JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (2023)


JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (2023)

Tagline: Baba Yaga.

(Action, Crime, He’s Gonna Need A Gun) [R]

Have you given any thought to where this ends? The Table will never stop. You know this. No one, not even you, can kill everyone.

After exhausting his last few loyal friends, John Wick is at a crossroads where Marquis has put a price on his head even to the point of being willing to abandon all of the old ways of The High Table, but Winston is aware of a way out for John that even Marquis can’t ignore. 

First off, for me, this is actually the best JOHN WICK movie. I loved Chapter 3 – Parabellum in particular, but this one is a notch above that. Having said that this movie is flawed and anyone denying that is purposely ignoring them. Flaws don’t ruin good movies. I honestly think most great movies can have plenty of flaws. This is a non-spoiler review, but you probably already know from the previews that John gets the living crap beat out of him for most of this 2-hour and 49-minute romp. Of course, he’s John Wick so he is dishing out way more than he gets. If you watch this movie and don’t notice something a bit much about it, then that’s fine, but you have skills I don’t possess. Let’s just say you can only fall from so many buildings and get hit by so many cars before you need a 5-minute break. John had to go to the Dr. in the first movie. In this one, he’s basically Jason freakin Voorhees. 

Acting wise all the big talents are back for more and we get a few new faces like Clancy Brown (HIGHLANDER) who takes on the role of Harbinger. He kills this role in the short amount of screen time he gets. Bill SkarsgĂ„rd (DEADPOOL 2) does a great job as Marquis, but to be honest that dude has always creeped me out a little in almost any movie he’s in. We also get Hiroyuki Sanada (BULLET TRAIN) in this and as I have said before this dude crushes everything he’s in. I loved him as Shimazu, and he gets some of the best most profound lines in the film. Donnie Yen (ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY) is fantastic in this as Caine. When it comes to martial arts he might be the most well-known active actor in those regards at this time. Rina Sawayama is also great in this with the screen time she gets as Akira. Finally rounding out the new characters that had significant roles we get Shamier Anderson as Tracker. He also does a fantastic job in this and a lot like many of the other characters in the film, this is decent depth and complexity to his character. Keanu Reeves (John Wick), Laurence Fishburne (Bowery King), Ian McShane (Winston), and Lance Reddick (Charon) are all back and all kill it. Sadly, Lance passed away recently and my prayers go out to his family and fans. 

Where this movie really shines is in all the sets. Each film has gotten more and more over the top and more lavish when it comes to production, but this thing by far has the grandest scale. I found this movie to almost have a poetic sort of feel to it and that along with the action makes this almost 3-hour long movie feel like a 15-minute movie. I mean this thing just moves along at breakneck speed taking very few moments to stop and breathe. What the storyline does allow for is a lot more heart than I expected and I loved those elements of the movie. They did a great job with this thing. Cinematically this thing is a masterclass in how to make a film. 

So yes, in spite of my pointing out that this movie has flaws – we are in John Wick's world with this film and that comes with its own rules. Because of that, and the fact that the move doesn’t break its own rules, I have to give this thing a solid 7 out of 7. It is the best movie of 2023 thus far and we have had some pretty good outings already. If you are a JOHN WICK fan, then it seems nearly impossible that you wouldn’t love this thing. If you don’t like non-stop action, this one won’t be for you. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF LIONSGATE AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 


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