driven the Wick films gets a lift with the injection of stronger supporting characters.

Writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch’s decision to include the Caine and Tracker characters gives JW4 a more humanized feel. They have more significant stakes than similar characters in the previous Wick films and surprising but much-needed doses of humor. Their presence and the Wick character’s self-awareness allow JW4 not to take itself too seriously, given it’s an ultra-violent film.

In addition to the other upgrades, director Chad Stahelski stepped up his game for JW4. Stahelski, who helmed all of the previous Wick films, paced this one differently yet better than the others and went bigger than usual in paying homage to other works. He keeps JW4 moving at a pace that’s on par with an action film of its caliber, but he makes breaks for the humanizing mentioned above to have its place throughout the film.

In terms of paying homage to other works, there are the obvious influences of anime and older action films in JW4, but his tribute to a classic, influential hip-hop film that shall remain nameless at this time is the highlight of the movie. It takes up most of the third act and is the most pleasantly surprising part of JW4.

In front of the camera, you know what you’ll get with Reeves as the titular character. He is John Wick, and no one else could convincingly pull off the emotional weight and the physical demands of playing Wick like him. Yen is excellent in his series debut, although his performance is identical to his Star Wars: Rogue One turn. Interestingly, the strongest performances in JW4 don’t come from Reeves or Yen.

The best acting in the film comes from Ian McShane and Bill Skarsgård. McShane is in top form as Winston with his witty retorts and anecdotes, but he also shows some unseen heart from the character that hits harder than expected. Skarsgård is by far the best villain in any Wick movie. The beauty of his performance is how cool he remains as the lengths of his evil and efforts to stop Wick grows.

JW4 is by far the best Wick movie of the series and might be the best action film of the 2020s. What separates it from other movies and franchises is that it continues to get better, and JW4 bests everything in every way in the genre. If JW4 indicates what’s to come, please give us John Wick movies until the end of time.

There is no need to see this one on a larger screen, but I recommend watching in Dolby, where available for the upgraded sound. If that option isn’t available, standard formatting works just fine.