In March 2023, premiering at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London. Lionsgate released its fourth entry into the thrilling John Wick franchise. Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, and Lawrence Fishburne make their welcomed returns while new performances by Donnie Yen and Bill Skarsgård keep the franchise fresh. After three successful films, it was clear by the end of the third outing that the franchise was beginning to go stale. Luckily, these new character additions gave audiences a breath of fresh air from the constant focus on John Wick himself. As expected the film managed to increase the action from its predecessors. However, it also unexpectedly diversifies each action sequence and its corresponding setpieces to ensure every moment is special and remembered, unlike its predecessors. It is a welcome addition to the franchise that elevates this film into being the best of the franchise.
Chapter 4 kicks off its story with a big change for the franchise. The first 3 chapters were direct continuations of one another as John fell deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of the High Table. Although this is still true in 4, the previous films all took place roughly across a single week. With the time jump it gives the world a chance to feel the effects John’s actions have put on it. Wherever he goes death and destruction follow. The sense of stakes kicks in when the film explodes the continental, along with the death of the hotel manager’s (Winston) best friend Cherone. Both individuals have countlessly assisted John in the past as he fights the High Table to leave the powerful syndicate once and for all. The death and destruction was to prove nobody is above the rules, even if a deal was struck at the end of the past film leaving Winston and the Continental out of the future crossfire. Right off the bat, the audience is aware John can lose it all if he is not careful. It is also clear no character including John Wick is safe. This not only sets clear high-stakes feelings for the characters, but the audience as well making it a worthwhile journey.
The theme of loss and destruction furthers into the film as John goes into hiding at the Osaka Continental leaving yet another hotel to be destroyed and another manager to be killed as they fight to defend Wick. This especially hits John when the daughter of the manager witnesses her father’s death and puts the blame on him as he leaves to keep himself safe. Later on in the film, John is met with a dilemma during the final dual when he gets forcibly pitted against an old friend and ally, Caine. The end is simple, each person has 4 shots in a gun, 1 shot at a time. The Marquis of the High Table picked Caine to go against Wick. If Wick wins, the Continental gets rebuilt, along with Winston and himself surviving. But, Caine and his daughter will die. If Caine wins on behalf of the High Table, he and his daughter are spared. But Wick is killed along with Winston. During the 3rd shot, John chooses to wait letting Caine fatally shoot him in the side. The Marquis believes Wick will be killed during the 4th shot and will be too slow to beat him. The Marquis kicks Caine out to take the final shot on Wick to enact revenge for breaking the rules of the table. However, John still has a 3rd shot to take. Now it will be used on the Marquis instead of Caine leaving the High Table defenseless from Wick. john takes his shot in his final moments to kill the Marquis, allowing Winston, Cane, and Caine’s daughter to be spared. However, the 3rd shot on John was fatal. He gave up his life for the others around him completing a well-thought-out and relatable character arc that can make any fan cry after a simple high-stakes event. The story was easily the best thing about the film, along with John’s arc as a character making this the primary driving factor to why the third chapter needed a sequel. The death of Wick is also bittersweet as it comes full circle to the death of his wife and dog in the first film. He can now rest peacefully next to his wife, being with her away from the life of crime just like they did before Chapter 1.
In terms of technical aspects, this film is a true masterpiece. The filmmakers knew how to perfectly stage and edit the many action sequences from start to finish pouring their souls out. They also managed to keep the audience engaged during a 45-minute-plus action sequence. Add this to the diversity of the sequences and this film meets perfection. The best fight however was the lead-up to the final battle which sees John fighting for his life as he runs through the entire city of Paris from sunset to sunrise. A moment that sees the technical side of the film shine. This sequence begins with a high-octane car chase full of shooting, bashing, and cleverness. Each enemy is taken down by John using his environment to assist him. From crashing out enemies into oncoming cars or to using the car as a weapon, no death feels the same even when he is simply using a gun. The music during this sequence is also fitting, making sure each beat syncs up perfectly with the character or world movement. The music also changes as the fights change slowly getting a higher intensity each time. It’s most clearly noticed when one realizes the first song is Jazz and the final is straight out of a club. While the music plays and John fights through the city, the radio announcer cleverly reveals John’s current whereabouts to bring more contract killers to John and she does so as if John is a lucky guest, giving the vibe an elegance. A vibe that starkly contradicts the bullets and bloodshed. Meanwhile, the Marquis gives the audience visualizations as he tracks John using the radio by moving chess pieces around a 3D model of Paris. Eventually, the car chase comes to a closing point at the famous Arc de Triomphe Roundabout where John drives in circles aggressively taking out his pursuers all while avoiding oncoming traffic. This sequence transitions into hand-to-hand combat on the roundabout as John uses pedestrian vehicles as weapons to hit his pursuers while having to avoid them himself. A temporary ally Mr. Nobody even assists John by using his attack dog to take out the contract killers one by one giving even more variation in the fighting. After many clever maneuvers and kills, John leaves the roundabout on a motorcycle where he then continues to traverse the city. This part ends at an abandoned building that John enters as the fight hits its climax. This is the most exciting part of the fight as both sides begin to fight in close quarters with extreme firepower, and yes fire ends up getting involved as the building is set ablaze. As this happens, the camera pans to a top-down view emulating classic shooting games like the original Grand Theft Auto. This technique lets every move be seen by any character in the building as more holes are shot through the walls. It also means there are multiple places to look at in any given moment allowing more things to be found upon future rewatches. This clever use of the camera gives the scene a unique feel from other action movies of recent years. But at the end of the day, John can not make it through this long of a fight without consequences. He ends up exiting the building through a 4th-floor window landing painfully on a van’s roof likely breaking bones. He might get back up to fight another day, but he is painfully slow and out of breath. This is especially a problem as he must now traverse the iconic Rue Foyatier to get to his final destination on time. For those who don’t know this is a staircase that consists of 222 steps. As John walks up he has to fight many adversaries and each time he makes progress to the top, he ends up falling back down dozens of stairs, and at the end, he ends up falling right back down to the bottom. Luckily Mr. Nobody and his dog enter the scene along with Caine who wants John to make it to the final fight. With the introduction of Caine, the film also changes the fight into a martial arts fight bringing new visuals and choreography to the table in the last moments as this action sequence finally comes to a satisfying conclusion leading into the final dual of the film. Even though that was a mouthful on paper, rest assured that it was a diverse and technical marvel that kept audiences intrigued and thrilled through the third act of the film.
Even with this film being as good as it is. There is still one problem that holds the film back from being truly perfect. The problem in question is the antagonist the Marquis. Although he is menacing and has decent motives. He holds the same motives as the two antagonists of the previous films. He works for the high table or is the high table, wants John dead to prove a point, and is worried that John might win so he ends up putting a multi-million dollar bounty on John’s head to hopefully kill him off once and for all. This franchise is in dire need of a shake-up. Although it is worth applauding the consistency in the storytelling from the High Table’s point of view, it has simply been done too many times to the point where the main antagonist feels like a side character. This makes the Marquis easily forgettable and without a close inspection, Caine appears to be the antagonist, which is just not true. Luckily Caine and other new characters like Mr. Nobody and Akria (daughter of the Osaka manager) are fully fleshed out and fresh. Which is the best option for the film to of taken as all three could be given a spinoff. Especially since Caine ended up killing Akira’s dad in front of her for the High Table. A choice that will be haunting Caine in future films thanks to a surprising post-credits scene. Once again elevating the franchise-wide theme of choices having consequences. Further proving to audiences this is still a faithful John Wick film even if it begins to focus on new characters besides Wick.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is all in all a well-rounded film that takes the John Wick franchise to new heights. It features diverse and complex characters, outstanding technical choices, a satisfying story, and a satisfying character arc. Along with high-octane action that is always changing to keep the audience engaged. However, the antagonist was too similar to past films and needed to be given a shake-up. Luckily this aspect was by no means bad, just average. Even though this film ends the John Wick arc, it also sets the stage for many future stories to come making this not only a worthwhile film for current fans but new ones as well. John Wick: Chapter 4 can now be rented on various platforms such as Prime Video, Apple TV, and Hulu. With the first 3 chapters available for purchase or free with a Netflix subscription. Finally, the franchise’s prequel The Continental: From the World of John Wick can be exclusively streamed on Peacock.
