In an era where American action films are overwhelmingly stale, the John Wick series has been a consistent breath of fresh air. Combining slick, initially realistic fight choreography with stylistic visuals, a fascinating setting, and an iconic leading performance from Keanu Reeves, the series has rightfully earned its place in modern cinematic canon, a position the latest entry in the series firmly cements. Although the series has changed since its initial entry, moving away from the tight, minimalist action and storytelling in favour of far longer globetrotting explorations with fights where characters sometimes feel more like a zombie from Resident Evil than a regular person after surviving one too many fatal blows, Chapter 4 maintains the spirit of that first film whilst continuing the evolutions the series has made over the last nine years.
Some have complained that these evolutions have diluted the brilliance of the original film, that the action feels less meaningful when John feels unkillable at times and that, unlike other recent films of a similar length like Avatar: The Way of Water and RRR, the action-heavy and dialogue-light John Wick series cannot hold an audience’s interest for the entirety of its over three-hour runtime. They are, to some extent, correct. Some of the film’s many fight scenes do drag, in no small part, because every kill feels like it takes twice as long as it would have before. Yet this is the fourth film in the series, a series about the cost of revenge. We are watching a man who has spent three films trying to escape the consequences of the revenge sought all the way back in the first instalment. John Wick may be one of the finest assassins in the world, but the damage of his quests for vengeance and peace is visible in every one of his movements. John is slower than he once was, but he remains magnificent to watch in action. Several scenes are easily contenders for the best in the series.
Visually, Chapter 4 is the series’ peak. The neon-drenched aesthetics these films have always played with are perfected in early scenes set in Osaka. Similarly, other familiar aesthetics and motifs, including the use of paintings, nightclub lighting, and streetlights, return looking better than they ever have. The cinematography is often some of the most creative I’ve seen in recent mainstream cinema, with some particularly unique shots evoking the video games which influenced the series. Similarly, one early scene references Lawrence of Arabia whilst filming a whole fight in a single shot. The John Wick films have always been beautiful, but as with the action and the worldbuilding, the cinematography is taken one step further here both in its aesthetics and use of visual language.
After four films, it is pretty safe to say (at least in my opinion) that the John Wick series easily stands among the best action films ever made. With their stunning visuals, slick choreography, and surprisingly deep worldbuilding, the series earns its place amongst the greats of the genre, building upon a tradition of gun-fu films stretching back to John Woo’s Hong Kong action films via the Wachowski sisters whilst creating their own identity. I’m not sure where the series goes from here- although a prequel and a spin-off are both in the works- but I’m excited to see it, whatever it ends up being.
Images: “Keanu Reeves” by Nathan Congleton is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.