‘Friendship means little when it’s convenient...’
Along with Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible franchise, Keanu Reeves as John Wick is currently flying the flag for mainstream action cinema. It is telling that it is two old hands that are carrying the genre in the absence of anyone younger with the skill and charisma needed to front a long-running action franchise. As the John Wick behemoth moves into its fourth chapter, it shows absolutely no signs of slowing down…
John Wick (Reeves) is back, baby. His suits are sharper than ever, his punches more powerful and the steely gaze behind his eyes at fever pitch. Having isolated himself from pretty much everyone (even his alliance with his old friend, Winston (Ian McShane), is in doubt), Wick must now go it alone against the great might of the mysterious organisation, the High Table. Laurence Fishburne also returns as the Bowery King, and new additions Donnie Yen and Bill Skarsgård, as a blind assassin and powerful High Table member respectively, help to keeps things fresh.
But, what about the action? In Chapter Four, Wick has a gunfight in an ancient Parisian cathedral. There is a long sequence that takes place in the midst of the chaotic roundabout that circles the Arc de Triomphe. There is an old-fashioned duel, for chrissakes. It’s a film that is full of melodrama and old grudges and people being forced out of retirement. It has a huge cast full of actors who all fully get what this thing is. Long time franchise director Chad Stahelski once again strikes a perfect tonal balance between high drama, overblown silliness, and other moments that are so tender, so beautiful, that you begin to wonder if this thing was ghost directed by Wong Kar Wai.
John Wick: Chapter Four might just be the best film in what is one of the most consistent franchises of the modern era – a fantastic sequel.
