John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
Action movies have really gotten better and better as time goes on. The days of big, hulking dudes with their biceps out, covered in sweat and shooting hordes of random schmucks, have given way to an era of slick, almost dance-like battles of not only strength, but wits as well.
And all of it while wearing a crisp-ass suit.
John Wick: Chapter 4 sees John after surviving his fall, ready for more action. With very few options left, John continues to search for a way to get out from under the Table. Any more information than that would do this movie a disservice.
I'll admit that I knew I was gonna like John Wick: Chapter 4 before I even went to the theater. John Wick has a special place in my heart, and I can honestly say watching the first 3 was what really made me start to realize how much I love movies. They're sleek, semi-realistic, and aesthetic as HELL, and y'all know I'm a sucker for lore, which John Wick has in SPADES.
Even with that in mind, though, to say that Chapter 4 met my expectations would actually be a lie, because it exceeded them in every way. I went in expecting another few hours of watching Keanu kick all kinds of ass, but what I GOT was a myth arc that rivals some of the best writing Hollywood has to offer.
The action is there, of course, and it's just as tight and clean as usual. Maybe I'm just a lil messed up, but I found myself laughing at just how awesome some of the combat is. For a spoiler-less instance, watching a man go to kick only to get an arrow through the knee that pins his leg up and to a wall, finished off with a headshot from John, causing his body to dangle from that suspended knee. It basically reminded me of playing FEAR and using the Nailgun to pin mobs to walls in the middle of firefights.
That video game theme actually persists through nearly the entirety of the film. There's a sequence in the final 3rd that's shot entirely from a top-down view, which immediately called to my mind twin-stick shooters, a gaming institution that goes all the way back to Asteroids.
This sequence is also where there's a VERY long take. If I had to guess, it was maybe 5 minutes long without a single cut, all from that perspective. Not only is that just showing off your cohesive and talented your unit is, but it also looks damn good, and gives you a bit of a perspective on just how much of a freight train John really is.
All of the returning characters are loads of fun to watch, and all of the new blood stands out in the sea of mobs. There's so much in this one movie alone that you could legitimately launch at least 3 spinoffs on these individual stories. That kind of personality and depth is what I'm talking about with modern action - what even is Arnie's character's NAME in Commando?? Do we even care??
If there were negatives, I would list them here, but I really don't have anything bad to say. The worst thing I can say is that the movie is damn near 3 hours long, and you feel it. It's not that the movie is hard to get through. It just had a lot of ground to cover before the credits roll, and while they pulled it off very well by the end, there are times that momentum gets a little shaky. When you're running for nearly half of a work day, though, it's inevitable that not every second of your movie will feel like it's truly moving forward.
There's a LOT to be said about the plot, but you know I refuse to be the spoiler guy. What I CAN say is that the writing is the best in the series, by a wide margin. Chapter 4 feels more serious than the first 3 combined. Those movies weren't exactly campy, but they lived in this sort of hazy realm of uncertainty.
With Chapter 4, there's much more on the line, as John's consequences start to truly overwhelm him. The weight of the entire saga is felt in this movie, and the writing reflects that with some really good, quiet scenes where John and others philosophize about what all of the bloodshed is really for, and of there's even truly an end that can be won after the smoke clears.
So, with all of that in mind, I can honestly call John Wick Chad and Keanu's masterpiece. Both can truly look back on what they've created thus far with pride - they've woven a truly gorgeous, mythical tapestry that will be memorable for decades to come.
Just try to ignore the blood stains on the embroidery.
