John Wick 4

The “John Wick” franchise has evolved from a small-scale tale of revenge for the killing of a wife and a dog, to a globetrotting epic that spans continents, ...

The answer is surprisingly meditative and poignant, one that makes this the most emotionally resonant movie of the franchise. Indeed, the best way to describe “John Wick: Chapter 4” is that it often feels like watching “Mad Max: Fury Road” and marveling at how they pulled that movie off without killing half the crew. It never drags, but feels tightly focused, and manages to develop even the new supporting cast, like Rina Sawayama’s assassin Akira — a standout — or Scott Adkins having the time of his life as a German assassin covered in heavy prosthetics. While the film goes bigger in scope, it also manages to stay fairly grounded in the idea of relationships, focusing on John Wick and his allies and friends, such as Winston — who take on a larger role this time around — or Wick’s former friend, Caine. At this point, this is no longer about the killing of his wife and dog, it’s about burning down a system that always resented Wick for abandoning it. Nobody, a tracker who knows exactly where John Wick will be next but waits patiently until his bounty is large enough to be worth it to him, and who is always accompanied by a faithful (and scene-stealer) German Shepherd.

First things first, Chad Stahelski's “John Wick: Chapter 4” is too damn long. It's akin to the first three films on steroids. There is no reason for it to ...

Kudos to cinematographer Dan Laustsen for bringing the cinematic out of this chaos, his neon-lit lenses are effervescently ingrained in every frame. He has the charisma and likability to pull off his conflicted antagonist. There’s an inventive overhead shot of Wick booming the baddies with what can only be described as a fire-bred shotgun. Nobody (Shamier Anderson), a tracker following Wick’s bounties head until the price is high enough to kill him. What should be said is that Keanu Reeves (as playful as ever) is back, playing a Wick full of wrath who wants to destroy the system that cuddled him for years. There is no reason for it to be nearly 3 hours, especially since the plot is pretty thin and the characters underdeveloped.

“The film almost exists in its own universe, separate from the breathless and relentless trilogy of the first three films, and able to stand alone as a kind of ...

[John Wick: Chapter 4](https://movieweb.com/movie/john-wick-4/) are now in – and it continues to look like the hitman’s decision to come back again was well worth it. It’s like Sergio Leone crossed with John Woo as seen in Times Square.” As Ian Sandwell of Digital Spy puts it... “John Wick: Chapter 4 is an epic in every sense of the word: epic in length, epic in scale and epic in thrills. Finally, IGN’s Tom Jorgensen gives John Wick: Chapter 4 a perfect score of 10/10 and heaps praise on Keanu Reeves and the incredible action on display. [who praises John Wick: Chapter 4 for reflecting “all that is exciting, gripping, and joyous”](https://movieweb.com/john-wick-4-review/) about the action genre, and felt that the sequel acts as the perfect epilogue.

Early reviews for John Wick: Chapter 4 praise the latest addition to the franchise as it provides some of the best action sequences yet.

[Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas](https://screenrant.com/john-wick-ballerina-movie-ana-de-armas-action/), will be a female-led addition to the franchise that follows an orphaned ballerina assassin who seeks revenge on those who killed her parents. John Wick: Chapter 4 will also be setting up future installments and spinoffs for the franchise. [John Wick: Chapter 4 ](https://screenrant.com/tag/john-wick-4/)have started to be released ahead of the film's theatrical release. Even after playing the role for so long, Reeves still have a clear investment in the franchise that comes off in his performance. There are also concerns at the runtime of 169 minutes, but it seems it flies by as John takes down his enemies without so much as stopping to rest. [Keanu Reeves gives an all-out performance as John Wick](https://screenrant.com/john-wick-keanu-reeves-most-difficult-scenes/). But if you love kinetic action set in gorgeous locales, steeped in a heightened reality that borders on the absurd, there’s no one in Hollywood doing it better than Reeves and Stahelski. The most faithful faction of the Wick fandom will undoubtedly be pleased to see their belief that you can’t have too much of a good thing put into practice. John Wick: Chapter 4 might be a little long, but when it is fun, there are few films that can compete with its magnetism. Fortunately, more turns out to be just about right in this case, with the film offering up such an onslaught of brutal, breakneck action that it’s easy to forgive its less compelling narrative excesses. John Wick: Chapter 4 borders on being too much of a good thing—both in the sense that it’s the fourth installment of a series that could have easily ended after its first, and with regards to its gargantuan 169-minute runtime. Chapter 4 was initially scheduled to be released in May 2021 but COVID restrictions and scheduling conflicts with Keanu Reeves resulted in a postponed release date.

Bill Skarsgård joins the franchise as the villainous Marquis, while Rina Sawayama, Donnie Yen, and Hiroyuki Sanada are also new additions to the line-up.

He's not, and instead in a sequence that might be described as John Wick meets Lawrence of Arabia, we get reintroduced to him in the Jordanian desert as he takes to horseback in the first of those many, many action sequences which are the signature attraction here, obviously. Running at 2 hours and 49 minutes, it is bigger than the previous films in every way – not better or worse, just more." It is the most John Wick movie. It is the longest John Wick movie. Fight sequences, action set pieces, neon: every aspect for Chapter 4 is dialed up to 11111 (deep-cut reference alert!). And don't worry – the following is totally spoiler free.

The rules and consequences the John Wick universe has taken such care to establish provide its fourth chapter a rock-solid structure that allows for director ...

Stahelski uses Shimazu’s relationship with his daughter Akira (Rina Samayawa) to underline what morality looks like in a world full of killers, and Sanada is just as impressive in their tender father-daughter moments as he is with a blade in hand. Similarly, the droll introduction of homemade incendiary rounds is established in a throwaway line of dialogue… Chapter 3 gave us a taste of what happens when a Continental manager crosses the Table, but as Winston’s counterpart in cool, Hiroyuki Sanada’s Koji Shimazu faces their full wrath with unwavering conviction. And it is the best John Wick movie. In an age of increased grumbling about films with two-plus-hour runtimes, Chapter 4’s roaring pace serves as a counter argument that proclaims movies should be as long as they need to be. The pure thrill of seeing John Wick’s continuing battle to reclaim his soul work so well is doubly gratifying when you consider it as the labor of love it clearly is for Reeves. John Wick may be the namesake of the franchise, but his journey has increasingly emphasized the importance of social contracts and shared history. Of all the excellent new additions to the cast, Donnie Yen’s Caine stands apart. In contrast to Chapter 2’s Santino D’Antonio, whose primary leverage over John was personal (an unpaid blood debt), the sadist Marquis wields the authority of the High Table like a dandy Darth Vader, and the cruelties in which he indulges go a long way towards making him an ideal foil to John and his cohorts. It is the most John Wick movie. The raw-nerved rage of the freshly widowed Wick that wowed in the original movie has progressed into something even more deadly: resolve and focus. It is the longest John Wick movie.

Keanu Reeves will stun audiences with the chaotic action scenes, but "John Wick: Chapter 4" needs a much tighter script and a shorter runtime.

Underwhelming big bad aside, the main problem with "Chapter 4" is its runtime. Meanwhile, the Tracker wants to keep Wick alive as long as possible to up the price on his head so he can kill him himself. However, it's criminal that Sawayama and Sanada only get the spotlight for such a brief moment because it would've been great to see them have more prominent roles in the story. And he does so with slick visuals and unique camera shots that make these fight scenes pop right off of the screen — like one sequence involving a dragon's breath shotgun that has to be seen to be believed. These two hitmen just about make up for Sawayama and Sanada's glaring omission after the opening act. He also has to contend with the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), who wants to take New York for himself.