John Wick: Chapter 4

It's still mostly top-notch action, but the Wick theme is pretty much exhausted. The script, with dialogue written by Keanu Reeves, was probably about 2 A5 pages, I don’t think it was more than that, and when someone wasn't fighting someone, I was more likely to cover my ears. There is one brilliant action sequence (a bird's eye view of a shotgun rampage with fiery "Dragon Breath" ammunition), but that not enough to make the film memorable. The previous episode, which I thought was better, had a lot of jaw-dropping moments, like the knife fight, the action inferno with the dogs or the horse kicks, but the only thing that really stands out here is the short scene with the shotgun and then the kinetic sequence at the Arc de Triomphe. Otherwise, it's mostly about headshots, and there are so many of them and with such frequency that by the final lengthy scene on the "endless" stairs I was already numb and didn't care. Moreover, how am I supposed to worry about John Wick, when he survives with a mere shake stuff that would have killed even the T-1000 in Terminator 2? It wasn't joy, as in previous episodes, but rather fatigue towards the end. Please, no more episodes. (2023-03-27)

As a full-fledged film with a meaningful and meaty plot, it's pretty lame, but as an fully devoted fanservice full of fantastic action sequences and eye candy gadgets, it delivers exactly what die-hard fans expect. Whether it's a passage from Japan, Berlin or Paris, all is world-class level, with amazing production design, lightning and, of course, the stunt work and the choreography of the fights. A superb Scott Adkins, a charismatic Donnie Yen and of course Reeves, who doesn't say much, but fights with all his heart. (2023-04-29)

The visuals are shamelessly lavish and the action sequences are impressive, but unfortunately, the film is very poor when it comes to acting and conversational scenes. At times I found it almost a little funny in terms of what the protagonist survives, and the indestructibility of the blind anti-hero was glaring – I just didn't really believe it. So I have a number of problems with this film, for example, I'm still not entirely comfortable with the fact that it pretends to be groundbreaking cinema when it's basically an action B-movie, and the world isn't built in a completely bulletproof way – I wonder, for example, how the hero apparently moves around the world more or less seamlessly when he manages to change so many destinations. But can I give it three stars when I gave the same rating to much worse action flicks from Netflix? No, I can’t. (2023-03-29)

Despite a bit of recycling, Chapter 4 is still an entertaining action blockbuster without a single dull moment in its nearly three-hour runtime. And it has the best ending of all the films in the franchise. Bill Skarsgård is an exemplary bourgeois bad guy and Donnie Yen plays the franchise’s first supporting character who is a match for Wick and is more than just a one-dimensional villain. The overhead shots in the rooms are fantastic, but I wouldn’t have borrowed the wrong-way ride on the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris from Mission: Impossible – Fallout, because this equally highly rated franchise has no need for that. The higher degree of detached humor (radio hits from the Eiffel Tower, the long fall down the stairs) together with the outsized nature of everything was more than pleasing. Of course, the production design is again outstanding. I hope we will see the young Japanese actress Rina Sawayama in the fifth John Wick. (2023-04-03)

The best action franchise ever, now it is clear. But the fourth entry is three hours long? Of course, every action scene lasts like thirty minutes, and there are plenty of them. I've never really seen anything like it, let alone in the cinema, and I don't think I ever will again, unless they make Chapter 5. Chad Stahelski uses everything he has taught himself and John Wick in previous episodes, putting new obstacles in his path and forcing him to find new solutions. But most important of all, the story that connects the horribly grotesque slaughter is not stupid. The opening reference to Lawrence of Arabia is more of a joke, but after a while we get to the "Leone-like" clockwork and a sense that although the bad guys will die by the hundreds again, it will end up in a one-on-one duel like in a western. John Wick works his way up to it in a Bond-like globetrotting way, and in the interesting company of assassins who, though at his throat, are so well written and motivated that you actually root for them too. The story also puts a lot of emphasis on different forms of friendship, and I like that. If this film is the end of Wick's journey, he couldn't have asked for a better ending. (2023-04-09)