Movie Review: John Wick: Ch. 4

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Gabe Allegretto

John Wick: Chapter 4, released on March 24, has taken the action world by storm. During a time when many superhero movies leave much to be desired, this anti-hero film will leave your jaw dropped with its many exciting action sequences. If you have not seen the film yet, I recommend that you go watch it before reading the remainder of this article, as I will be reviewing it.

The movie begins almost exactly where we saw the last one take off, with John training in the “kingdom” of the Bowery king. It is inferred that he has been training for quite some time, and he’s now ready to take on the entirety of the high table. The whole premise of the movie centers around John gaining his long-awaited freedom, which can seem kind of redundant at times when you think about how his entire life is destroyed at this point.

The main villain of the film is this new member of the high table, the Marquis de Gramont, played by Bill Skarsgård. In an attempt to assassinate John Wick, he orders Caine, another new character, to take him out in order to earn freedom for both himself and his daughter. The twist to Caine is that he is blind and has to come up with inventive ways to shoot at his opponents. In addition to being an expert, blind marksman, Caine is also a remarkable swordsman.

The first encounter John Wick has with Caine takes place in Japan at one of their continental hotels. The hotel is under siege by the high table for offering refuge to John. During the violence, John escapes, but they introduce another new character, Mr. Nobody. Mr. Nobody is another extremely skilled marksman and is accompanied by a dog who helps him to take down his opponents.

The movie is extremely long and sees John traveling all over the world, but he ultimately ends up in Paris where he faces down the marquis. With freedom finally at hand, the marquis forces Caine to engage John in a western style shootout where they stand still and fire at each other until one person can no longer continue. However, the shootout eventually ends with the marquis trying to finish John off himself, only for his actions to backfire on him.

This is essentially where the movie ends, as John’s wounds are too severe and he inevitably dies. The movie was decent overall, but there where many points which just seemed tacky. For example, I personally have a major issue with Caine and the way he’s able to fight people. The beginning of the movie tries to offer a believable explanation as to how a blind guy can shoot at people, but after the first hour they have him shooting at people that are several meters away, effortlessly.

Senior and Cinemark employee Michael Kuzma also has the same plight, stating that it “doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”

All in all, this is a fun movie. However, Keanu Reeves’ age really starts to show in this film as he is noticeably slower than in the others. I would still highly recommend that fans of the series go and watch this movie, as it offers a satisfying ending to the franchise.