John Wick. Baba Yaga. The assassin on a mission of revenge. Over the course of three films, we have gotten to know the character who has raised the bar for Keanu Reeves’ most iconic roles since Neo. Now, the fourth installment of the John Wick story is here, and it’s the craziest yet, in every sense of the word. This is action that surpasses everything else, including the previous films in the series.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is a pure action film where we once again follow the decidedly angry assassin as he plows his way through hordes of heavily armed villains. Keanu Reeves is of course back in the role – anything else would be absurd – and serious action fans can look forward to these words: Donnie Yen as a blind assassin with a sword and gun, Hiroyuki Sanada with a katana!
Laurence Fishburne is also back as the leader of the outcasts and homeless, Bowery King. In addition, we meet Shamier Anderson as the assassin Mr. Nobody, who also brings a cute, but admittedly angry, dog into the fight – which has become a true John Wick tradition!
Ian McShane is also back as Winston, the owner of the New York Continental, and of course Lance Reddick as the hotel’s concierge Charon. For those who don’t know, Charon is also the name of the ferryman who transports the dead across the Styx and into the underworld of Hades in Greek mythology. Lance Reddick unfortunately died recently of natural causes, only 60 years old. He had a long career in film, TV, and even animation and video games.
John Wick is a man of few words, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Keanu Reeves has the fewest lines in the film. John Wick doesn’t really have much to say anyway; those he meets usually try to kill him – often motivated by large sums of money. Reeves’ lines usually consist of a «Yeah…» and the odd death threats. This is a man who lives his life with death as a constant companion, something that would affect even the strongest person. Keanu Reeves is perfectly suited to play this role.
The plot of this fourth chapter of the John Wick series begins shortly after the events of the previous film. John Wick is on the run from the assassin organization The High Table and has sought refuge with an old friend, Shimazu Koji, manager of the Osaka Continental (played by the fantastic Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada). But the High Table has tracked down John Wick and the hotel is attacked by an army of heavily armed villains, as well as the blind assassin Caine (played by the equally fantastic Donnie Yen), who has reluctantly been pulled out of retirement to kill his old friend.
Meanwhile, in New York, Winston and Charon are summoned to the brutal Marquis Vincent de Gramont (played by Bill Skarsgård). As a member of The High Table, he has been tasked with killing John Wick and anyone who supports him. A threat is made, and the New York Continental hotel is destroyed as a warning. And so the hunt for John Wick begins, from New York to Japan and from Berlin to Paris.
From the first action scene, which surpasses everything we saw in the previous predecessor, the trend is set for the almost three-hour-long film: every scene surpasses the previous one, and just when you think it’s not possible to make the action more intense, something even more spectacular comes up. This is a movie that will please even the most discerning action fans.
The John Wick film series has always had an almost comic book-like style, and this is especially true in this fourth chapter. Between the long action sequences that break all genre boundaries, we get striking and beautiful scenes with dialogue and mood reminiscent of several comic books for adults – dark, violent works of art – an appropriate description for this entire film.
This is a neo-noir film universe where an entire society of assassins lives beneath the surface of our own. Every person you meet on the street could be a member of this worldwide organization of ruthless killers. It may be a strange, but apt, comparison, but like many modern stories about vampires and wizards, this bloody society has its own rules, norms, titles, and rituals. It sometimes stretches the imagination a bit too far, but if you accept the premise, this story of the wandering exiled assassin on a bloody revenge mission is an action fan’s wildest dream!
