At last, we return to the Wickverse and, once again, our hero goes Wicksonian on all opposition. John Wick: Chapter 4 is a visual stunner with cinematography and production design so delicious it might as well be candy-coated. There is one sequence—an action set piece—that leaps into the territory of a single-player video game. We get an overhead view of an old Parisian building, so we can watch John Wick (Keanu Reeves) move from room to room blasting other assassins with fire and fury. It’s a fantastic piece of design that follows the franchise’s tradition of giving us new visual delights with every chapter.
As you know from the previous film, Jonathan has decided to take on The High Table, the clandestine cabal responsible for the world of crime that lurks beneath this universe. Old friends return to help him or to deter him, with Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Donnie Yen, and my beloved Sanada Hiroyuki repeatedly snatching the spotlight from each other. Legends.
The story is light but the action pops off at such high levels that, if assassin movies are your thing, you won’t mind at all. You’ll actually be air-fighting alongside the players. Rina Sawayama surprised me in a role that I want to see more of and Shamier Anderson comes in as the comic relief and a foil for John. And, of course, whenever you have a Skarsgård—this time Bill—you have a villain you can grin at. Ooh, and there’s a new doggo for us all to swoon over. Director Chad Stahelski continues to deliver what I want from these movies: A ballistic ballet; playing out within an ever-expanding world of folklore and stylized mayhem. Give me more.
