Riot’s Reviews: John Wick 4
Hollywood has suffered from a significant shortage of original IP’s and more often than not, even the fresh ideas have the tendency to not be fleshed out properly. In 2014, John Wick offered audiences a breath of fresh air, adopting a simple and effective revenge plot of an ex-hitman who had gotten out of the business and was yanked right back in. While each subsequent iteration/sequel continued to make John’s history more intricate and complicated, director Chad Stahelski kept audiences glued to their seats by keeping things ironically simple: provide the most innovative, brutal action scenes in film. All of the staples of the genre are there; the gun enthusiasts are happy with the more accurate depictions of combat; the car enthusiasts get thrilling chase scenes; the fight enthusiasts get ground-breaking choreography. The formula is so good that every sequel merely comes saddled with the same question: is this the one that screws it all up?
John Wick: Chapter 4 picks up essentially right where Parabellum left off. After a highly improbable recovery, John is back into fighting shape and is shown smashing his fist repeatedly into a rope-lined post while the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) powerfully recites lines about his imminent return (any opportunity for Fishburne to flex his Shakespearian chops is a moment worth seeing). After immediately showing John effortlessly murder one of The Elders of The Table (whom he is determined to dismantle and kill), the players of the film are quickly assembled. We learn the fate of Winston (Ian McShane) and his concierge, Charon (Lance Reddick) after the events of Parabellum. We are introduced to the main baddie in the form of the creepy/eerie Marquis (Bill Skarsgard) and John’s foil, Caine (Donnie Yen). We are soon jetted off to the Osaka Continental to meet John’s old friend Shimazu Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his daughter Akira (Rina Sawayama). Koji’s attempt to conceal John has not escaped the eyes of The Table and as its agents close in on the establishment (along with the mysterious Tracker (Shamier Anderson)), our protagonists suit up (literally) and prepare to take on the most powerful assassin organization on the planet.
As expected, the reviews for Chapter 4 are absolutely glowing, deservedly so for most aspects. The action is absolutely insane. In true John Wick fashion, the fight choreographers have innovated new sequences that are absolutely brutal (I particularly can’t get a scene involving arrows quite literally pinning a dude to a wall out of my head). As fantastic as the fight scenes were though, I actually think the set designers and location scouts deserve the most praise out of anyone. The scenery is absolutely stunning and the film’s obviously talented cinematographers found the most exceptional ways to shoot each location. At the Osaka Continental, watching the destruction of some of the most unique Japanese art I’ve ever seen was particularly painful for me, tbh. The movie is filled with fascinating new characters as well some new weaponry that should make any gun nut drool (two words here: Dragon’s Breath). Coupled with unique camera angles and seamless one-shots, the action is unmatched. All in all, the formula continues to charge forward to box office success.
However, when you take a moment to unsuspend reality, I think John Wick: Chapter 4 actually does become the letdown that everyone was afraid would eventually come. The conceptually fascinating new characters (particularly Killa (Scott Adkins)), even in all their James Bond-y glory, don’t make any sense and the main baddie, while admittedly visually unsettling, doesn’t really invoke the threatening aura he probably should as one of the high authorities of The Table. Meanwhile, Laurence Fishburne is tragically underutilized. The action sequences, no matter the awesome brutality, are far too long and in many cases completely unnecessary (the club fight and now infamous stairs scene in particular). Fight scenes that audiences would be more emotionally involved in (Sonada vs. Yen for example) are bafflingly short and are sacrificed for drawn out sequences with no named stuntmen. Character motivations, especially John’s supposed end goal, are flighty at best and are altered in sort of inexplicable ways. The mystique surrounding The Table and all of the ceremony surrounding this world of assassins unfortunately gets drowned out by a film runtime that could have easily been scaled down for the sake of better storytelling. I understand that is contrary to my intro and the description of their “winning formula,” but if you’re going to complicate the forces behind John’s journey, you should probably spend more time fleshing out those elements.
At the end of the day, I didn’t leave this film disappointed in the least. Donnie Yen (even though he is basically just Chirrut again from Rogue One) was arguably the strongest character/performance of the film. Keanu Reeves proves once again that he’s still got it as an action hero (although he should leave the tumbling scenes to Sterling Archer). And while I’m utterly biased, Hiroyuki Sanada absolutely killed it. Enjoying this film relies heavily on suspending belief and there are few titles out there that are able to accomplish this as much as John Wick does. So sit back, switch off reality, and enjoy the ride.
Riot’s Rating: 8.5/10: It’s predecessors were better, but if you’re a fan, you should absolutely not miss this one. It might actually be prudent to catch up on the trilogy before you go.
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