It’s the little franchise that could. Back in 2014 writer Derek Kolstad and stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski churned out a small but violent film about a man named John Wick (played by Keanu Reeves) seeking revenge on some local thugs for stealing his car and killing his dog. It was an original idea that was elevated by Stahelski’s bold directing and Reeves’ stunts. The film did well at the box office but it gained a word-of-mouth cult following in the time after its release. Now the third sequel arrives and it makes the first film feel quaint and so far away. The first film was a little over an hour and a half and set in New York, this one runs just under three hours and features Wick globe-trotting from New York to Paris to Berlin and Japan. And it’s easily the best in the franchise.
Slowly over the last two movies the mythology of this global secret assassin cabal world has expanded. There are secret hotels for hitmen, their own currency, and a never-ending supply of assassins who come out of nowhere to try and kill John Wick. But that is part of the charm of these films, they don’t exist in the real world. They exist in a world where gun physics are questionable at best, assassins run rampant, and there are so many locations with flashing lights that serve no purpose other than to make the action look really cool. It’s wonderful.
John Wick: Chapter 4 picks up a few months after the end of Chapter 3 where Wick is regaining his strength after being shot and knocked off a roof by assassin hotel manager Winston (Ian McShane.) Wick has declared war on the High Table, a global crime syndicate, that keeps upping the bounty on his head. When the new French baddie, Marquis (Bill Skarsgard) appears, Wick finds a way to get his life back and be cleared of his crimes. Giving us a relatively straightforward revenge plot. The films have never been too plot heavy and let things continue from film to film in a natural fashion. It allows breathing room without getting too heavy on espionage-type plots that can become confusing fast.
Instead, director Stahelskiand writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch know their material, know their audience and know how to deliver. They give out just enough information to keep the plot moving and intriguing. They know that the audience is here for the action that the franchise has become deservedly well known for. And it delivers. Stahelski could have coasted with this film after already cementing himself as one of the greatest action directors of all time and just enjoyed his victory lap. No, he wants to outdo himself and deliver a bombastic three-hour epic. Each action sequence feels so different from one another, and from the movies that came before it, that you can’t mix any of them up.
Each fight is so well staged, choreographed, and written that it never feels stale. Sure, a few of them get a little bloated but never stale. Stahelski knows how to shoot action and his secret weapons are Reeves’ steely performance and bodily commitment to the role and cinematographer Dan Laustsen who brings gorgeous imagery that elevates the film beyond a typical action film. The action is shot in long wide shots with very few cuts. There are no editing tricks to try and make the action look like it’s more than it is or a shaky camera to give it a sense of urgency. Instead, Stahelski lets it all play out in well-thought-out and choreographed sequences. The sequences feel like a dance, letting each hit, beat, and gunfire play out for maximum effect.
Laustsen’s beautiful cinematography propels the scenes forward with stunning visuals. His use of light is incredible, letting colored lights bounce off the actors’ faces and giving everything a surreal feeling. Each frame feels inspired by renaissance era paintings with bold uses of shadows and lighting. The big set pieces often have large light fixtures, such as boxes of lights or colored water features that don’t really make sense in the context of reality. (Who has a giant rave next to a huge water fixture?) But they don’t need to make sense because they look pretty on screen. This is a film where Keanu Reeves can survive being hit by like three cars in about two minutes, we can’t get too nitpicky.
Chapter 4 introduces some new faces too, the best being Donnie Yen’s Caine. (Who feels a lot like his character from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.) He’s a blind assassin who is brought in to try and kill his friend John Wick, something he doesn’t want to do but is forced to do in order to save his daughter. The film plays with the themes of actions and consequences, and Yen’s character is the perfect embodiment of that. He’s trying to live a quiet life but his past actions as an assassin have consequences. Much like John Wick’s life. For a film with so many stunning action sequences, it asks a lot of big questions too. Can we ever change who we are? Are we more than just the consequences of our actions? The film ponders these questions without giving too many answers. But it does wrap it all up in the end.
Some of the action setpieces go on a little too long, and the mythology gets a bit tedious but all can be forgiven with a film this well-made. From the pulsing score by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard to Reeves’ performances and the intricately crafted fight scenes, this is grade-A deliberate and well-thought-out filmmaking. Franchises like this one are rare. It was spawned from an original idea, elevated through its craft, and while each film has been great the fourth one delivers one of the best action films ever made. John Wick: Chapter 4 is a stunning, non-stop action epic that delivers and then some. If they never make another sequel it will be okay because this one goes out on the highest note possible.
4.5/5