This article contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4.The long-awaited John Wick: Chapter 4, the latest installment in the beloved action series starring Keanu Reeves, has finally blasted its way into theaters, earning widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike. And of course, it delivers plenty of the intense, stylish action that has come to define the John Wick franchise.
The four films in the John Wick series are all filled to the brim with plenty of thrilling, memorable fights. There are so many great action setpieces throughout the series, and there isn’t enough room in a single article to even give half of them their due. However, these four furious fights shine through as the most striking action scenes in their respective movies.
John Wick: John vs. Viggo
The final battle of the original 2014 John Wick may not seem like the obvious choice for the film’s best fight, especially when compared to the iconic nightclub shootout earlier in the film. However, there’s nevertheless a case to be made for the one-on-one face-off between John Wick and the first film’s main antagonist: the ruthless crime lord Viggo Tarasov, played by Michael Nyqvist. At the movie’s climax, after John has taken his revenge on Viggo’s son for killing his dog, he hunts down Viggo himself, leading to a final confrontation on a rainy dock.
What the fight between John and Viggo may lack in spectacle, it more than makes up for in atmosphere and brutality. It’s a simple duel between two men fighting solely with their bare hands — at least, until Viggo pulls out a knife. However, it’s that very simplicity that makes this battle stand out so much. It has a visceral, emotional quality to it that’s just as impactful as the sleek gunplay of the film’s other action scenes.
Chapter 2: The Subway Showdown
John Wick: Chapter 2 amps up the action even further with thrilling setpieces like the firefight in the Catacombs of Rome, or the climactic struggle in the hall of mirrors. However, the strongest battle in the movie is the extended sequence in which John Wick has to fight his way through a New York City subway station. The battle begins with a scene of John dealing with a series of assassins as he makes his way into the subway station. He deals with each of his attackers fairly quickly, with one of them even receiving the iconic pencil kill, as described in the first movie.
However, the real fight begins when John encounters Cassian (played by rapper-turned-actor Common), the deadly bodyguard of the woman John assassinated not long before. A tense duel between two elite killers ensues, with the duo shooting at each other through a fountain, and even through the bustling crowd of civilians. The confrontation culminates in a close-quarters clash inside a moving subway, with the claustrophobic environment making the already-exciting battle even more dramatic.
Chapter 3: The Knife Shop Brawl
2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 features even more escalation in the series’ action scenes. Any one of the fights in this movie is a worthy contender for this list, from John’s battle with the gigantic Ernest in a library, to his team-up with Sofia (Halle Berry), to the wonderfully over-the-top motorcycle swordfight. It’s especially difficult not to give this spot on the list to the climactic battle at the Continental, concluding with the one-on-one showdown between John and his would-be nemesis Zero (Mark Dacascos). But ultimately, the single best fight in the movie has to be the knife shop battle early in the film.
One of the greatest assets of the John Wick series is the way that its action scenes use the environment to their advantage, resulting in more creative and dynamic fights. And there may be no other fight in the entire series that demonstrates this better than the knife shop sequence. The battle sees both John and his assassin attackers eschew their usual firearms in favor of using the multitude of blades surrounding them. What ensues is a chaotic, imaginative, and sometimes grisly encounter that stands out as one of the greatest fights in the entire franchise. There’s little else to say about it here that hasn’t been said already.
Chapter 4: Taking the Stairs
Unsurprisingly, the latest entry in the series has plenty of brilliant fights of its own. There’s the epic battle for the Osaka Continental, the one-on-one fight between John and Caine (Donnie Yen), and John’s awe-inspiring use of a fire-breathing gun in a stunning top-down sequence. However, they all pale in comparison to the last true action scene of the film, which sees John fight to scale the steps of the Sacré-Couer Basilica in Paris. It’s a long, grueling fight at the end of an even longer gauntlet of battles, which makes it all the more shocking when the towering henchman Chidi (Marko Zaror) knocks John down the stairs, all the way back to where he started.
It’s a moment that’s as comedic as it is dramatic: a ridiculous beat that nevertheless has massive narrative consequences. As he struggles and fails to climb to his feet, it seems that John won’t even make it to his final duel. But then, Caine arrives on the scene, helps John to his feet, and chooses to fight by his side. The very man who will soon be forced to duel John to the death becomes his ally in his time of need, and the two friends-turned-rivals fight as a team against the final wave of killers. Even Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson) and his dog join in to give Chidi his just desserts. The final fight on the church steps features the perfect balance of hype, drama, and style that cements it as one of the absolute greatest action scenes in the entire John Wick series.