‘John Wick Chapter 4’ Review: Dir. Chad Stahelski (2023)

The man, the myth, the legend that is John Wick is back. In 2014, when the first John Wick released, no one expected it to do very well. However, it ended up being brilliant, launched the directing careers of David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, and proved that Keanu Reeves still had what it took to entertain an audience. Its success ensured not one, but three sequels, the latest of which, John Wick 4, lands in cinemas this week. 

Whereas the events of John Wick: Chapter 2 pick-up mere days after John Wick, and John Wick 3: Parabellum begins seconds after Chapter 2, more time has elapsed at the start of John Wick 4. The amount of time is unspecified, but John has at least had enough time to recover from his near fatal shooting on the roof of The Continental at the climax of the third film. This time to convalesce allows this version of John to be the most lethal yet. In John Wick he was retired, his moves a little rusty, which led him to an onslaught of injuries. For both the second and third films, with hardly any time passing between them, Wick was heavily injured. His survival seemed improbable and it lessened the impact of the story. For the first time in the saga he is presented with the opportunity to train and so this is Wick at the top of his game, and if you think he was good before, you ain’t seen nothing yet…

John’s recuperation time puts a brake on the action thus far in the series, with John Wick 4 offering a slight reset. John is no longer trapped in a frantic dogfight of survival and can therefore become more tactical in his plans, and brings a wealth of new players to the table. After a quick glimpse of Wick in action, attention turns to these new additions. Each of them is afforded their own few scenes to quickly set-up who they are, where their allegiances might lie, and their connection to John. There is Tracker (Shamier Anderson) who is pursuing John for the bounty on his head, Caine (Donnie Yen) who is drafted into the hunt, and Simazu (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his daughter Akira (Rina Sawayama) who run the Osaka Continental. Then there is a hugely entertaining appearance from Scott Adkins as Killa, a brief stint from Clancy Brown, and of course a new ‘big bad’, Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis. 

Skarsgård is no stranger to playing the villain, and as the Marquis he shines. As main John Wick villains go, the Marquis is easily the sharpest dresser as well as being the best since the original’s Viggo Tarasov. Skarsgård plays Marquis as a wonderful blend of both Tarasov men. The Marquis possesses the calculated professionalism of Viggo, but also the brattish ego of Viggo’s son, Iosef. This parallel is vital to the narrative as the story comes full circle in many ways. John Wick 4 is littered with callbacks to the original, from music cues to action sequences; for example, a club scene recreates camera shots from the Red Circle. It is important to remember where the story began as events in John Wick 4 lead to a potential conclusion to the saga. 

For many, although presenting astounding action, the third John Wick was somewhat of a let down. The story was a little chaotic, with John traversing the globe on various quests to earn his freedom. Its pacing was amiss as well; an entire middle sequence trip to Casablanca caused the film to sag. John Wick 4 corrects these mistakes. There is yet more globe-trotting with Wick going from New York to Japan to Europe, but the flow is more organic from a narrative standpoint. John Wick 4 is over twenty minutes longer than its predecessor, but thanks to its zippy pacing, it feels about thirty minutes shorter. There is so much going on that there is little time to breathe, let alone clock-watch.  

Another issue of the third film that is corrected, is that there is not as much emphasis on world-building. Parabellum went deep into the mythos and lore of the John Wick world. The films before it had teased various elements, but Parabellum went much deeper, and in doing so dragged-out the scenes between the action. John Wick 4 sticks closer to the original, keeping the overarching plot simple: John takes on the High Table. The narrative elements are on the light side and serve to connect the action together, but in a more cohesive manner than in something like the Fast franchise. There are some moments of reflection from John that allow a more sombre tone to permeate the edges of the action, but this is a film that knows what the audience wants, and gives it to them in spades. 

Directed by former stunt-man and co-ordinator Chad Stahelski, the John Wick movies have always strived for the highest-calibre of action. In John Wick 4, Stahelski manages to yet again top what has come before. It’s an incredible feat when you factor in the spectacles already achieved in the series. Somehow the director has found yet more ways to reinvent the action sequence and John Wick 4 is the truest definition of an adrenaline-charged thrill-ride. Once the new characters have been established, maximum carnage is thrust onto screen, beginning with a set-piece we’ll dub ‘Escape from Osaka’. The bitter battle has everything: guns, Samurai swords, nunchucks! and highlights the talents of the Wick from the legends. Here he is a machine, methodically battling his way through an army of foes. 

From here on the action never gives up, Stahelski constantly raising the bar, making it near impossible to pick just one sequence to applaud above the others. There is a water-soaked fist-fight, a Dragon’s Breath gunfight shot from above, and an electric night-time game of Frogger set at The Arc de Triomphe. The latter scene in particular is like nothing Western audiences will have witnessed before. Prepare to pick your jaw off of the floor after this one. As with all of Stahelski’s previous work, there is an elegance and grace to these action sequences that proves that the action genre can be high-art. 

Keanu Reeves was born to play John Wick. In many ways the character’s journey back into the game mirrored that of Keanu’s return to action cinema. Much time is spent applauding the stunt-work of Tom Cruise, the actor having built a reputation for extreme feats, but Reeves is equally worthy of accolades. The actor performs all of his own fight choreography and driving stunts. Reeve’s willingness and dedication to learning all the moves works to make the John Wick films magic. Nothing compares to being able to see, and know, that the events happening on-screen are being performed by the actors themselves. Much as John Wick imitated Reeves’ journey, John Wick 4 is a culmination of the actor’s career. All of his acquired skills are put into practice and the result is an action performance for the ages. 

In just four films the John Wick saga has gone from humble graphic novel-esque beginnings to live-action video-game ballet. It’s been one heck of a journey, but one that will hopefully be put to rest with this chapter. Parabellum placed the series in peril of jumping the shark, but John Wick 4 brings the series back to basics. In many ways this is the film that three should have been – the series was originally touted as a trilogy – and will surely sate those that were disappointed with the third chapter. An action-led, potentially last, jaunt with everyone’s favourite dog-loving ‘retired’ hitman, John Wick 4 is an epic conclusion to a sensational saga. 

John Wick 4 arrives in UK cinemas from Friday 24th March 2023.