John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  7 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: The John Wick movies are all the same; more and more people hunt Keanu Reeves down because he broke the rules of the all-powerful High Table, and he finds various ways of running from them and staying alive. The fourth installment specifically sees him challenge a particular governing member to a duel to settle things, and this necessitates various tangents before the inevitable final confrontation.
  
  No matter what the script writers would have you believe (apparently, it's a series about "consequences") there's not much to it, but, as ever, the delivery is about as stylish and atmospheric as action cinema gets. The fight sequences are extremely creatively choreographed and shot with the camera gliding around the brutality to bring every blow to life, and the result is both jaw-dropping and brilliantly gripping on an atmospheric level. Plus this one in particular has so many pulpy, tongue-in-cheek references to other films; from 90s action movies, to 'Lawrence of Arabia,' and that's a real feast for the eyes of cinema fans.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Once again, it's a shame that the dystopian world of the High Table is never explored to its fullest. There are mutterings of taking them down, and a few moments that make you wonder how everyone is kept in order despite the population clearly outnumbering and outgunning their oppressors. But in the end we never see any of that materialise, and it's reduced to the simplicity of that duel between two characters.
  
  VERDICT: 'John Wick 4,' continues in the same vein as its predecessors, but doubles down on the incredible atmospheric action and cinematic references.

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