“John Wick is a focused, committed man with a pure will.” In fiction, this is how his enemies refer to the character played by Keanu Reeves. But the quote could well be used to refer to the production team behind the film. john wick 4 and the rest of the saga that brought the actor back. What director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad accomplished over the course of 9 years is no small feat: They built an action franchise that has never denied its influences, but one that doesn’t feel like a pastiche.
We are facing something positive. Something that moves forward and never feels stagnant. And it is that, although it seems impossible, each tape of this series is better than the previous one. With john wick 4, this unwritten rule holds again. What we see on the screen far exceeds what was seen on parabellum (2019). But not only that, but it also confirms Reeves as the best American action star of the 21st century.
Again, it is necessary to return to talk about the approach, commitment and will of Stahelski and Kolstad. Although this is the first time that the aforementioned screenwriter does not participate in the film and is replaced by Shay Hatten (the army of the dead) and Michael Finch (Hitman: Agent 47), his spiritual presence is notorious and the mythology of the universe he created is still intact, but also, each decision is so meticulous that we continue to take seriously what happens to the anti-hero.
It is as if the director had commissioned his new writers to study Kolstad’s style point by point and then commissioned them to create a compendium of what worked best in the three previous installments. The result? A film on an epic scale in which, finally, the codes of cinema are fully embraced not to go, western, Yakuza and hard boiled that before had only been brushstrokes. Here everything comes together to deliver encyclopedic quality work. The greatest hits of “Baba Yaga” seasoned with an overwhelming rebellious atmosphere.
Rebellious in the sense that, although the rules and mythology are already established, the set at times feels like an experiment. This time, although we already know that Wick declared himself an enemy of the Supreme Table – that they are still hunting him for being “excommunicated” –, in reality it does not matter so much to follow the story at the bottom of the canyon. It is recommended, of course, to review the previous installments so as not to get lost and to understand how Wick has advanced on the journey to obtain his freedom. However, it would be bold to deny that it’s all just a pretense to introduce audiences to never-before-seen-on-screen fight sequences and gunfights, playing into the ever-present globe-trotting element.
Movie review john wick 4
If we already saw the title character fight for his life among the crowds of the New York subway and duel with a couple of motorcycle gangsters mounted on a horse before arriving in Casablanca to kill off more gangsters, now we will see him kill off an army of samurai in Osaka and rock the streets around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris with a car chase as bombastic and brash as it is accurate, unlike anything that’s ever been done before.
Or we’ll see him dispatch an advance team in an abandoned building, all as part of a mind-blowing overhead shot that unannouncedly appears on the screen, but immediately grabs us and tells its own story, of which it is better not reveal too much. Thus, it can be said, without fear of being wrong, that this is a project that revolutionizes action cinema. An opera that plays with the rules and changes them at will. In addition, the beautiful framing and neon color palette of Dan Lausten (the scarlet summit) are a delight for the pupils.
In a matter of interpretations everything is the same: disjointed, but well planned and effective. We can just as well let out a little laugh with the irony of Winston (Ian McShane) or the excessive mettle of Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada), or shudder when John fights with Caine, a relentless ex-assassin of the Supreme Table played by Donnie Yen, who imprints on him to the character the same fast-paced and kinetic combat technique that he has already demonstrated in films such as ip man (2008), Rogue One (2016) or the shocking raging fire (2021). Even the film’s new big villain, the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) – a higher-ranking official than bestowed by the Supremes – is unsettling amid the explosive hail of bullets, blood and blows.
Separated from everything, and everyone, is Keanu Reeves. Dancing his own dance. Dominating his scenes with grace and theatrical elegance. Overcoming each test, yes, with a touch of implausibility, but giving himself body and soul to give the public a show that they will not be able to forget. He is in his element and is perceived more easily than ever. He still does not give much record as an interpreter, but his dedication in front of the camera is beyond belief.
john wick 4 At times, he leaves aside the narrative aspect to focus on what is truly of interest to those who have followed the saga step by step: the action. And in this genre the project is the best that has been done in years. Not because it is known to be derived from the works of Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, John Woo and Michael Mann and it proudly shows it, but because, with ease, it allows itself to subvert what has been done by these directors to create its own madness. A madness that, although it struggles to justify its excessive duration of 2hrs 49min -counting the credits-, does not rest, does not leave loose ends and does not take itself too seriously.
It is surprising that a small and contained story like another day to kill (2014) has led to a sensory experience of this level. It’s not just about a dog anymore. This is war. And one that you have to experience in a big way.
Jose Roberto Landaverde Movie buff and music lover. I am fascinated by writing, listening, reading and commenting on everything related to the seventh art. I’m a fan of Rocky and Back to the Future and obviously one day I’ll climb the “Philly Steps” and drive a DeLorean. Faithful believer that cinema is the best teleportation machine, and also that on the big screen we can all see ourselves represented. I constantly, like Scott Pilgrim, ask myself: “Does bread make you fat?”