This is the closing chapter of a modern action masterpiece. This is John Wick: Chapter 4.
What is it?
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) takes one last run at The Table. But a ruthless Marquis (Bill Skarsgard) intends to make a name for himself by ending the legend of Baba Yaga himself. It begins in the Tokyo Continental, and ends in the streets of Paris.
The Good Stuff
In Conversation With Action Classics
This whole movie series has been one long, reverential conversation between its stars and filmmakers, and the lot of action cinema. There are visual and audial references to the masters. The choreography is thrillingly new, while also hearkening to the greats of the genre. Past installments have let innovators of action cinema ply their trade against our besuited super assassin, and have cracked open the international action scene for American audiences (see this Polygon Piece for further reference).
THIS installment features the talents of Hiroyuki Sanada, and Donnie Yen, and Scott Adkins. And the boys have come to play. Their scenes ooze charisma, and talent, and form a kind of smorgasbord of action mayhem for the audience to just... be thrilled by.
Sanada is all cool, samurai danger as Osaka's Continental manager. Donnie Yen is fantastic as the never-plussed blind assassin who may just be John Wick's equal. Adkins gets to show off his acting chops as a Berliner gangster, and gets to square up with John in a killer sequence in a night club.
The film nods to the larger action canon in little and large ways. The assassin radio station that serves as narration for the final act of the film (yes, ASSASSIN RADIO) is dubbed WUXIA, in a nod to Chinese wuxia films. And when John Wick must fight up an epic set of stairs, it feels like the stunt team is nodding to the hallway and hammer fight from Oldboy (2003) (the original one, not the... shitty one).
Chad Stahelski & Co. have delivered a love letter to the past of action cinema, and a blueprint for its future. Pay heed.
Shout out, also to the series' penchant for featuring great talent in smaller, bad-ass roles. Singer Rina Sawayama takes the cake this go round as Akira, Shimazu's (Hiroyuki Sanada) daughter and consigliere. She can act, and she nimbly flits around the battlefield. She's a wonderful addition to the Wick-iverse, and someone I'd like to see more of. Oh, and Bill Skarsgard's Marquis is a delightful entitled shit-heel badguy. Skarsgard again proves why he is one of the best villains working in Hollywood today with style and relish.
The Devil's in the Details
The great strength of these films are their technical marvel. You hear every bone break, every spent shell hit the ground. You hear every time John's gun clicks on empty. In one of my favorite moments in the film, you hear all the shells and slugs tinkle out of John's coat as he shrugs out of it after a whirlwind night fighting an army of would-be assassins.
The details make the action stand out. The way John flicks his gun to the side to sling out spent magazines; the way he wears his nunchucks laced around his neck in-between fights while he switches to guns; double taps to make sure enemies are downed; the way each character seems to have a unique move-set like some kind of Street Fighter game. And Stahelski knows how to shoot the action in such a way that you see every glorious move. The stunt team CAME TO WORK. And the movie celebrates every bit of their talent. If you ever needed a better argument for an Academy Award for Action Choreography (see this Slash Film piece for further reference), let the John Wick series stand as the only argument you'll ever need.
The series is also visceral. For all that John Wick is an unkillable superhuman assassin, the fights feel exhausting and dangerous. Bones break, glass shatters, bodies THUMP when they hit the floor. Our fighters gasp, and shriek, and pant and slow down as they go. Sure, you're never really in doubt as to whether John will survive or not, but the details lend the fights a kind of experiential quality that always inspire me to grown, or shout out loud in my seat. I love it when movies do that. Chapter 4 continues this tradition proudly. Especially when John breaks out the fire bullets and immolates an army of lesser-thans for twenty minutes.
All of these films are chock-full of little details that reward extra viewings and attention. These are not films to just turn and and tune-out. These movies demand to be seen. Chapter 4 is no exception.
Set Piece After Set Piece
Chapter 4 is stuffed to the gills with killer action set piece after kill action set piece. It spends every minute of its 169 minute run-time building out the world and flowing from fight to fight to fight. And every time you think the team has run out of ideas, they introduce something new. There are fights in Paris traffic; there are beautiful Osaka cherry blossom gardens; there are exploding fire bullets; the camera swoops up for a killer top-down sequence in an abandoned building, like a bonkers video game; and by the time the movie drops the needle on "Genesis," by Justice, John is set to climb the longest set of stairs of his life, and kill something like 30 people on his way to the top. And I was clapping, and "oohfing" and giggling the whole time.
And then the movie adopts elements from western cinema, with John chasing men down on horseback in the desert, and a wonderful sunrise duel, replete with twangy, spaghetti guitar.
What is miraculous, though, is that, even with its massive run-time, the film never felt slow, or overly long. I was with it the entire time. That's awesome. And hard to do.
A Satisfying Conclusion
The John Wick series has wrapped up nicely. We got four of the best action films in the world, and they never got tired or boring. As a fan, I cannot be happier. I was clapping giddily at multiple times throughout this film. This is the kind of movie that an outsider can watch and be wowed into fandom, and a veteran can watch and receive beautiful fan service and spectacle. You won't leave unsatisfied.
The Bad Stuff
Nothing
Look. Don't think too hard. Go to this movie. Kick your feet up and let the ballet-like fight scenes wow you. I mean, did I want to know more about The Tracker (Shamier Anderson)? Yeah, he kept referring to himself as "Nobody," and he clearly had a journal chronicling his hunt of John Wick. He felt like a mystery, and the film does not solve him. I shouldn't complain: I suppose I'd rather be left wanting more of this world than leave with a sub-par explanation. Anderson does a great job, and the stunt team, again, makes great use of an action dog. I'd love to see more of him. As I understand it, there is a spin-off film and a TV series in the works, so, maybe he'll show up in those spaces.
The Final Word
I remember seeing the first John Wick on a lark. I remember being bowled over by it. I remember being hungry for more after I walked back out to my car. I have been lucky enough to go and see FOUR of these movies. And they never sold out. They took their time. They stayed true to their strengths, and vision, and, as a whole, have become legend.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is an excellent action film, and a killer final entry in this series. Show it some love. See it in theaters!
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