During a Reddit AMA, Chad Stahelski said if John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum was successful, he’d direct a fourth film. Thankfully, the sequel grossed over $327 million worldwide against a $75 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing entry in the series. While it wasn’t initially confirmed, Keanu Reeves announced he’d return after finishing his commitment to The Matrix Resurrections. Lionsgate officially announced plans for a 4th and 5th film in August 2020, the first scheduled for a 2022 release. The studio also decided to replace long-time writer Derek Kolstad with Shay Hatten and Predators screenwriter Michael Finch. Filming started in June 2021 and took place around France, Germany, New York, and Japan with a $100 million budget. While Lionsgate announced a Memorial Day 2022 release, the film was pushed back to avoid competition with Top Gun: Maverick. Following a London premiere, John Wick: Chapter 4 hit theaters in March 2023.
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Synopsis
After years of hiding, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is prepared to exact his revenge on The High Table. In response, a senior High Table member called the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) destroys the New York Continental. He also strips former manager Winston (Ian McShane) of his power and sends blind hitman Caine (Donnie Yen) after Wick. At the same time, someone known as the “Tracker” (Shamier Anderson) is keeping track of Wick and his bounty. Following an attack in Osaka, Wick learns of the Continental’s demise and reunites with Winston, who offers him a solution. Winston suggests Wick challenge Gramont to a duel, but he has to be associated with a family. Wick returns to his Ruska Roma family and challenges Gramont to a duel overseen by The Harbinger (Clancy Brown). Despite agreeing to the terms, Gramont will stop at nothing to prevent John Wick from showing up.
Review
Given how long we had to wait for this sequel, it’s incredible how great John Wick: Chapter 4 turned out. By the fourth entry in a franchise, it typically starts to lose some steam and fall into sequelitis. Thankfully, that’s not the case here, as Chad Stahelski and team managed to make an entry that exceeds the original. Like before, Keanu Reeves is a force to be reckoned with as the nearly indestructible John Wick. Though a man of few words, Reeves again expresses more through his actions than he could by dialogue. Bill Skarsgård is excellent as the Marquis, playing the best kind of villain, where you love to hate him. Donnie Yen is also fantastic as the blind hitman Caine, who’s more than a match for Wick. Interestingly, this is the second movie where Donnie Yen plays a skilled fighter who’s blind, the first being Rogue One.
Though his scenes are few, Clancy Brown brings a quiet intensity as the Harbinger that permeates throughout the movie. The always dependable Hiroyuki Sanada does a great job, and Scott Adkins is hilarious as an overweight crime boss. Singer/model Rina Sawayama is excellent, considering this is her feature film debut, and she shows great potential. Special mention goes to Shamier Anderson, who shares some great scenes with Reeves and does well in the fight scenes. Like the earlier films, the action sequences are well-shot, incredibly fluid, well-edited, and more exciting than the last. For example, there’s a shootout where it goes from ground level to a bird’s eye view, like a top-down shooter. My only real complaint is the runtime, which could’ve been trimmed slightly, but that’s it. Overall, John Wick: Chapter 4 will go down as one of the best movies of 2023.
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