John Wick 4

The “John Wick” franchise has evolved from a small-scale tale of revenge for the killing of a wife and a dog, to a globetrotting epic that spans continents, ...

The answer is surprisingly meditative and poignant, one that makes this the most emotionally resonant movie of the franchise. Indeed, the best way to describe “John Wick: Chapter 4” is that it often feels like watching “Mad Max: Fury Road” and marveling at how they pulled that movie off without killing half the crew. It never drags, but feels tightly focused, and manages to develop even the new supporting cast, like Rina Sawayama’s assassin Akira — a standout — or Scott Adkins having the time of his life as a German assassin covered in heavy prosthetics. While the film goes bigger in scope, it also manages to stay fairly grounded in the idea of relationships, focusing on John Wick and his allies and friends, such as Winston — who take on a larger role this time around — or Wick’s former friend, Caine. At this point, this is no longer about the killing of his wife and dog, it’s about burning down a system that always resented Wick for abandoning it. Nobody, a tracker who knows exactly where John Wick will be next but waits patiently until his bounty is large enough to be worth it to him, and who is always accompanied by a faithful (and scene-stealer) German Shepherd.

First things first, Chad Stahelski's “John Wick: Chapter 4” is too damn long. It's akin to the first three films on steroids. There is no reason for it to ...

Kudos to cinematographer Dan Laustsen for bringing the cinematic out of this chaos, his neon-lit lenses are effervescently ingrained in every frame. He has the charisma and likability to pull off his conflicted antagonist. There’s an inventive overhead shot of Wick booming the baddies with what can only be described as a fire-bred shotgun. Nobody (Shamier Anderson), a tracker following Wick’s bounties head until the price is high enough to kill him. What should be said is that Keanu Reeves (as playful as ever) is back, playing a Wick full of wrath who wants to destroy the system that cuddled him for years. There is no reason for it to be nearly 3 hours, especially since the plot is pretty thin and the characters underdeveloped.

“The film almost exists in its own universe, separate from the breathless and relentless trilogy of the first three films, and able to stand alone as a kind of ...

[John Wick: Chapter 4](https://movieweb.com/movie/john-wick-4/) are now in – and it continues to look like the hitman’s decision to come back again was well worth it. It’s like Sergio Leone crossed with John Woo as seen in Times Square.” As Ian Sandwell of Digital Spy puts it... “John Wick: Chapter 4 is an epic in every sense of the word: epic in length, epic in scale and epic in thrills. Finally, IGN’s Tom Jorgensen gives John Wick: Chapter 4 a perfect score of 10/10 and heaps praise on Keanu Reeves and the incredible action on display. [who praises John Wick: Chapter 4 for reflecting “all that is exciting, gripping, and joyous”](https://movieweb.com/john-wick-4-review/) about the action genre, and felt that the sequel acts as the perfect epilogue.

Keanu Reeves will stun audiences with the chaotic action scenes, but "John Wick: Chapter 4" needs a much tighter script and a shorter runtime.

Underwhelming big bad aside, the main problem with "Chapter 4" is its runtime. Meanwhile, the Tracker wants to keep Wick alive as long as possible to up the price on his head so he can kill him himself. However, it's criminal that Sawayama and Sanada only get the spotlight for such a brief moment because it would've been great to see them have more prominent roles in the story. And he does so with slick visuals and unique camera shots that make these fight scenes pop right off of the screen — like one sequence involving a dragon's breath shotgun that has to be seen to be believed. These two hitmen just about make up for Sawayama and Sanada's glaring omission after the opening act. He also has to contend with the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), who wants to take New York for himself.

Early reviews for John Wick: Chapter 4 praise the latest addition to the franchise as it provides some of the best action sequences yet.

[Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas](https://screenrant.com/john-wick-ballerina-movie-ana-de-armas-action/), will be a female-led addition to the franchise that follows an orphaned ballerina assassin who seeks revenge on those who killed her parents. John Wick: Chapter 4 will also be setting up future installments and spinoffs for the franchise. [John Wick: Chapter 4 ](https://screenrant.com/tag/john-wick-4/)have started to be released ahead of the film's theatrical release. Even after playing the role for so long, Reeves still have a clear investment in the franchise that comes off in his performance. There are also concerns at the runtime of 169 minutes, but it seems it flies by as John takes down his enemies without so much as stopping to rest. [Keanu Reeves gives an all-out performance as John Wick](https://screenrant.com/john-wick-keanu-reeves-most-difficult-scenes/). But if you love kinetic action set in gorgeous locales, steeped in a heightened reality that borders on the absurd, there’s no one in Hollywood doing it better than Reeves and Stahelski. The most faithful faction of the Wick fandom will undoubtedly be pleased to see their belief that you can’t have too much of a good thing put into practice. John Wick: Chapter 4 might be a little long, but when it is fun, there are few films that can compete with its magnetism. Fortunately, more turns out to be just about right in this case, with the film offering up such an onslaught of brutal, breakneck action that it’s easy to forgive its less compelling narrative excesses. John Wick: Chapter 4 borders on being too much of a good thing—both in the sense that it’s the fourth installment of a series that could have easily ended after its first, and with regards to its gargantuan 169-minute runtime. Chapter 4 was initially scheduled to be released in May 2021 but COVID restrictions and scheduling conflicts with Keanu Reeves resulted in a postponed release date.

Chad Stahelski talks about the John Wick films, Oscar stunt snubs and why firearms have no place on a Hollywood set.

We want the viewers to know we’re having a laugh. But in the past 10 years, they’ve come out with electronic guns, plug guns where it is impossible for anything to come out of the barrel and total CG. It comes down to the fact that it would cost certain people a great deal of money to switch over. We had to go so overboard, so extreme to push it to let you know that it was absolutely symbolic. A blank is a bullet without the projectile, but they couldn’t put you and me in the same shot, 5 feet apart, and one of us pull the trigger. Today.” And I swear to you, that afternoon I get a knock on the door, and it’s Halle Berry. We actually put a line in the new movie: “How you do anything is how you do everything.” I’m sure they say it a little bit more eloquently, but that is a Wachowski mantra. She didn’t miss a beat and said, “I’m just coming to see you because I’m going to be in your next movie.” I’m like, “Are you?” Straight face, she says, “Yes, and I’m going to train my ass off.” Keanu and I will take the long trip to Tokyo, we’ll sit in the Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar and go, “What do you think?” We’ll have a couple 20-year-old whiskies and write some ideas on napkins. Everyone’s in the dark. There have been a few that have come out, and I’ve been surprised to see I’m attached to direct them. Isn’t this the weirdest thing?” We actually made her a bunch of money, which is awesome, so she felt like she should take us to lunch.

Unless something "kooky" happens after the release of 'Chapter 4,' the director of the "John Wick" franchise isn't rushing to do a 5th film.

Then you have “The Continental,” which is a TV spinoff series that is expected to be released sometime later this year. There’s “Ballerina,” which is the first spinoff film and is in the middle of production now. And if that’s the case, you better believe Lionsgate is going to want to rush out a “John Wick 5.” However, that doesn’t seem to be the plan for director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves. Thankfully, for the studio, even if there is another large gap between “John Wick” films, there’s still plenty of ‘Wick’ content that should be released over the next couple of years. That was followed by “John Wick: Chapter 2” in 2017, which earned almost $172 million worldwide. The original “John Wick” was released in 2014 and did $86 million worldwide.

When John Wick: Chapter 4 comes out on March 23, you might want to savor it. Stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski says he and star Keanu Reeves are “done ...

Keanu and I will take the long trip to Tokyo, we’ll sit in the Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar and go, “What do you think?” We’ll have a couple 20-year-old whiskies and write some ideas on napkins. Nice work if you can get it! If those ideas stick, maybe we’ll make a movie.” [John Wick: Chapter 4](https://gizmodo.com/john-wick-chapter-4-trailer-3-keanu-reeves-donnie-yen-1850118870) comes out on March 23, you might want to savor it. If it’s the same this time, we’ll do a Japanese tour and release the movie in September. If everyone loves [Chapter 4] and it goes kooky, then we’ll take a quiet minute.

What started as a mid-budget action film about an assassin avenging his slain puppy has become one of the most outstanding movie series ever made, continuing to ...

The movie also gives a lot of time to The Tracker (Shamier Anderson), a new character who adds very little to the story, as his purpose in the plot is simply to be another assassin in pursuit of Wick. The villains Wick faces here are some of the strongest in the series. Like its predecessors, this film expands the world of the John Wick universe. There’s a ticking clock and a conveyor belt of assassins for Wick to punch, kick, and shoot through. This opportunity exists due to the decision to move much of this film outside New York City. What started as a mid-budget action film about an assassin avenging his slain puppy has become one of the most outstanding movie series ever made, continuing to this day with John Wick: Chapter 4.

The rules and consequences the John Wick universe has taken such care to establish provide its fourth chapter a rock-solid structure that allows for director ...

Stahelski uses Shimazu’s relationship with his daughter Akira (Rina Samayawa) to underline what morality looks like in a world full of killers, and Sanada is just as impressive in their tender father-daughter moments as he is with a blade in hand. Similarly, the droll introduction of homemade incendiary rounds is established in a throwaway line of dialogue… Chapter 3 gave us a taste of what happens when a Continental manager crosses the Table, but as Winston’s counterpart in cool, Hiroyuki Sanada’s Koji Shimazu faces their full wrath with unwavering conviction. And it is the best John Wick movie. In an age of increased grumbling about films with two-plus-hour runtimes, Chapter 4’s roaring pace serves as a counter argument that proclaims movies should be as long as they need to be. The pure thrill of seeing John Wick’s continuing battle to reclaim his soul work so well is doubly gratifying when you consider it as the labor of love it clearly is for Reeves. John Wick may be the namesake of the franchise, but his journey has increasingly emphasized the importance of social contracts and shared history. Of all the excellent new additions to the cast, Donnie Yen’s Caine stands apart. In contrast to Chapter 2’s Santino D’Antonio, whose primary leverage over John was personal (an unpaid blood debt), the sadist Marquis wields the authority of the High Table like a dandy Darth Vader, and the cruelties in which he indulges go a long way towards making him an ideal foil to John and his cohorts. It is the most John Wick movie. The raw-nerved rage of the freshly widowed Wick that wowed in the original movie has progressed into something even more deadly: resolve and focus. It is the longest John Wick movie.

John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski addresses the status of the previously-planned fifth film: "Keanu and I are done for the moment."

In his [official review of the film](https://www.cbr.com/review-john-wick-chapter-4/), CBR's own Brandon Zachary wrote, "Between the boisterous side characters, a ridiculous Bond-villain role for Scott Adkins, and a willingness to use slapstick in the middle of action beats, John Wick: Chapter 4 is maybe the funniest entry in the series. Stahelski returned to helm John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, which followed suit in 2017 and 2019, respectively. [John Wick: Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 didn't shoot back-to-back](https://www.cbr.com/john-wick-4-5-not-shooting-same-time/) as originally planned. The film was in post-production as of last month, though still currently lacks a release date. If it's the same this time, we'll do a Japanese tour and release the movie in September. "In our minds, Keanu and I are done for the moment.

Keanu Reeves appeared at the premiere of “John Wick: Chapter 4” at South by Southwest, answering spoiler-filled questions about the final film in the series ...

[Like any action star worth his salt](https://www.vulture.com/2019/06/keanu-reeves-why-we-cant-stop-watching.html), [Keanu Reeves](https://www.vulture.com/article/best-keanu-reeves-movies-ranked.html) can duck, roll, and dive his way away from trouble. (And sorry to report: [He’s taken](https://www.vulture.com/2019/11/keanu-reeves-out-with-rumored-girlfriend-alexandra-grant.html).) He didn’t dodge details of the fourth film during the chat, with Variety redacting his favorite part of the movie — which, start speculating, did elicit awws from the audience. Early into a rowdy post-screening Q&A, Reeves reportedly got his first taste of danger: a fan shouting, “I’ll marry you!” Reeves responded, “Yeah, be careful what you wish for,” [per Variety](https://variety.com/2023/film/news/keanu-reeves-john-wick-4-sxsw-1235553261/).

The Paramount crowd roared, hundreds springing to their feet as Keanu Reeves stepped on stage to introduce 'John Wick 4' for a secret SXSW screening.

Along with allies old (Laurence Fishburne's Bowery King and Ian McShane's Winston) and new (pop singer Rina Sawayama's Akira, the deadly daughter of an old friend), Wick sets his sight on a final showdown for freedom. ["John Wick" saga](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2023/01/04/must-see-new-movies-2023/10941512002/) will be delighted (though the almost-three-hour runtime is a lot). Stahelski's film moves as quick as a killer's blade, and the extended fight sequences are as balletic and bloody as fans have come to expect. "Chapter 4" finds excommunicated hitman Wick (Reeves) in a familiar state: dodging bounties on his head. Wick, a man of few words, dressed impeccably as always, travels from Japan to New York to Germany to France, dropping bodies along the way in typically stylized fashion. Fest-goers queued up around the block and back again for a chance to enter the Paramount Theatre and witness the North American premiere of the action franchise's latest installment.

Keanu Reeves appeared at the SXSW premiere of John Wick 4, which included a brief Q& A session in which the actor answered some burning questions.

So I think we have to wait and see how the audience responds to it. "You have to see how the audience responds to what we did. Spin-off movie Ballerina and TV event series The Continental are both coming in the near future, but John Wick 5 was originally meant to be filmed back to back with John Wick 4 until those plans were changed. Where the John Wick franchise goes from here is still a little up in the air. [Keanu Reeves](https://movieweb.com/person/keanu-reeves/) is one of that exclusive groups of actors who don’t seem to age in the same way as everyone else. However, in the main, Reeves is still someone who can defy the aging process in a way that many others can only wish for.