I don’t like the trend of increasingly long movies, but I often give good grades to long movies. “John Wick: Chapter 4” is 2 hours and 49 minutes long, and it can be demonstrated that in some ways this makes for weaker storytelling than a tighter film.
For instance, bad guy Marquis (Bill Skarsgard) does something evil early on, sparking our desire for Wick (Keanu Reeves) to get revenge. So much time – and so many action sequences – go by before the inevitable final showdown that Marquis morphs from scary to ridiculous in the meantime.
On the other hand, how can I give a low grade to a luscious-looking film (Osaka and Paris get shown off here) that’s a candidate for the best actioner ever? You could glance away to grab a handful of popcorn and miss 17 practical stunts. It’s hard to choose a favorite sequence.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” (2023)
Director: Chad Stahelski
Writers: Shay Hatten, Michael Finch
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Bill Skarsgard, Donnie Yen
The latest gorgeous action sequences
First, there’s the rave fight. Wick and two sort-of-enemies/sort-of-friends (Donnie Yen’s blind fighter Caine and Shamier Anderson’s dog-loving Tracker) battle amusing gold-toothed German heavy Killa (Scott Adkins plus prosthetics). Oblivious dancers provide a striking backdrop. It’s similar to “Wick 1” and “Wick 2” sequences but more surreal.
Then there’s a brawl amid Paris traffic that reminds me of levels from 1990s “TMNT” Nintendo games, as cars zip from one side of the screen to the other, honking but not stopping. Then there’s a “Minority Report” riff where Wick does his thing of cutting a swath through enemies – but this time from an overhead angle, with the building’s roof cut away for viewers’ sake.
“Wick 4” doesn’t do anything new: It riffs on other action movies and takes its style from side-scrolling video games where baddies come at the hero a few at a time. The lead-in to the rave battle is a poker game in the tradition of “James Bond,” Wick proves he’s a “fellow ’chucker” like “TMNT’s” Michaelangelo, and a particular Western trope is laid on unapologetically thick.
But stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski again makes sure that “Wick 4” does these old things better than you’ll see in most action movies. Although it’s not ideal that Tracker is often called “Mr. Nobody,” since that’s also a “Fast & Furious” character, when “Wick” films dip into car action, they do it better than anything in the “F&Fs” – largely because they lean practical rather than CGI.
Another point of contrast: Wick’s car gets beat up (if assassins got $25 million for damaging Wick’s cars, rather than for killing him, they’d all be rich). And so does Wick himself, as he fends off what seems like every assassin on the globe. Although his protective suit coat saves him some pain, he’s in rough shape by the end, especially after “Wick 4” sets a cinematic record for most instances of people falling down stairs.
‘Wick’ saga still has energy
“Wick” creator Derek Kolstad wrote parts one and two and provided the story for three, but now he’s out of the game, handing the reins to Shay Hatten and Michael Finch. Their writing keeps the action tropes and the Wick-specific dark humor (including the notions that money can buy any assassination, and that “honor among thieves” has been codified), but lacks Kolstad’s efficiency.
The actors largely make up for it, particularly Yen and “Oh yeah I know that guy” Hiroyuki Sanada as two more of Wick’s old friends. (And both characters have daughters who could be intriguing ongoing characters.) Also, Clancy Brown’s stentorian tones lend automatic legitimacy to the suddenly introduced assassin-world rules that provide an endgame for Wick’s revenge quest against the High Table.
I’m slightly concerned, slightly curious to see if other directors can handle Wickian style as well as Stahelski. Veteran Len Wiseman will take the first crack at it with next year’s “Ballerina,” starring Ana de Armas, who has not been in a “Wick” film yet even though we’ve seen ballerina assassins in the margins.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is more thrilling than exhausting, but I do sense the fatigue in Reeves and his character. (Not that I blame him; it’d be crazy if he wasn’t tired.) But after four films of action excellence, I believe the spinoffs (also including the TV prequel “The Continental,” coming this fall) will build on the thrills.