John Wick: Chapter 4

Despite a bit of recycling, Chapter 4 is still an entertaining action blockbuster without a single dull moment in its nearly three-hour runtime. And it has the best ending of all the films in the franchise. Bill Skarsgård is an exemplary bourgeois bad guy and Donnie Yen plays the franchise’s first supporting character who is a match for Wick and is more than just a one-dimensional villain. The overhead shots in the rooms are fantastic, but I wouldn’t have borrowed the wrong-way ride on the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris from Mission: Impossible – Fallout, because this equally highly rated franchise has no need for that. The higher degree of detached humor (radio hits from the Eiffel Tower, the long fall down the stairs) together with the outsized nature of everything was more than pleasing. Of course, the production design is again outstanding. I hope we will see the young Japanese actress Rina Sawayama in the fifth John Wick. (04/03/2023)

It's still mostly top-notch action, but the Wick theme is pretty much exhausted. The script, with dialogue written by Keanu Reeves, was probably about 2 A5 pages, I don’t think it was more than that, and when someone wasn't fighting someone, I was more likely to cover my ears. There is one brilliant action sequence (a bird's eye view of a shotgun rampage with fiery "Dragon Breath" ammunition), but that not enough to make the film memorable. The previous episode, which I thought was better, had a lot of jaw-dropping moments, like the knife fight, the action inferno with the dogs or the horse kicks, but the only thing that really stands out here is the short scene with the shotgun and then the kinetic sequence at the Arc de Triomphe. Otherwise, it's mostly about headshots, and there are so many of them and with such frequency that by the final lengthy scene on the "endless" stairs I was already numb and didn't care. Moreover, how am I supposed to worry about John Wick, when he survives with a mere shake stuff that would have killed even the T-1000 in Terminator 2? It wasn't joy, as in previous episodes, but rather fatigue towards the end. Please, no more episodes. (03/27/2023)

The visuals are shamelessly lavish and the action sequences are impressive, but unfortunately, the film is very poor when it comes to acting and conversational scenes. At times I found it almost a little funny in terms of what the protagonist survives, and the indestructibility of the blind anti-hero was glaring – I just didn't really believe it. So I have a number of problems with this film, for example, I'm still not entirely comfortable with the fact that it pretends to be groundbreaking cinema when it's basically an action B-movie, and the world isn't built in a completely bulletproof way – I wonder, for example, how the hero apparently moves around the world more or less seamlessly when he manages to change so many destinations. But can I give it three stars when I gave the same rating to much worse action flicks from Netflix? No, I can’t. (03/29/2023)

Chad Stahelski may have bitten off more than he can chew when he tries to build a world and mythology around John Wick, because he's not very good at it. But all those clumsy attempts at worldbuilding are forgivable when it comes to action. The fourth John Wick is crammed with great shootouts and fights that once again show Hollywood that the action genre is far from having the last word, and that when the right people get their hands on it, the result is breathtaking, and you don't even notice that it's three hours long. In terms of action, John Wick stands at the absolute cinematic pinnacle. It may handle the in-between scenes a lot worse, but nobody goes to the movies to see this franchise for that filler anyway. (03/22/2023)

Nearly ten years of Wick's revenge for his killed dog and destroyed car have flown by. The huge mythology revolving around the rules and the code of assassins slowly swells, but as glue for fantastic action scenes it is enough. As a result, Keanu Reeves will not be remembered as Neo, but as the "loving husband" of John Wick. The climactic sequences at the Arc de Triomphe and the Osaka Massacre will one day be in the textbooks. The scenes with my favourite nunchucks really put a smile on my face. Donnie Yen relishes Cain to the full, and Reddick's last scene in the film gives me chills. Awesome. (04/04/2023)

As a full-fledged film with a meaningful and meaty plot, it's pretty lame, but as an fully devoted fanservice full of fantastic action sequences and eye candy gadgets, it delivers exactly what die-hard fans expect. Whether it's a passage from Japan, Berlin or Paris, all is world-class level, with amazing production design, lightning and, of course, the stunt work and the choreography of the fights. A superb Scott Adkins, a charismatic Donnie Yen and of course Reeves, who doesn't say much, but fights with all his heart. (04/29/2023)

The best action franchise ever, now it is clear. But the fourth entry is three hours long? Of course, every action scene lasts like thirty minutes, and there are plenty of them. I've never really seen anything like it, let alone in the cinema, and I don't think I ever will again, unless they make Chapter 5. Chad Stahelski uses everything he has taught himself and John Wick in previous episodes, putting new obstacles in his path and forcing him to find new solutions. But most important of all, the story that connects the horribly grotesque slaughter is not stupid. The opening reference to Lawrence of Arabia is more of a joke, but after a while we get to the "Leone-like" clockwork and a sense that although the bad guys will die by the hundreds again, it will end up in a one-on-one duel like in a western. John Wick works his way up to it in a Bond-like globetrotting way, and in the interesting company of assassins who, though at his throat, are so well written and motivated that you actually root for them too. The story also puts a lot of emphasis on different forms of friendship, and I like that. If this film is the end of Wick's journey, he couldn't have asked for a better ending. (04/09/2023)

Chapter 4 is most sweeping John Wick yet and one of the current highlights of the action genre. It’s no longer just an adrenaline-fuelled action experience, but a carefully constructed narrative of a fatalistic story about a man who has to kill because he has no choice, finding himself in a deadly spiral of revenge and unfinished business. The action is powerfully effective, impactful, elegant, imaginative, clear and visually intoxicating. In terms of their length and overall execution, all of the action sequences are absolutely monumental and each of them could easily serve as the climax of many other action films. Moreover, thanks to the changes in setting, filming, stylisation and background music, they are completely different every time, which adds to the film’s multifariousness, effectively avoiding the routine and monotony despite the repetitive fighting techniques, blows and moves. Of course, Keanu Reeves is god-like, but Donnie Yen is absolutely excellent here and I would like to see a separate film featuring his character. (03/23/2023)

In the final act of Parabellum, despite its undeniable qualities, I already felt a certain drag. This time it was the other way around. John Wick: Chapter 4 offers heaps of perfect, if slightly repetitive, fight scenes in the first half and only really stomps on the gas after the German intermezzo. The fireworks of bodies, the revenge of pets or unexpected problems like "You've been caught by a grumpy Latino - You have to go back five floors" bring in the real pain. The filler between the fights is at its peak thanks to a great ensemble for the franchise, including the enlightened hunk Bill Skarsgård, who even without the bloodthirsty clown mask you'll wish only the worst for him. (03/25/2023)

An adequate conclusion to the four-part saga? Well, I'm not so sure... Not for me, at least. Nothing new was introduced - sure, there were excellent fight scenes, impeccable camera and incredible stunt work, hats off to that. But we've already seen all of that in the first, second, and third movie. The Belgian Malinois, the excommunicado, everyone against John because of an extreme bounty on his head... it has all been there before. What I feel is lacking here, on the other hand, is a deeper exploration of the characters and their backgrounds - why is Killa overweight, why did he kill Pyótr, who is Cain and why is he blind? Who is that peculiar Marquis de Bla Bla, and so on. It's getting a bit dull to watch the whole world being against John Wick for the fourth time; it's just a worn-out theme. And the scene on the stairs? The constant falling and getting back up, over and over again, it was too much, just like the fall from a four-story building without a single pneumothorax or broken rib... Unfortunately, this is probably the weakest piece in the entire series. (05/28/2023)