3/26/23 - John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) - 7/10

Another Wick delivers exactly what you expect and what you want. We keep pushing the limit and upping the ante but not without taking care of business on almost every level. This version of escapist murder punch/kick/stab/shoot-em up action is totally my jam. The film’s killer instinct is paired with a synthesis & delivery of what works for a sequel, and as an entirely satisfying addition to the previous works such that it is reminiscent of a Mad Max: Fury Road or Top Gun: Maverick. It’s some excellent filmmaking bearing the arms of its passionate pugnacious prowess, just as promised.

It might be a little heavy handed with its references (neon noir, Blade Runner, Lawrence of Arabia, The Good/Bad/Ugly, and The Warriors to just name a few). They are drastically on the nose but I also think that by the 4th film Stahelski is just having fun and throwing in things he loves, covering a wide swathe of cinematic history. Hard to hate these additions, especially since they add tasty flavor and often are utilized to tie these story elements to classic moments.

More awesome additions to the Wick-verse. Hiroyuki Sanada provides martial skill and an always stellar gravitas. Donnie Yen is a pillar of action cinema and masterfully plays on that “tainted Zatoichi” trope - god he is so smooth in what he does. Scott Adkins is another staple of modern action cinema and deserves acknowledgement as much as anyone, and he is having a grand time in his ode to Sammo Hung from SPL, kicking ass in a purple suited fat suit while noshing scenery. Shamier Anderson and his dog rule, positing another hinted-at-but-unexplained kick-ass character; a staple that Wick does quite well. Rina Sawayama was very engaging and performed her action excellently. That’s not even mentioning Clancy Brown (sublime) and Bill Skarsgård (I liked, but didn’t love).

The film is a bit long, clocking in at a whopping 2 hours 49 minutes, which when you are bursting with a bladder full of whiskey makes those moments feel even longer, but the pace and the superior action set-pieces capture your immersion almost to the point of not overly noticing. Obviously, if you don’t want to see a hundred people murdered in an ever bloody and intense fashion, this film isn’t for you. It won’t pull any of those punches, but if you are looking for broken bones, slashed torsos, and enough bullets fired to make Ol’ Painless blush, Wick 4 is an unadulterated success. 

It is so enjoyable, so friggin thrilling, and so hellbent on delivering what it sets out to do that I found it hard not to love. Plus, while getting your fighting fix, the triumvirate of Stehelski/Dan Lausten (the cinematographer)/the stunt coordinators are delivering action extravaganzas hereto unseen. Something like the top-down “Hotline Miami/Hong Kong Massacre” was so inventively cool and uniquely rendered that I couldn’t help but smile. Wick 4 is full of those.

This is a profound and pensive theoretical finale to the series that satisfied as much as it succeeds.

P.S. Finally someone used Genesis by Justice as I always envisioned it; set to ferocious carnage.