John Wick: Chapter 4: Directed by Chad Stahelski
SYNOPSIS: With the price on his head ever increasing, John Wick uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.
The John Wick franchise is such an anomaly to me. A franchise that doesn’t fully live in reality, like a superhero movie, but is also all pretty much done practically like a Mission Impossible film. That is one of the reasons why I love the John Wick films so much. You can suspend just enough reality to kind of laugh at the ridiculousness but also marvel in the technical achievements. With that being said, I was very excited for what seemed to be the biggest installment of the franchise so far.
One of the more underrated things that people don’t usually talk about in these films is the really solid writing. The John Wick franchise has one of the most in depth and deeply rich mythologies and worlds that we’ve ever seen in action movies. Every film gets better in my opinion because we get deeper and deeper into this world. The battle with the High Table has finally come to a head and John now has to decide where this twisted web will finally end. The first three films were leading up to this excellent high point. The dialogue isn’t always the best, but the solid written foundation is the backbone of this franchise. If it wasn’t for that investment, we wouldn’t want to watch. The pacing here is also excellent. Although it has almost a three hour runtime, the film flies by and you never feel it. A lot of that can be attributed to the action.
We’re here to talk about the action though. This is why we go to watch movies like this. I’m going to be blunt here, this is one of if not the best action movies I’ve ever seen in my entire life. That might seem dramatic, but some of the things I watched I have never seen before on screen. Everything from the range, the choreography and the overall uniqueness was off the charts. You can tell the care that was involved when it came to the set pieces. Each sequence is a story in itself and leaves you involved from start to finish. A major shoutout to the dragon fire overhead sequence. If you know, you know.
FINAL: John Wick: Chapter 4 is an achievement in action and story overall. There are things that I have never seen before brought to screen and I couldn’t have helped but smile watching these crazy sequences. The story was intense and the world building was executed so well. The pacing is perfect and the finale is impactful. This franchise will continue to leave me in awe and this installment will go down in history as one of the best action movies to ever be on screen.
Point Breakdown:
15 for Writing: 14
15 for Performances: 14
10 for Entertainment: 10
10 for Direction: 10
10 for Emotions: 9
5 for Cinematography: 5
5 for Score: 5
5 for Pacing: 5
15 for Technical: 15
5 for Rewatchability: 5
5 for Automatic: 5
John Wick: Chapter 4: 97/100
Jack Lautaret is a Banana Meter approved film critic, Host of the Jack Lautaret YouTube Channel and writer for Music City Drive-In. He is a member of the Online Film and Television Association. Twitter: @JackLautaret
The Music City Drive-In 
Leave a Reply