John Wick is a franchise that came out of nowhere to be one of the absolute best in cinemas today. Sustaining consistent quality over three films, each with fairly different scale, Chad Stahelski and co. have created something special here that I rarely see people not enjoying. Now the fourth chapter in the franchise has arrived and it may be its greatest effort.
This follows Chapter 3 (obviously), as John Wick continues his fight and defense against the high table, who has tasked the Marquis, played by Bill Skarsgard, with having him killed. What unfolds is over two and a half hours of nearly non-stop action, delivering more brilliant set pieces and brutal kills than I can count on both hands.
It's hard to discuss this movie's strengths without mentioning its cast. Keanu Reeves is obviously the star, but he's one of just many noteworthy performances. Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne both reprise their roles and are great as always, and although he isn't in the film much it's great to see Lance Reddick, who also has a small tribute in the credits. Bill Skarsgard is excellent as he relishes in an over the top French accent that while somewhat goofy, perfectly fits the maximalist style of the franchise. With the action moving to Japan for a bit, Hiroyuki Sanada and Donnie Yen are brought into the fold, both of whom are absolutely terrific both in performance and action work. Canadian Shamier Anderson also offers a great new character, essentially a man trying to protect and kill John Wick as he tries to run up the bounty on him until the perfect moment. Not only is Anderson great, but his character has an amazing dog so he presents a double win. The cast of course has many more names but those are the highlights in my opinion.
Even more exciting than the great cast however, is the dazzling filmmaking that brings this story to life. The action is turned up to 11 constantly, with fight scenes that last for longer than seems possible. There are two sequences in particular that blew me away, one being a seemingly never ending Arc de Triomphe roundabout car chase/fight and another being a lengthy gunfight in a building that is mostly shot overhead. Even aside from the fighting though, this is a sonically perfect film and visually stunning. The lighting is magnificent and the set design, especially for one nightclub scene, is just absurd.
This is simply a movie that goes far above what it needs to. It could be an hour shorter and half as expensive and people would probably be satisfied, but the cast and crew pump everything up to the extremes and deliver a maximalist action movie that you just can't really compare to anything recent. I think the second film remains my personal favourite but this is magnificent.
Comments
Post a Comment