It’s hard to believe that, at one point, 2014’s John Wick was practically considered dead on arrival. A combination of unproven directors (eventual franchise mainstay Chad Stahelski and uncredited “co-director” David Leitch), a screenwriter with only a duo of barely-registered titles under him (Derek Kolstad), and a lead actor with a slew of underperforming box office runs to his name at the time resulted in the film being essentially dismissed by studio executives and set for a straight-to-DVD existence.
Thankfully, Lionsgate Films (and actress Eva Longoria, who ended up funding some of the film’s production herself) saw the light, and only two months later the film was released in all its slickly executed glory. Now considered a classic of the genre, John Wick‘s success not only established both Stahelski and Leitch as competent action directors and served as a reminder of Reeves’ star quality, but acted as almost a blueprint of action films to follow in the decade since.
Now three sequels deep, John Wick: Chapter 4 continues the intricate world building that has grown with detail and care over the previous films, whilst similarly remaining on brand that despite nearly 10 years passing in release, Chapter 4 is very much happening within the tightened time frame put forth through both Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which saw each film pick up the story only seconds after each subsequent outing.
Admittedly a bit more time has passed here – enough that the wounds from his should’ve-been-fatal shooting-and-fall from the roof of The Continental have healed – but that hasn’t stopped the brutal heads of the underworlds from wanting his own. Wisely though, the Shay Hatten/Michael Finch-penned script (the first of the series to not be written by creator Kolstad) taps into the seeming immortal mentality of Wick himself by allowing this unspecified passing of time to serve as a type of re-energising for the character. Where he was retired (and slightly rusty) in John Wick and copped injury upon injury throughout both Chapters 2 and 3, Chapter 4 sees him a (re)trained killer. If you thought he was back before, you can guarantee he’s definitely in form here.
As well as gearing up to return to the fray, Wick’s reset of sorts allows the film to let him momentarily rest as it introduces a wealth of new players, setting up their own agendas and respective relationships with John himself; there are occasional moments Chapter 4 even feels as if it’s put its titular character on the backfoot, but such is the strength of the film’s ensemble and world-building mentality that this never feels like a loss. Between a wild appearance from Scott Adkins as a German Table head known as Killa, Donnie Yen as a blind assassin drafted to execute Wick, Shamier Anderson as a bounty hunter similarly acquired to take out Wick, but practically helps keep him alive so the bounty rises through every other hitman’s failure, and Hiroyuki Sanada and Rina Sawayama as a father/daughter duo overseeing the Osaka branch of the Continental Hotel, it’s hard to imagine Hatten and Finch’s script managing space to let Bill Skarsgård run deliciously free as another High Table higher-up who vows to take down Wick when his position of power is challenged. And yet, there is, and they do.
Now, if all of those words about High Tables and what not didn’t make a lick of sense, or just why John Wick is such a person of interest, then Chapter 4 is not at all a film you should be starting your journey on. That being said, I can’t stress enough how relentlessly entertaining this film is and, by extension, the entire franchise, which should be binged in its entirety as immediately as possible, because you’re really going to want to experience the exceptional action on hand here, with an Osaka-set sequence, a set-piece atop (and down) a flight of stairs (you’ll see), and what can only really be described as an almost human adaptation of the game Frogger played out in front of the Arc de Triomphe serving as just a few of the film’s insane reaches; the latter particularly jaw-dropping in its execution, furthering Stahelski’s elegance in how he approaches the high-art temperament of visceral action.
At 169 minutes it’s easy for audiences to balk at such a running time here (the “you sat through Avatar” and “you binge entire shows in one seating” arguments will be saved, however), but it’s really quite astonishing how neat and precise so much of Chapter 4 is. Although the film continent-hops in a similar manner to Parabellum, its pacing feels more deliberate than its predecessor. As well, as much as the world-building of the High Table, the Continental, and the continued mythos of Wick’s history continues to be explored here, there’s something more cohesive about how Stahelski has packaged the narrative. Given the orgasmic nature of each action outlay, it’s clear the stuntman-turned-director is aware of what a John Wick audience wants and, so, delivers with glee.
A series that has continually defied expectation since its humble (in comparison) beginning, John Wick: Chapter 4 somehow retains the sense of basicness that led the original to such prominence, whilst layering itself with the operatic expansion of its near-video game-like ultimation. Potentially the final combative hand of Mr. Wick himself, this chapter certainly allows the character to go out in suited style.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
John Wick: Chapter 4 is now screening in Australian theatres.
