I don’t know about you, but when it comes to Keanu Reeves, I am weak in the knees. So, when I heard that John Wick 4 was coming out, I immediately grabbed my popcorn and settled in for some serious action.
Franchises are a funny thing. They keep giving us what we want, but we keep coming back for more. In the case of John Wick 4, it does not disappoint. With a runtime of three hours, this movie has everything that we loved about the first three movies, but on a bigger scale.
Wick is back, and he’s pissed. The High Table has made him their target, and they just keep raising the bounty on his head. But, Wick is not one to back down. He takes off on a global mission to take down the heads of organized crime and seek revenge for the wrongs he has suffered at their hands.
In Chapter 4, Wick has recovered from being shot and falling off the roof of the Continental Hotel in the third movie. This time, he takes his mission to Paris, Osaka, and Berlin, and the action scenes are, without a doubt, the best we have seen in the franchise so far.
One of the things that makes John Wick 4 so special is the new characters that are introduced. Bill Skarsgård, who played Pennywise in It, is magnificent as the Marquis de Gramont, an emissary of the High Table. Donnie Yen, a Hong Kong action star, is also in the film, and he is a treat.
The story hops from one location to another, and while it drags a bit in places, it picks up when the action finally reaches Paris. The driving sequence in Paris is fantastic, and the movements of the cars are precise, like bathing beauties in an Esther Williams movie.
Every scene in Chapter 4 is good enough, and some are even great. The hand-to-hand combat sequence set in Osaka is superb, and Wick, Koji, and Koji’s daughter Akira square off against waves of stormtrooper-like warriors. It takes place in a gorgeous museum-like space filled with shimmering, neon-rimmed glass panels and samurai armor preserved in display cases.
The franchise’s epic, impeccably choreographed gun fu, over-the-top car fights, immaculately tailored suits, and gorgeous, lavish locations make for three hours of almost arousingly polished violence. The callbacks to the last three movies are also a delight for fans.
John Wick 4 is a must-watch for any action movie lover. It’s new, fresh, and everything we loved about the first three movies, but on a much grander scale. The action scenes are fantastic, and the new characters add a lot to the franchise. Keanu Reeves continues to shine in his role as John Wick, and I, for one, cannot wait for the next installment.