Review: John Wick Chapter 4

John Wick (Keanu Reeves, reprising perhaps his most iconic role) takes out The Elder and this causes a total shitstorm for him and anyone associated with him. The New York branch of The Continental is gone, manager Winston (Ian McShane) declared ‘Excommunicado’, and the villainous Marquis (Bill Skarsgaard) forces Wick’s blind swordsman friend Caine (Donnie Yen) to re-emerge from retirement to end John Wick. Shamier Anderson plays a mystery man who shows up from time to time with unclear motives, Scott Adkins plays an obese gangster named Killa who is head of the German Table, Hiroyuki Sanada plays Shimazu, another assassin associate of Wick’s with Rina Sawayama as his daughter Akira. Natalia Tena is Wick’s adoptive sister, whilst Laurence Fishburne and Lance Reddick are back as The Bowery King and Concierge respectively, and Clancy Brown shows up as High Table bigwig Harbinger.

 

Although I think this series may have peaked with the previous “Parabellum”, this 2023 fourth entry from director Chad Stahelski (who helmed the previous films) is round about on par with it or thereabouts. It helps maintain the series record, there hasn’t been a dud yet. If you want wall-to-wall action on an epic scale this one serves that to you more effectively and sustained than say “The Raid 2”. I was pleasantly surprised that Stahelski and co were able to keep the engine running here for nearly 3 hours without it feeling bloated, dull, or repetitive. In a way I kind of liken this series to Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, especially the big four of the Dollars Trilogy and “Once Upon a Time in the West”. Like with those films, the first two “John Wick” films are leaner and meaner, whilst the next two are more epic-length and scope.

 

There’s so much impressive action here that John Wick taking on Scott Adkins in a fat suit (!) actually ends up not being one of the film’s action highlights. In fact, Adkins’ over-the-top performance as the obese, asthmatic German mobster Killa is more enjoyable than his brief, one-sided fight with Wick. He’s having the time of his life being silly, and it’s nice that the director trusted him with such a big character and performance. The fight itself is cool enough, but it’s part of an absolutely stunning set piece in a rainy nightclub where I was actually even more impressed by the gorgeous cinematography by Dan Laustsen (“Brotherhood of the Wolf”, “The Shape of Water”, “John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum”). It’s a truly stunning-looking film. It’s all so expertly done that I’m reluctant to even choose an action highlight. The entire film is highlight, and even the Adkins fight is impressive in that you’re kinda amazed that Adkins (impressive fighter that he is) is able to move around much at all in that fat suit.

 

Meanwhile, in the midst of the action mayhem, Ian McShane and a welcome Clancy Brown are on hand to do some real acting. Natalia Tena is terrific too, as is the late Lance Reddick more briefly. Even when playing a homeless person, the magisterial Laurence Fishburne still manages to be the coolest guy around. Bill Skarsgaard is solid as the chief villain, but it’s Donnie Yen as his reluctant operative who really steals the show. Doing the blind swordsman thing, Yen manages to distinguish the character from the noble blind warrior he essayed in “Rogue One”. This guy may be a reluctant mercenary and has a certain level of respect for Mr. Wick, but he has a job to do and he’s not above murdering the fuck out of a lot of people in completing that task. I do wish the Yen vs. Hiroyuki Sanada fight lasted longer, but the film would’ve ended up 4 hours long, something had to give. Scott Adkins’ occasional sparring partner Marko Zaror even turns up (as a henchman) and trouper he is, suffers multiple indignities in his final scene. Marvellous. I’m not as keen on Shamier Anderson’s performance as everyone else, but his mysteriously motivated character is an interesting one. I just found Anderson a touch flat.

 

Is this too much movie? Sure, but that’s kind of the point so to cut anything out would likely hurt the film. Honestly, the only thing that truly bothered me here were the CGI flames, and that’s a pretty minor debit. I know this is over-the-top, ridiculous, and too much. Thankfully everyone involved knows it too, and don’t care. Me either, I had a blast. This is my kind of film. The sprawling, globe-trotting screenplay is by Shay Hatten (“John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum”, “Day Shift”) and Michael Finch (“The November Man”, “American Assassin”).

 

Rating: B