Reviews Film / John Wick Chapter 4

A Fitting And Fantastic End

Chapter 4 is, potentially, the ending of John Wick's story. It was written and filmed with that possibility in mind; the director's next projects are a spin-off focusing on a ballerina in the setting and a John Wick-like WWII story about a Finnish farmer blowing up Nazis; and there are indeed "conclusive elements" here, though notably leaving the door open for a fifth installment if everyone's up for it.

And honestly? If this is it, that's a hell of a way to go out.

As Parabellum was in 2019, Chapter 4 is a highly refreshing, engaging, and entertaining return to the high-octane, heavily-stylized, and absurd-yet-realistic world of assassins where the named characters get to wear tapered suits that are also near-perfectly bulletproof, body armor-toting mooks can tank bullets all day but get Pinned to the Wall by wooden arrows, a borderline endless supply of guns for everyone to use but all of which need constant ammo/magazine checks, and our hero who takes a career-ending hit every 5 minutes but who always manages to get up for just one more fight. (And to be absolutely clear - I love everything about all that, and more).

This time, John's truly in the deep end; coming out of hiding after the ending of the previous film left most assuming he was dead has led to the High Table well and truly cracking down on him and everyone he loves by way of the Marquis, who combines the resources of the Adjudicator with the pettiness of Iosef and the cowardly sadism of Santino to present a genuine, constant threat to John and those around him. This is by far the longest movie in the series (and one of the longer ones released in recent memory), and that's not just for show - every second is crucial to setting up the narrative and building toward the final confrontation...

...because it's not just about John this time. While he may want his freedom, we're also introduced to an unnamed Tracker keeping tabs on John so he can claim the latter's bounty at the highest point and retire with his lovable dog, as well as a blind swordsman named Caine who's as Anti-Villain as it gets in this universe but is forced to hunt down John due to his agreement with the High Table. Exploring the motivations and sympathetic sides of both of these new characters, as well as the influences of other new additions like the Harbinger, is done well at every step (often with the series' trademark Show, Don't Tell style) and truly brings a gravitas to their every interaction as the story proceeds. It was also painful, in a good and sad way, to see Lance Reddick as Charon one last time; I'll miss him here and everywhere else for many years to come.

But, of course, you're probably not watching this for the gripping drama, well-done as it may be - it's a John Wick entry, and that means grappling and shooting a-plenty. Once again, the cast and crew outdo themselves on this front, blending long takes that barely use stunt doubles with raw, hard-hitting combat involving a variety of weapons and just the right amount of near-slapstick environmental interaction (personal highlight of this for me was the fight around the Arc de Triomphe in the last act...you'll know it when you see it).

And then there's the cinematography; exquisitely vast/tight and detailed for the drama scenes, then creative and dynamic for the fights. After the above-mentioned Arc scene, there's a battle through a multi-story apartment building still under construction that features one of the more insane oners I've seen in a long, long time that feels straight out of a video game - and right after it finishes and we finish a short scene at a more standard angle, they start another one in the same style because by god it WORKS! I went in expecting as much when it comes to variety and was still blown away.

In conclusion, the (maybe) conclusion to the saga of Mr. Wick is everything I could've asked for while cleverly leaving the door open for more. It's definitely the best entry in the series and one of the best action movies of this decade, maybe ever - if you've come this far, you owe it to yourself to close the last chapter when it's this great.