John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) Review
‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ not only raises the stakes but is also most likely the best film in the series after the first.
director: Chad Stahelski
writers: Shay Hatten & Michael Finch
starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Bill Skarsgård & Donnie Yen
genre: Action
released: March 23, 2023 (Australia), March 24, 2023 (U.S.A.)
Not all heroes wear capes or are from the start the good guy. However, these are often the heroes we gravitate to and that are willing to make the necessary sacrifice to dismantle the existing power structures at work. We used to also have these sorts of cinematic narratives as star vehicles for big-time actors to jump onto and for us to enjoy in the process, however that is also vanishing with each coming year. Nowadays with fewer major stars to go around. The question is are these films worth their salt without them and would a film such as ‘John Wick’ work without Keanu Reeves? I personally think not and thank the heavens we can still get our kicks from time to time with the few stars we have left. As ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ not only raises the stakes but is also most likely the best film in the series after the first.
Story:
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is still alive after the events of the previous film and out to get his freedom from the notorious ‘High Table’ who seek to kill him spare no expense. This time they have a new person in charge to head the mission employing assassins old and new to finish John off. This will not prove easy as alliances will change, and people will still be willing to give John safe harbor and guidance on his quest towards freedom. As both John, friends and foes realize this game cannot go one forever.
Thoughts:
I know I am not supposed to write this, however this is as close as I will get to a major spoiler. It is not often Hollywood knows when to put on the breaks. This series could have been squeezed even further for all its worth even with Keanu hitting 58 years old. As there was potential in the story to go down many more paths. Thankfully, they chose not to. Having though said that, after writing this I noticed there are more projects lined up for this series, so curious how the world will continue and in what fashion.
One such path that I was sure was going to be explored and guess may be still in the future was for Laurence Fishburne’s character of the Bowery King and John Wick joining forces in a revolt on the High Table’s authority. I know quite fan fiction material going on in my head, however that I thought was more plausible instead of them further growing the world’s lore in the rules of the High Table and the characters deep connection of fighting and building relationships bonded by blood, duty, family and on occasion comradery.
And while this may sound strange. In this film, more so compared to the previous films before it I was on board with the whole high table power structure malarkey. It felt to me that finally after 3 films they nailed the tone and accepted John Wick as a superhero character where the rules did not apply to him or his cohort of characters. Whereas the first film still had a veil layer of realism, the rest were unsure ultimately how to handle their treatment of an un-killable human anti-hero. Perfection for the lore to make sense would be a balance of chaos to the underworld order via police officers, government, or some other group to counter the high table. Something which I thought would have happened when Bowery King joined forces with Wick but again, I was wrong there.
Nonetheless the path taken was worthwhile and the new characters on board for the ride are not only mysterious but different from one another in their motivations and ultimate character arcs that will transpose across the film. Nobody (actual character in the film) is a welcome addition to the film. An assassin that is the perfect killer but a little too cocky and money hungry, however with enough heart still to possibly escape it all. Whereas Caine went too deep into the high table world and regretted it ever since, putting his family at significant risk. These two will have to come at odds with Wick and make the call if John Wick’s fight is just or will their own duties to the table be bound in blood.
Their duty to the table comes directly from Bill Skarsgard’s arrogant character of the Marquis of the High Table that is not overacted at all thankfully and is the right amount of smug for you to want him to get his due. He also is one of the better representatives of the table we have had in the series in combination of Highlander actor Clancy Brown. I feel it’s because the angle these Table emissaries and Continental managers for that matter had a swagger and gravitas to them more elegant and respectable to go against Wick or at a place by his side. Whereas older foes the series had were either second rate corporate shills, sleazy gangster knockoffs or abstract generic villains that you do not remember. Maybe the biggest issue in the end that leads to this problem is there is no little 5-minute exposition moment of the table's history and the families on it. Only partial hints here and there to parse information but not enough for a clear picture. Not saying that some easter eggs thrown in there such as Ian McShane’s role and relationship to Wick wasn’t great. Merely, would have loved it a bit more of it.
Nonetheless, most will not watch any John Wick flick for the plot, but instead and only for the eye candy action which there is a lot of. Some of these action scenes are better than others, notably the club/blackjack table scene and Paris staircase brawl that are close to be executed to perfection. With incredible suspense, action, stunts and even dialogue to be marveled. The rest aren’t bad but not as memorable and could have been edited down such as Paris car chase. The problem is these scenes in any other film would be stand outs however in a ‘John Wick’ flick there is already action overload you can be overwhelmed at times and in the end pick and choose your favorite moments of importance. Worse though maybe then the overload you may feel is my constant gripe about visual effects in Hollywood nowadays and granted ‘John Wick’ does do a better job than the rest. However, bullet squibs can’t all just be visual effects instead of practical. And while I understand it makes shooting the film more convenient. Squibs do lend realism to the cinematic experience. Not to mention car chase scenes where Keanu’s face is blurred out as he is not driving or trying to avoid swerving vehicles.
Even with that said, these aren’t significant flaws more blips that the production had to accept to make a more efficient film or possibly for a modern-day audience to accept and see as more palatable such as the film’s very long running time of around 3 hours. Not something that was necessary, however every modern-day film feels like it needs to be in order to provide better value for money. This extended runtime leads to extra scenes such as John Wick training at the beginning of the film that feels out of place, or the exceptionally long Paris chase scene that could also have been partially cut down as he is only gunning down faceless goons. And if I were very liberal you could even cut some of the Japanese Continental subplot out as well. As it did not pay off by the end of the film (will not say more due to spoilers, unless the payoff is for another film which if so, is still questionable to say the least).
Lastly, John Wick does not need to go further than the point it has reached. It was a long journey, and this character proved his worth more than expected even though his world was less developed than deserved. However, the world is still there and if smart enough a new plot could be devised for it to move forward. However, if they see this endeavor as a cash cow money grab, they will fail miserably. As the first film worked on many levels to capture zeitgeist of the time and its subsequent sequels being the natural continuation of an action marathon of epic proportions. After that, it is a more challenging task to assemble a world without what made it originally special in the first place in John Wick.
Verdict:
Is this the end for ‘John Wick’? I hope so. As the way the film ends is fitting. A warrior's curtain call to put it bluntly. An anti-hero to add to the books amongst the many greats out there in the ‘Man with no Name’ from Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns to Logan from ‘Wolverine’ for that matter. Let it end now and let us fondly remember the Boogey Man and that all this could have been avoided if they did not mess with the relationship between a man and his dog.
Personal Rating:
4 out of 5 Stars