It is astonishing to me how Chad Stahelski and the folks over at 87Eleven manage to keep topping themselves with each of these films. In many ways, John Wick: Chapter 4 feels like the kind of film that they have been building up to for their whole careers, taking all the best elements of the previous three films, and crafting an action spectacle on a scale that we rarely see, and with so much care, craft, and attention to detail that left my jaw on the floor for numerous sequences and moments over the course of its behemoth of a 169 (nice) minute runtime.
We find John Wick not too long after the end of the last film, preparing to take on the high table with the assistance of Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), but his journey to do so will take him around the globe. And he must do this while being hunted by the extremely powerful high table member Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), who sends out countless men to take John down, in addition to hiring Caine (Donnie Yen), a blind assassin and former friend of John. He is also being targeted by a bounty hunter who goes by Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson). Will John be able to handle everything the table throws at him and get his revenge, or will his time wrath come to an early end?
There’s obviously a lot more in terms of the minutiae of the film’s plot mechanics. If I can get one criticism out of the way quick, it’s that this film pushes the limits of the criminal underworld mythology right up to its breaking point. There are moments where I get lost in some of the details about how certain procedures work, who ranks where, what powers one person has over another, it is starting to get convoluted, but thankfully, the film always makes the immediate needs of each character and scene clear moment by moment, so you don’t get too hung up on the lore that they throw in your face.
Like I said, this is a globe trotting film, and it feels as big as it sounds. With an early scene paying homage to the iconic match transition from Lawrence Of Arabia, which takes us to the deserts of Morocco to the neon drenched cityscapes of Osaka to the grimy streets of Berlin to the beautiful sights of Paris. It’s a massive film that takes advantage of the environment wherever John may be, and it adds such a rich tapestry that is stunningly captured by cinematographer, Dan Laustsen. I know this is a long shot, but if there is no consideration for this film for its cinematography come awards season, I might not be surprised, but I will be disappointed. Because the work put into the visual style is so well thought out and impressively captured, with lighting that takes your breath away, it would be such an oversight.
The action sequences are among the very best of the series. The amount of effort put in by the stunt team is awe-inspiring, especially given the variety of fights we see, from gun play to sword fights, hand-to-hand, nunchaku, even the car stuff display a level of physicality and musicality in its rhythms and motions in a way that could only ever be portrayed in the medium of cinema. It’s not just a glee for violence, though that certainly is a part of it, it’s glee for filmmaking, the craft of it, the history of it, and being able to capture something through sight, sound, and the pain tolerance of the human body, it’s truly amazing to witness, aside from just being plain awesome.
To get into other criticisms, I think there is one action scene that goes on a bit too long, thankfully it’s an early one, and the rest are more well timed. I also think that the use of the bullet proof suits do come off as a bit of a crutch at times, but I suppose it’s forgivable given the sheer amount of bullets flying at any given moment. I also think it looks kinda goofy whenever John tucks his head under his jacket to stop the bullets, and he does it a lot.
The actors all bring it here, as you’d expect. I was really impressed by newcomer, Rina Sawayama, who plays Akira, the daughter of and concierge to Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shimazu Koji, the manager of the Osaka Continental Hotel. I’m not familiar with Sawayama’s work as a musical artist, but for her acting debut, I think she has great presence, she handles action well, and there’s definitely potential for her to be a top dog in the genre, if she so chooses. I was also quite amused by Shamier Anderson, who brings a subdued approach to a character who is essentially a wild card thrown into the mix, but it works. And of course, having action folks like Yen, Sanada, Scott Adkins, and Marko Zaror really lend the film the kind of action junkie cred that puts everything over-the-top. It’s a delight to see these folks all featured in such an ensemble.
In case it doesn’t seem obvious enough, I really loved John Wick: Chapter 4, and I feel pretty comfortable in saying that it might be the very best one of the series. Stahelski truly comes into his own as a filmmaker here that may just cement him as one of the all-time greats. One thing that I enjoy about this franchise so much is that as much as it indulges in action, it’s all rooted in character. John’s journey is like that of a Greek epic, a series of escalating challenges, all stemming from a decision that he doubles down on further and further, sending him deeper into a cycle of chaos and violence, a death wish pretty much. The existential musings about life, purpose, brotherhood also service his arc, and the conclusion to his arc really well. If this is truly the end for John Wick, this is definitely a satisfying way to put this series to an end. Who would have guessed from the first film that we’d go this far? Not me, but it has been one hell of ride getting here.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is now out in theaters.