John Wick 4

 

We start back in the Jordan desert, and right off the bat, you can’t help but wonder how John’s gun is holding up in all that sand without jamming instantly. But reality takes a backseat once the plot kicks in.

Clancy Brown brings great weight as the Harbinger doing the High Table’s bidding, and Bill Skarsgård makes a fantastic, arrogant villain as the Marquis de Gramont. But how could they just kill off Charon—EVERYONE’S favorite character in the series? It’s a gut-punch that sets the stakes early, even if $18 million for a bounty isn't too bad at all considering the destruction John causes.

I actually appreciated the slower start to the movie. With a runtime of two hours and 50 minutes, it has plenty of time to build up the tension. The attention to detail with the weaponry is fantastic—from the Osaka Continental staff using arrows that surprisingly seem way more effective against body armor than bullets, to Hiroyuki Sanada’s character refusing to hide in a safe room and instead fighting alongside his people.

As the body count rises, the fighting definitely feels a lot more dramatized in this installment compared to earlier entries. And while John isn't a man of many words, his emotional range is hilarious at times. When Caine’s daughter is threatened and all John offers is an “I understand,” you feel like she needed a little more than that! Tracker (Mr. Nobody) also walks a fine line where you can't decide if he's far too arrogant or just far too stupid.

The movie balances its brutal violence with incredible dark humor. Watching John offer his condolences to Winston wasn't what I expected, leaving you wondering what truly drives Winston's thirst for revenge: losing his power, his hotel, or Charon?

Then there’s Killa, the German gangster played by Scott Adkins. Cutting him in the neck with a playing card was wild enough, but then he gets shot right in the ass. The most hilarious part of the entire film is that this guy is kicking John’s ass, but has to physically stop to use an inhaler because he’s laughing too hard.

It also makes you step back and ask: why is the High Table always branding people or cutting off appendages? It’s an interesting dynamic, especially watching John rely on Winston to handle his business despite the fact that Winston literally shot him off a roof in the last movie.

By the time we reach the climax, the Marquis’ arrogance becomes his downfall. Did he know he was fucked the second John chose pistols? Absolutely. Watching John hold his final shot and end the Marquis with a bullet to the forehead was deeply satisfying and entirely deserved. We all knew how it would end—with John finally finding peace in a grave.

Overall, John Wick: Chapter 4 is an amazing finale to an incredible series. The casting was great and full of fun surprises, especially in these last two films.

That said, I still feel like the second movie remains the absolute best of the franchise. You couldn’t have the series without the grounded, personal story of the first, but Chapter 2 took everything to the next level without going entirely over the top. Chapter 4 is a massive, stunning spectacle, but Chapter 2 strikes the perfect balance.