John Wick: Chapter 4
★★★★1/2
Mild Spoilers
Directed by Chad Stahelski
Written by Shay Hatten, Michael Finch and Derek Kolstad
Previously, on Chapter 3: Fueled by vengeance, the renowned ruthless hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) launched a one-man campaign against the international assassination syndicate known as the High Table, only to be betrayed by ally Winston (Ian McShane) and left for dead. But Wick survived, and with the help of the Bowery King (Lawrence Fishburne), Wick recovers from his injuries and continues his warpath towards the High Table members in Chapter 4. But unbeknownst to him, the High Table has appointed one of its members, the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) to hunt Wick down, with the help of Wick’s old acquaintance, known only as Caine (Donnie Yen).
If you’re new to this series of action films, it helps to check out at least the first John Wick movie just to know who he is, what he can do, and why he is doing all of this. Not that it’d make any more sense, but it’s ludicrously fun to watch how a simple revenge quest escalated into having hundreds of bad guys killed, which sets it apart from other more generic action movies. John Wick is the kind of movie where you see a goon knocked violently into the air by a car, most likely dead from impact, yet John Wick shoots him anyway, multiple times, while his body is in mid-flight, just because. It’s a story about what happens when the world’s most feared assassin turned against his own organization. The John Wick films are highly influenced by Hong Kong action movies, with its elaborately choreographed action sequences and martial arts battles, and painful-looking stunt sequences. If you like what you’ve been reading so far, then you’re going to love all the Wick movies, including Chapter 4.
THE GOOD:
The best thing about Chapter 4 is its cast, beginning with Keanu Reeves, who is a bona fide action star that deserves a place with the likes of legends such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li. From regulars Ian McShane, Lawrence Fishburne and Lance Reddick to new additions Donnie Yen (also an action legend), Hiroyuki Sanada, Bill Skarsgård, Scott Adkins, Shamier Anderson, Clancy Brown, Rina Sawayama and Natalia Tena, they ranged from good to impressive, and were not superfluously used. Yen’s character is called Caine and carries a cane (ha ha) but gets to do more than just being another laconic villain muscle. Unlike many of his other Hollywood roles, he gets to up-play his innate charisma in both the dramatic and the action scenes. And my god, the guy still got the moves at 59! The surprising standouts were Anderson’s Tracker that became increasingly likeable throughout the film, and Sawayama’s Akira doing an impressive chunk of the action during the Osaka Continental scene. If you managed to stay away from all the posters and trailers, then you’re in for a surprise with Adkin’s character. I really loved that Sanada got to do way more action here than he did in Bullet Train. It’s sad that Reddick passed away just before the film’s premiere. He was always great in everything he did, and I will miss seeing him at the New York Continental.
The cinematography by Dan Laustsen, who also shot John Wick 2 and 3, is astounding. It’s like watching the most expensive looking action movie ever. The movie also boasts impressive production and costume design work, with the many opulent European sets and backdrops, and the exquisite suits and designer dresses the actors were wearing.
THE BAD:
Story-wise, Chapter 4 wasn’t as tight and cohesive as the original film but is on par with the other sequels. It also suffers a similar problem with the others where it relied too much on made-up arbitrary rules of the High Table that conveniently saved characters from certain death, or even reinstate outcasts out of technicality despite all the bad blood caused. Chapter 4 does at least attempt to give the single-minded protagonist a little more depth, albeit just a tinge. But there’s no hiding the fact that the screenplay was designed first and foremost to incorporate the action set pieces at the expense of the story. I did like the unconventional ending that relied more on smarts than fisticuffs or firepower.
THE UGLY:
Don’t get me wrong – this is Hollywood action at its best, and seeing Wick dispatching bad guys with a variety of weaponry and techniques never gets old for me. But compared to its predecessors, Chapter 4’s action choreography seems less elegant and not as clever. There were brilliant moments like the one involving nunchucks, but some of the close-combat sequences were getting a bit too repetitive. Reeves himself was already looking sluggish even back in Chapter 3, and he is no different here, not surprising since he’s already pushing 60 years of age. Regardless, his intense dedication to his work is undeniable, and what he pulled off here is still incredible and highly commendable. There was a great action scene near the end involving vehicles that I wished didn’t incorporate that many obvious CG effects. I understand the safety reasons, but I’d rather have realistic but simpler, safer stunts over fake looking elaborate ones that needed CG for them to work.
Overall, this is still a high recommendation for this three-hour film that didn’t feel its length, as long as you are able to surrender yourself to its ludicrousness and just enjoy it for what it is – a classily made Hong Kong-style action movie with a big Hollywood budget.
Note: There is one end credits scene.
RANDOM SPOILERY THOUGHTS:
My heart sank when Charon was very quickly dispatched early in the film. An eerie, freaky coincidence that is still felt until now.
Like I mentioned before, I really liked that the ending was more about outsmarting the Marquis than simply resolving it with more brute force. It’s clever that they concealed the true stake of the duel – Caine’s daughter. I believed Wick, Winston and Caine had already planned this earlier on, offscreen. The whole conceit rests heavily on the Marquis’ bloated ego, which explains why Winston was fanning the Marquis’ flames during his final meeting with him before the duel.
I guess John Wick finally dies, and it does look definitive - the vision of his wife, the epitaph. The character has nowhere else interesting to go, so it makes sense to end it now.
Caine and Akira’s conflict is very Kill Bill-like, which was also echoed in the end credits.
I like how the Tracker has “nuts” as an attack order for his dog.
Funny how some people were dissing the Osaka Continental action set piece, but I thought the weakest one was Killa’s nightclub. Osaka has Sanada and Sawayama doing their own action, and that nunchucks sequence, which I was nervously giggling at the brutal way Reeves was using it to continuously bash people’s head with. The Paris action set piece was undeniably the best. The top-down view of the chateau battle, the explosive shotgun shells, the Arc de Triomphe vehicular mayhem, and the fight up the Montmartre stairs were exhaustingly thrilling.
If you found Adkins’ fat suit offensive, I think what they were trying to do here was to give a nod to legendary Hong Kong action star Sammo Hung, who is famously rotund and yet is capable of performing mind-blowing martial arts moves and stunts. And Adkins did do some sick moves in the suit.
I believe the arm branding during the Ruska Roma scene was a homage to David Carradine’s Kung Fu show. Shaolin monks do not practice this, if you’re wondering. Complete fabrication.
I thought there’d be some significance or foreshadowing with Clancy Brown’s amputated wedding finger, but they didn’t do anything with that.
When Winston whispered “farewell, my son” in Russian, does that imply Winston is Wick’s daddy?
Greatest, unexpected and most satisfying utterance of an expletive by Caine after the Marquis told Caine to “remember your daughter”.
Missing in action: The Adjudicator, Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare), the previous Elder played by Saïd Taghmaoui (I think he died offscreen), Sofia (Halle Berry) and her dogs, Aurelio (John Leguizamo), Cassian (Common), Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman, and a missed opportunity to introduce Ana de Armas’ Ballerina.