‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ is another example of great action-film making

“John Wick: Chapter 4”
R | 169 minutes
Director: Chad Stahelski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, George Georgiou

Ever since the original “John Wick,” the franchise has set the standard of what action in Hollywood ought to be. Thanks to Chad Stahelski’s knowledge of the technical aspects of shooting action, and Keanu Reeves’ commitment to the character, they’ve been able to deliver expertly choreographed, shot and edited films that are now the go-to examples of great action-film making. 

And so, the expectations for “Chapter 4” were high — but a whopping 169 minutes long? Rest assured, however, as it delivers in spades. Everything we have come to know and love is here, with an infusion of creativity like we haven’t seen from the franchise.

Remember the crazy finale of the last movie? The climactic scene in the Continental Hotel where John Wick and the staff must fight an army of High Table soldiers with bulletproof armor? Well, in “Chapter 4,” that’s the level the action starts at. Each consecutive scene elevates the action and provides variation in the physical aspects where something visually spectacular is happening on screen. 

As the film opens, we’re greeted by the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) walking through his kingdom in the sewers of New York while proselytizing “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter”-esque poetry before blowing out a match and cutting to the rising sun. (Cinephiles will catch literally dozens of callbacks to other movies like this.)

An early maneuver of John Wick forces The High Table past the point of no return. John Wick must be made an example, and that task falls to Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis, the first supervillain of this universe. As The High Table’s emissary, he drips (insanely so) entitlement and hypocrisy with every very French accented word.  

John Wick may be the namesake of the franchise, but his journey has increasingly emphasized the importance of social contacts and shared history. That investment fully blossomed with “Chapter 4” in a murderer’s row of John Wick characters. Winston Sharon (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Fishburne) serve as John’s counsel, and while Charon’s (Lance Reddick) and Shimazu’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) presence is limited to only a few scenes, their impact is maximized based on those performers’ commands of their characters.

Of all the excellent new additions to the cast, though, Donnie Yen’s Cane stands apart as the imposing antagonist and longtime contemporary of John Wick. The blind assassin’s reluctance to enforce the Marquis’ orders without question echoes John Wick’s rejection of his own call to serve and be of service. The parallel adds a surprising amount of empathy to their encounters, but it doesn’t keep Cane from going after John Wick with everything he’s got. Yen’s affable demeanor and brutal efficiency give his flavor of the series gun-fu a lightness and style all its own, and Kane’s wild ingenuity in battle leads to delightful laugh-out-loud finishers. 

Also, in the mix of Shamir Anderson’s unnamed tracker, I lost my balance on who bears the heavy burden of having a dog in a John Wick movie. That is one hell of an albatross to hang around your neck from the go. Trackers shifting allegiances, combat skills and a close relationship to his canine companion provide a nice simmering paranoia for “Chapter 4” to employ when a wildcard is needed to ignite an already incendiary scene. 

As for the fight and action choreography, the stunt team at 87eleven continues to elevate the game. The film has three major, larger-than-life action sequences that outdo anything you will see in any other non-“John Wick” movie. As mentioned previously, the Osaka and Berlin scenes were high-energy, high-body-count affairs. They were complete with gun fights, sword mastery, gun play and one of the best nunchuck displays you will see outside of a Bruce Lee movie. As for the scenes in Paris, at the Arc de Triomphe, and on the Church steps, they are unlikely to be forgotten and unlikely to be topped for years to come, if ever.

While I have heard some say “John Wick: Chapter 4” is the best installment in the series, I must disagree. Nothing can top the original, but “Chapter 4” is a worthy installment for sure.