John Wick: Chapter 4

UK Release Date. 24 March 2023
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 49 mins
Director. Chad Stahelski
Cast. Shamier Anderson, Clancy Brown, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama, Bill Skarsgård, Donnie Yen.
Rating. 72%

Review.

The fourth instalments of franchises often don't fare too well - think of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull or Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, before perhaps considering the worst fourth instalment ever, Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin. Mercifully, John Wick: Chapter 4 is the exception to the rule. Almost a decade after the release of the initial John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 4 is every bit as entertaining as the first film.

2014's John Wick was a relatively low-budget affair, helmed by a then unproven, director, Chad Stahelski. John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum upped the ante, increasing the action quotient and adding more familiar names to the cast list - Laurence Fishburne, Halle Berry, Angelica Huston and Peter Serafinowicz to name but a few. 

It has been four years since the release of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, but the love for the franchise does not have appeared to have diminished in the intervening period.

Once again, John Wick: Chapter 4 introduces several new cast members, including Caine, a deliciously insouciant, blind assassin (played by martial arts master, Donnie Yen, known to many for his portrayal of the blind warrior monk, Chirrup Îmwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), and an woefully underused Akira, concierge of the Osaka Continental (played by the Japanese singer and model, Rina Sawayama).

Whilst the plot may not offer much in terms of originality, the action sequences rival any of the three preceding films. Indeed, I would go further. Many of the stunts are on par with any of the film's peers from the last 10 years, the likes of The Raid 2, Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde and Extraction. This is perhaps unsurprising as the director, Chad Stahelski, is a former kick-boxer and stunt-man [Stahelski actually served as Keanu Reeves' stunt double in The Matrix]. 

John Wick: Chapter 4 sees Wick (Keanu Reeves) seek shelter at the Osaka Continental, ran by his apparently old friend Shimizu Koi (Hiroyuki Sanada). The opening assault on the hotel sets the tone and pace for the rest of the film and may just be the single best action sequence in the franchise to date. Stahelski balances multiple perspectives and sustains the momentum of each character's involvement throughout the extended bloodbath.

Equally impressive are the extended action sequences in Paris, where Wick battles pretty much every would-be bounty hunter in Paris on the streets of Montmartre, in the middle of traffic in front of the Arc de Triomphe, and on the famous 222 steps leading to the Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre.

The stunt work and fight choreography is top notch. Creative and thrillingly-staged action sequences that, even by the standards of the previous films, are truly remarkable. Bodies are repeated hurled into moving vehicles; Reeves' stunt double tumbles down the entire length of the Sacré-Coeur steps; and, Stahelski delivers one spectacular fight sequence in a disused apartment block in what appears to a be single, prolonged, overhead shot. When choreographed and executed with this level of proficiency, the combat scenes become akin to dance, reminiscent of the hand-to-hand Pencak silat sequences in The Raid.

The climax sees John Wick challenge the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) to a duel in front of the Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre. The dramatic conclusion has an operatic overture, and clearly takes inspiration from the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone.

At times, I have to admit it is difficult to overlook the preposterousness of it all, which sadly dilutes the effectiveness of the breathtaking action sequences and exposes the strained reality creeping into the John Wick universe. For example, the sequence in the Berlin nightclub is too prolonged, protracted and repetitive. Highlighting the fantastical world John Wick now operates in, at no point do the patrons in the nightclub react to the bloodbath that surrounds them.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is a far cry from John Wick, which established its hero with a pain that made him instantly a protagonist you could root for. If only Iosef left his dog alone. The action in John Wick, and to some extent the elaborate sequels made some kind of sense, even when outrageous. But in John Wick: Chapter 4 some of the events are simply plain outrageous; a case in point is the Paris radio station WUXIA, where the DJ (Marie Pierra Kakoma) notifies listeners of John Wick updates in between records, Nowhere to run and Marie douceur, Marie colère.

John Wick: Chapter 4 has the potential to push the franchise forward in a new direction. The Continental, a three-part prequel to John Wick, has already aired on the streaming services, Peacock and Amazon Prime; later this year, Ana De Armas will star in Ballerina, a film about a young female assassin who seeks revenge on the people who killed her family; and finally, John Wick: Chapter 5 is rumoured to be in the early stages of development. But do we crave this expansion of the John Wick universe? There is a part of me that misses the simplicity of Michael Nyqvist's Russian crime lord, Viggo Tarasov and 'a pencil, a fucking pencil.'