Fans may think they know what they're in for when they watch the trailers for John Wick: Chapter 4, and they're only half right. Yes, Keanu Reeves is thinkin' he's back to the old suit and tie ultraviolence, but Chapter 4 manages to impress by continuing to build on its forbears. It's wall-to-wall with watercooler moments, and it sets a new bar for the genre.
JW4 is the first film in the franchise to be made without the firm hand of screenwriter Derek Kolstad. In his place, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum co-writer Shay Hatten and Predators scribe Michael Finch. Hatten was already tapped to write the Ballerina spinoff and his understanding of the franchise remains strong.
The fourth entry in the tale of John Wick picks up shortly after the third. The unstoppable assassin John Wick has been resting underneath New York City and plotting his revenge. After a new wave of killings, the High Table grants a stunning amount of power to a dangerous maniac with the sole purpose of eliminating John Wick. The Marquis de Gramont, who now serves as a singular avatar for the shadowy Table, sends endless waves of armed assassins, ruining the lives of everyone John cares about. The Marquis' ringer is Caine, a blind warrior who can match Wick in almost any challenge, but can't shake off his long friendship with his target. To save himself and set things right, John will have to challenge the Marquis to a winner-take-all duel. With everything on the line, the Baba Yaga must survive his greatest battles yet.
Every movie in the John Wick franchise has the unique virtue of being very fun to describe. If a fan wanted to sell the film to a friend, they'd only have to pitch one or two of the big moments and let the excitement build itself. Chapter 4 doesn't just have more of those must-see moments, it has the biggest and best must-see moments in the franchise thus far. These are the kinds of things that can't really be spoiled, they can only be teased. Reeves picks up a pair of nunchucks and incendiary shotgun rounds for spectacular new action scenes. Donnie Yen's Caine compensates for his blindness in some of the most brilliant imaginable ways. Hiroyuki Sanada and newcomer Rina Sawayama bring a lot of new material to their fights. There are fight scenes built around massive traffic circles, horse racing in the desert, and an extremely long staircase. It's constantly developing, and it makes the most out of every new element, truly achieving new heights on a pile of bodies.
The ensemble cast is characteristically solid. Keanu Reeves is still living it up in the role he was born to play, Ian McShane remains perfect in the role of Winston, and the late great Lance Reddick brings a lot to his role as Charon. As for the new talent, Bill Skarsgard delivers a truly despicable performance as the Marquis. Hiroyuki Sanada and Rina Sawayama shine brightly in their limited scenes. There could be a franchise in Sawayama's small part. Shamier Anderson pops up as a mercenary with consistently inconsistent alliances, providing a bit more humanity to the group of superhuman assassins. Donnie Yen is as incredible as one would expect, he's truly the film's secret weapon. The previous entries struggled to find anything close to a final boss for Wick, but Yen's Caine is the perfect equal and opposite. Clancy Brown adds some depth to a role that could be truly nothing, but he still feels a bit underused. It's an excellent cast overall, but even with a nearly 3-hour runtime, it struggles to give everyone all the time they deserve.
The most staggering thing about the John Wick media empire is the way it developed. John Wick isn't surfing off of name recognition or mining old stories for content. Chad Stahelski and David Kolstad made a mid-budget neo-noir revenge movie with a fading star in the lead role and gradually rode its overwhelming success from one sequel to the next. There's something so powerful about this franchise, one of the few names in blockbuster cinema that manages to carry forward on nothing but audience goodwill. There's no big secret here, they're just straightforward action masterpieces that revolutionized the genre and gave their star a new world of fame. John Wick 4 is the payoff, the massive bittersweet celebration of everything the franchise has built.
Nobody does it like John Wick. This is the action blockbuster of the moment. Anyone with any fondness for Keanu Reeves, fast-paced violence, or immaculately crafted set pieces simply must see John Wick: Chapter 4. It's as good as it's always been, but with even more to love. Fans of the franchise should get to the screen immediately. There's more of the John Wick universe on the horizon, but this is the kind of overwhelming spectacle that feels impossible to top.
John Wick: Chapter 4
Following the events of Chapter 3 - Parabellum, John Wick Chapter 4 will see the titular character battle against some of his most dangerous foes yet. With a bounty on his head that continues to skyrocket, John decides to take the fight to the High Table on a global scale and battles across areas like Osaka and Paris to wipe out some of the strongest players in the underworld.
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