John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

User Review

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  d_riptide

  9 / 10

  Four straight entries, four straight movies, and four chapters later, “John Wick: Chapter 4 “STILL finds a way to wow its audiences with a symphony of on-screen action, fascinating mythology and surprising emotional resonance that stands out amongst this years best.
  
  
  Chad Stahelski has developed more than an impeccable attention to detail and a keen sense of style as a director. Distilling the mythology-heavy approach of the last couple chapters with the streamlined precision of the first film, the final result is fittingly flamboyant; his direction is hypnotic and that, once again, carries over to how the film is shot.
  
  
  Cinematographer Dan Laustsen not only plays with shadow and light in fascinating detail with vibrant colors but every shot is clear and visually striking at all times; the editing might be obvious at very specific intervals but they’re very rare in number and they do little to detract from the magic. I’m always blown away by the grace and ingenuity they implant in this ever-escalating world and this installment probably sustains the best looking and most carefully utilized set and production design out of the four films; constantly amplifying the beauty of its foreign locales and situating it perfectly in ultra-wide frames. And with a scope and scale this big with major events happening all around the globe, it’s reminiscent of a sprawling James Bond film.
  
  From beginning to end, every action sequence is applause-worthy. As a stunt showcase from beginning to end, each shoot-out or fight scene is carefully constructed with urgency, a dash of cartoony valor and artistically choreographed symphony at the same time. They keep the momentum of the lethally balletic style without overstaying its welcome even with the surefooted pace.
  
  How it dances between its brutal death-wish-meets-video-game esque tone is fascinating, the costumes are once again highly indicative of a characters status and personality, and while the acting is as always fantastic, it only helps they come equipped with perhaps the most interesting batch of characters since the first film.
  
  
  
  As great as the action in these films are, I always look forward to seeing how the story of John Wick progresses and this movie draws that story to a particular point where the usual revenge-meets-liberation plot actually has a point to it.
  
  Each movie has slowly but surely dropped hints and nuggets of information regarding the High Table of the Continental Underground but this movie is the first where we get some real-time acknowledgment to diving deeper into the theme of "actions have consequences, and nobody is immune to consequences". It unfurls more of Wick’s past as he finally takes the fight to the Table but also ponders on his inability to kill his way out of his indenture to the High Table or its pursuit of him. Endgame and finality is crucial to the wonderfully defined stakes of not just Wick’s journey but those he inspires or poisons along the way; the simplicity of objectives and the clarity of those intentions add more dimension than they probably should to such a simple construct in a world this blurry.
  
  Choosing friendship keeps getting people he cares for killed or almost costing him his life and yet even with the few remaining strands of humanity he has left, John Wick inspires compassion in a world that demands none of that. It did get to the point where when we got to the ending, I felt adrift. I had a feeling it was coming and it still hit me like a Mac Truck; a sensational ending that maximized the emotional weight of both the idea and idealization of what John Wick means and stands for.
  
  
  As much as it pains me to say it, I’m still wrestling with whether or not this movie earns the length that it does. There are moments where it’s easy to tell that they repeat certain landmark moments from Chapter 3 to where I’m convinced that this originally meant to be a trilogy but they had to stretch out certain parts to fill out certain scenes. It’s not easy to notice but it’s also not hard to feel a sense of Deja Vu.
  
  
  
  I was honestly worried the franchise was going to lose steam after the third movie showed some sizable dents in its armor. So glad I was proven wrong.

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