Synopsis
With the price on his head ever increasing, legendary hit man John Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Japan to Berlin.
I remember talking about the original John Wick in the playground while I was still in secondary school. There was a solid week when the details of this little film were regurgitated again and again by every young man going, regardless of who had actually seen it or not. It always started the same way:
“Your man’s dog gets killed and he just kills everyone,” or, “It’s mad, his dog gets killed like” and, “They kill his dog” and so on and so on.
Every time it would be just about the dog and the killing. We were gripped by the simplicity I think, the accessibility, and this little film’s apparent desire to hook us with a clear and concise premise, to then deliver us to a roller-coaster of blood, gun-fu and vengeance. I think on some level we all loved it for that. Even as an adult I love its simplicity.
Now, nine years on and with an entire trilogy behind it we have John Wick: Chapter 4. How does this movie hold up when it’s forced to carry the baggage of three whole films and an extended universe behind it?
Pretty well.
John Wick: Chapter 4 follows the titular human-gun and “Yeaaaahh”-dispensary, John Wick, as he travels around the world violently killing anyone who tries to get between him and the ever-elusive exit from his life as an assassin that he is so desperately searching for. While the film takes a little bit to get going, having to get everyone up to speed on how much John has po’ed the mysterious leaders of his shadowy secret death-world, once the action begins it basically never stops.
The fight scenes are the stars of this picture, with each one carrying a unique gimmick that I believe ultimately carries the film. Though they don’t all make the grade, and some hits don’t land as they should (literally), you’ll probably find more effort and care in these gun battles and scrapes than in any other film out right now. You want to keep on watching if for nothing else, sheer curiosity, as you wonder in what ways the film will have John dispatch a group of thugs next. His opponents are strong too, most notably the amazingly choreographed blind assassin played by Donnie Yen. In this film, and in action itself, only headshots count; and ‘John Wick 4: Rollin’ on the Floor’ hits them more often than not.
I wish the dialogue had been as precise. You can tell every actor is bringing the best delivery they can but the talking bits in this one just do not do it for me. The words feel unimaginative, un-fun, a bit stiff and kind of bland. The words they have chosen are all function and no form, at best a bridge between fight scenes and at worst a meandering over-explanation of things we already know. Barring some brief bits of dialogue near the end of the film none of the conversations come off as really anything more than that. If that’s your bag then fair enough, but it did make the story a lot less engaging than it could have been.
Visually the movie can be very striking at times. Though dark for the most part, there is a great use of colour, and every scene feels distinct, resulting in some backgrounds and especially some dynamic camera work that will really keep your interest as you go. Nothing that blew me away but nothing that’ll turn you off either.
The music was also fine. Barring a few examples where they try something interesting with a licensed or out-there track, you’ll be in for mostly the same as the previous films, a load of bass and techno played behind a lot of shooting, quick breaths and pain noises.
The stunts are as good as we’ve come to expect too, though in a far better way than the music, with John and the many in receipt of his bullets all crashing and smashing and rolling and careening through every object in sight. Though questionable CG can take away from some of these moments I still found myself wincing in time with whatever bloody pulp was being whacked against whatever wall, car, or streetlight the film could put in front of me, even if it goes a bit tame on the blood.
Tonally things are a lot tamer too. John is no longer the avenger of lost puppies, and his rampage no longer carries the same harsh anti-hero bogeyman scent and I think that works to this film’s advantage. This John has been through the s**t, and he’s noticeably slower in every way. The film drags in places, but you’re almost tempted to forgive it, and I think that in large part comes down to the tone. We’re not on a vengeful roller coaster anymore, we’re on a difficult climb through the bulls**t of this assassin world. I wouldn’t call it an unenjoyable climb though; make of that what you will.
Verdict
In spite of its trappings as a sequel, John Wick: Chapter 4 provides the same simple, violent pleasures of its predecessors, though with a bit more clunkiness in places. Like an old assassin, this film is a bit too long in the tooth but it will get in and get out and get the job done for you, though perhaps not as cleanly as it once did.
Written by Conor Reid | BanterFlix Contributor