THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The action we witness and make in our lives will always get bigger the longer we live. And if you doubt that, look at John Wick: Chapter 4.
PLOT
The fourth entry in this extravagant action franchise follows the excommunicated assassin continuing to fight for his freedom. In his efforts to get just that, he’d make a big statement of determination when killing the newest Elder who sits above the Table (Georgie Georgiou). Because of refusing to kill him, New York Continental manager Winston is punished for assisting his survival. A Harbinger would arrive on behalf of the Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont to strip him of his duties. When meeting the Marquis, he would make an example of him by destroying the hotel and executing his concierge Charon (Lance Reddick). Wick continue taking cover by finding shelter in the Osaka Continental, managed by another old friend Shimazu Koji, whose daughter Akira is also concierge. A moment to recuperate abruptly ends when Marquis sends High Table assassins to investigate. Alongside the second in command Chidi (Marko Zaror) comes a blind assassin named Caine, another former friend to Wick who is forced to track him down for the sake of protecting his daughter Mia (Aimee Kwan) who he gave up his sight for, as an original way out of the High Table. When they arrive, Akira evacuates the hotel before Chidi declares deconsecration. This would lead to a melee John would fight his way out and besides Chidi, he would avoid the showdown of a bounty hunter dubbed Mr. Nobody who has his own dog, a Belgian Malinois, whereas the protagonist has a pitbull being watched over by the Bowery King. Mr. Nobody chooses to allow him to escape when he deems the bounty insufficient. In the process, Caine would kill Koji who would refuse to reveal where Wick is heading next and spare Akira. When Baba Yaga returns to New York, he meets with Winston to pay respects to Charon. There, Winston would suggest challenging the Marquis to a traditional duel to win back his freedom. The only way he can legally make the challenge is if another crime family backs him. So he would then travel to Berlin to reach out to the Ruska Roma crime syndicate to request his readmission. His adoptive sister Katia (Natalia Tena) agrees to do so with the exception of killing High Table member Killa Harkan, who killed her father. Wick would pull it off with the unexpected assist of Caine and Mr. Nobody who still want to kill him for themselves. With a regaining in his status, Winston would make the challenge on Wick’s behalf and make the stipulations as his second: If Wick wins, he earns his freedom and Winston is reinstated as NY Continental manager with the High Table’s funding to rebuild the hotel. Should he lose, Winston would also be killed as his second. When John meets the Marquis in Paris, they agree to the dueling parameters: pistols will be the weapon of choice and both will meet at Sacré-Cœur by sunrise. The Marquis would legally vote Caine to take his place in the duel and the Harbinger would warn John & Winston would be executed should either challenger fail to arrive in time. Before making his way to Sacré-Cœur at night, the Bowery King would arrive from NY to equip Baba Yaga with a ballistic suit and a 9mm Pit Viper to defend himself for the remainder of the night. This would prove to be handy when the Marquis intends to prevent John from making it in time by placing a $26 million bounty on him. Mr. Nobody would negotiate it to $40 million, but would end up sparing his target when he protects his dog from Chidi. Out of respect, he and Caine help Wick fight his way through Rue Foyatier to ensure he reaches the summit on time. When he does, the duel would begin. John & Caine would wound each other after two rounds of dueling and the third one would be halted when the protagonist collapses. The Marquis would try to steal the victory when declaring the coup de grâce, but that would backfire when John shoots him with his third bullet. He would’ve not realized until Winston pointed it out. With the Marquis slain, the Harbinger would announce John & Caine as free from the High Table and reinstates Winston. Sadly, John would appear to succumb to his wounds. As it would appear he would be buried next to his wife some time after the duel, the film would end in a shocking post credit scene where Akira strikes her vengeance in approaching Caine who was about to reunite with his daughter.
THOUGHTS
The success of this franchise in uncanny because no one would've guessed it to have happened until it did thanks to the first film working as well as it did. With this one being in the series for me to see in theaters, I am stunned once again with Chad Stahelski & David Leitch creating another wicked action packed experience. Just when you think you would identify Parabellum with each fight/chase sequences, this tops all of that. That pays off with excelling cinematography and editing by Dan Laustsen & Nathan Orloff, you just feel like you're there as it's happening. You get a handful of favorites like the desert chase, the Osaka Continental shootout or the or the Berlin nightclub brawl. None of that tops the whole mayhem that occurs in Paris. The way it tracks the circular chase to the overhead shot in the abandoned building and to the next tracking shot that occurs on the stairways of Rue Foyatier that had me gasping for air. Now that is the definition of breathtaking. You almost would think it wouldn't end until the duel finally happens. The sound effects are so well crafted, it's almost like you're feeling every punch/shot throughout. With all the incredible insanity we get to see, I'm still able to digest the theme of of how every choice will always make some kind of impact. The trick is to also ensure each choice gets to define you however you hope. In John Wick's case, he is fighting for his freedom because once he's left alone, he can be remembered not for the blood he shed but for the heart he had. Keanu Reeves gives another breathtaking take on this character and at this point perfects the strong will he was willing to die showing. As he eventually gets what he wants, he did his best to consider how it affected others, which would again how much of a heart he's had since he met his wife. He didn't take out Caine quickly because he knew he was fighting for something similar and he agreed to what Winston offered because he knew he didn't deserve the lengths of his punishment. And we all know he saved Mr. Nobody's dog because he knows what it's like to lose that special friend, the reason we've made it this far. With all the blood he lost and shed at the same time, apparently dying to be free, it's no secret to say it was all worth it in his point of view. My only takeaway on John's apparent death is that it doesn't feel permanent since a fifth film was announced to be in development at the time of the hype around Parabellum. When you're not thinking about that angle, you could agree his passing has an emotional depth because he got what he wanted in grand fashion. Whatever makes him come back again, it's quite the guarantee it will be epic to witness. While Wick is always going to be the star, we know he's not the only interesting character. Every supporting character, new and returning, stand out so significantly which make the lore feel more special from there. Ian McShane still spices it up as Winston because he demands respect when he knows he's earned it. Whether or not you've seen the Continental show on Peacock, you're aware of how much being a manager means to him. It was terrible for Charon to have died as a punishment towards him when all he did was act with honor. Lucky for him, he was able to convince John to do the duel because he knew he would overcome the odds. The cost for him to regain what he deserved was losing another friend. I was worried The Bowery King would be misplaced since Wick was going through so much there wouldn't be enough time to focus on him. Thankfully, it did feel like enough whenever Laurence Fishburne was onscreen. He keeps the ball rolling in being an eccentric figure who was on John's side for wanting to do their own things outside the Table. As an act of honor, he helped him out however he could, whether it was taking care of his dog or gearing up for the fight of his life. With him being apparently gone, there's no doubt he'll respect John's legacy by being a great guardian towards his pet. Transitioning to new characters, we gotta admit how crazy it is for Wick to make so much friends as he made enemies in the underground world of assassins. That luck was always put to good use since each person respected him so much they helped him no matter what. The only one to never need a marker to lend a hand was Koji. Hiroyuki Sanada made the best of it as Shimazu Koji for being one who had his own morals similar to what Wick had brought. And like any warrior, he put his loyalty first which can be looked at as good or bad for anyone. For Wick, it was good for him because he trusted him. But it would be bad for his daughter because that loyalty would cost him his life. We barely knew him compared to the protagonist yet we're bummed out when he bites the dust because he wasn't in the wrong compared to other assassins. With Rina Sawayama displaying Akira as a fierce yet elegant woman, there is no doubt she'll relish she has in store for her father's killer. Speaking of which, it's pretty dope Donnie Yen went from one blind badass to another with the role of Caine. What Caine does different in comparison to Chirrut from Rogue One is that he is fighting for the one thing he has left to live for. He found peace when he became a father and gave up his sight to ensure it stayed that way. But once Wick changed the course upon his return, the Marquis needed someone he identified as the best man possible to stop him. Even though he had his own stakes, he still respected Baba Yaga enough to give him a fair chance like he did for him, hence helping him make it to the duel in time. He got to achieve his peace, but it sadly didn't appear to have last too long for him either. Shamier Anderson shook things up as Mr. Nobody because he is an opportunist, an ideal motive that most assassins would rely on. He only gives his all when the job is good enough for him to act on, hence negotiating a high bounty, which is a smart tactic that expresses you'll never know one's capabilities until they show just that. Lucky for Wick, him being a dog person also helped him survive a little longer. Since this franchise is about a world of assassins, it makes sense for most of them to be villains who act out of selfishness. Scott Adkins was one who definitely struck a nerve in his transformative performance as the bigoted Killa who was willing to fight when it comes his way, despite his efforts to be sneaky. The true threat however is the one who took minimal action on the field, that was the Marquis. Bill Skarsgard gives another masterful villainous go for making the Marquis a cunning yet arrogant prick overall for believing his youth and power makes him better than everyone else. He puts doubts in Wick's name for reaching his goals, which is why he makes things hard for him at every turn. Seeing him try to pull the coup de grâce for himself after Caine did most of the work only proved how much of a coward he is. If he was a little more observant and didn't waste so much time, he would've had things his way. And those are the consequences of being overshadowed by your arrogance. The last character that comes to mind when it comes to making the lore feel grand is the Harbinger. Clancy Brown makes the role work in his given time for being the most stern of people within the whole series because he respects it more than anyone part of the Table and he proves it whenever he called out Marquis' ambition. He chose to do it because the next generation has to be in check to keep order intact and if that doesn't happen, it'll be harder to maintain order. With Vincent being slain by Wick, it's one less corrupt figure to worry about. There is no denying how awesome this movie is, but no matter how great it is, it never excuses the issues story wise you can pick up on. For starters, it’s totally on The Elder to not have armed security. Even if blades did wonders, there’s better protection when having a gun on you, especially when wanting to protect yourself against someone like Wick. And ain’t it a little weird for Akira to not tell Mr. Nobody where his room is after giving him a room key? I can’t help saying it because I doubt the room number is on the said key. I even think it’s stupid how the henchmen for the High Table don’t have bulletproof masks. Again, Wick is gonna go for the head half the time so this should’ve been a priority. This is worse than the other assassins failing to shoot him when he’s driving in circles, nor do they even have the common sense to look at their fucking surroundings before getting hit by other cars. It’s also pretty crazy Winston has taken so long to bring up single combat for John to be completely free. Had he brought it up sooner, John would’ve not had to lose a finger before dying. You want to talk about continuity errors, how about Caine still being able to play poker when he doesn’t even have braille on his cards? I know he’s a smart guy, but this is something I’m not sure actual blind people can figure out especially since Killa had no idea he’d show up. And the nightclub guests react so late to the action during Wick’s fight which is ridiculous. Another continuity error that didn’t make sense was the absence of a phone line when Marquis is talking to Nobody. There’s no point in having a rotary phone in the scene if you’re not gonna show off the appropriate phone line. I don’t care if you’re drunk or high, I’d run rather than stay at the club and wouldn’t take so long doing it. I also think it’s pretty fucked up neither Caine nor Wick go to a hospital to get their gunshots looked at. The Harbinger can totally give them medical services at command, so it’s ridiculous that he doesn’t. Ignore this, then you’ll still be in for one hell of a ride. In short, John Wick: Chapter 4 is a hellacious action movie by exceeding every great trait of the predecessors once more. If you’ve seen the past three and are ready for more, see this now.
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