In 2014 action movie fans were introduced to John Wick. After almost four years, the long-awaited fourth installment to the franchise has arrived, and it was well worth the wait. The film begins with John Wick (Keanu Reeves) on the run from the High Table, the international organization that oversees criminal organizations and assassins. Building lore has been a great strength of the John Wick franchise and is fully utilized in this entry. Within the first few scenes, John ends up in Japan seeking help from Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada), the manager of the Osaka Continental. The High Table’s Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) has a bounty out for John, which he increases as John violently evades his assassins.
The action in John Wick: Chapter 4 almost never stops. The set pieces are excellent and the cinematography by Dan Laustsen is superb. Every fight in the film is so distinct. There are three fight sequences that might be three of my favorite of any action movie. The best of the three is filmed as a long aerial take, following John as he takes down a seemingly endless stream of assassins hunting him. The camera follows John from room to room from above, presenting a very unique and exciting perspective on the action.
One of Wick’s main adversaries in the film is Caine (Donnie Yen), a blind assassin who the High Table has given John’s name. Donnie Yen is fantastic here, keeping me on the edge of my seat with his execution of every fight scene’s choreography. Chad Stahelski and his team incorporate Caine’s blindness in interesting ways. At one point Caine uses motion-sensor doorbells to hear where his opponents are, which is very cool.
Over halfway through the movie, I noticed the screen suddenly appeared much dimmer, and within minutes the screen just shut off. No one in the fairly packed theater moved or said anything for a moment. People eventually left their seats to get popcorn refills and use the restroom, myself included. A theater employee announced that they were working to resolve the technical issues with their projector, assuring us the movie would be back on shortly. With a runtime approaching three hours, it was honestly kind of nice to get up and use the bathroom. And I must say, the theater’s Dolby audio was incredible. Seeing the movie with a decent size audience was a great experience. Throughout the movie people gasped and clapped, adding to the excitement of the action.
The only flaws I can bring up are minor, and other aspects of the film somewhat make up for its weaknesses. While the fight choreography, cinematography, and backdrops are incredible, John’s killing tactics lack variation. He shoots a lot of guys in the head and stabs a few more. He might as well be playing on unlimited ammo mode, putting three extra bullets in the heads of most of his already-fallen enemies. It would have been nice to see a little more variety from Wick, but as I said, this critique is very minor and ultimately didn’t take away from the amazing viewing experience. I enjoyed this movie so much that I’m seeing it again this week, hopefully without a surprise intermission.
R | 2h 49m | 3.24.2023
Director: Chad Stahelski
Genre: Action
Related Films: John Wick Franchise
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Asia Kate Dillon, Rina Sawayama
Ryan’s Score: 91/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Audience, 95% Critic (as of 3.27.2023)
Watch the trailer here: