"Waves of henchmen, an increasingly capable succession of assassins, and a tattered and exhausted John Wick accomplishing impossible and beyond physical feats." -Average joe
The latest installment in the John Wick franchise is literally us watching Keanu Reeves finish a video game on legendary mode. (Warning Spoilers Ahead)
The story, an interesting one if you care to know it, focuses on John Wick’s continuing efforts to avenge himself and break free from his obligations to the High Table as well as the onslaught of assassins they send to kill him. When we pick up the story here, John is still excommunicated. And a new player, the Marquis, has arrived to deal the same punishment to anyone that has helped John in the previous movies. The film starts with an absolute surprise and raises the stakes as this time, John’s actions gravely affect his friends.
We are introduced to one of them, Caine. A blind assassin who also has a deal with the High Table that they are failing to honor. Caine has bargained for his daughter’s safety at the price of not being able to talk to or be close to her. But when they need a man capable of taking John Wick down, the Marquis compel Caine back into service, using his daughter’s life as the compensation.
It’s a compelling skeleton of a story, that, in a different movie, would be developed and explored to fascinatingly fine details. And this movie does provide some of that detail. But that’s not what we go to a John Wick movie to see.
Instead, we get more of what we’ve always gotten from the John Wick movies. Waves of henchmen, an increasingly capable succession of assassins, and a tattered and exhausted John Wick accomplishing impossible and beyond physical feats. The story is just the cutscenes in-between stretches of gameplay... I mean...movie action.
To be clear, this is not a complaint! The movie delivers exactly what we want and more. And it’s shot like a video game! Long takes show the detailed stunts that Keanu Reeves and Donnie Yen as Caine pull off with the supporting cast. The camera swings around corners to give the best view of the action. And you can almost see the mini game starting. “Press Triangle to flip. Press Square to disarm. Press X to counter. Press Right Trigger to shoot.” It’s fun!
The first John Wick (most realistic?) was new. It was crazy but had never been seen before. We were able to suspend disbelief. But no human could survive what John Wick does. A moment late in the film when John suddenly jumps from a fourth story window got an audible gasp from the crowd. And full on laughter when John accomplishes the toughest feat of the movie, just to have to literally start all over again. The movie is messing with us. It knows that we know what we’re watching is ridiculous. We’re all in on the joke and along for the ride. 7 out of 10 stars for the latest John Wick PS5 game... I mean, action film.
Written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch and directed by Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter 4 stars Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Ian McShane, Bill Skarsgard, Laurence Fishburne, Shamier Anderson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama, Clancy Brown and the late, great Lance Reddick. The film runs 169 minutes and is rated R for strong violence and some language. John Wick: Chapter 4 hits theaters everywhere on March 24th 2023.
Is John Wick the best action franchise ever??
Absolutely
Possibly, but it needs more movies
No way
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