Time to turn tables or should I say- ‘High Table’!
Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4. Photograph: FlixPix/Alamy
Finally the wait is over. Four years after “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” Baba Yaga has returned to theaters. Director Chad Stahelski and writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch have distilled the mythology-heavy approach with the streamlined action of the first film, resulting in a movie of 169 mins runtime that stands among the best of the genre.
Chapter 4 share the protagonist’s inexhaustible vigour and invincibility. A lot of people might consider John Wick: Chapter 4 as the best JV movie to date because of incredible action, fantastic new cast members, and a superb performance from Keanu Reeves.
The Cast
Stahelski reteams with key crew, infusing new life to the franchise by bringing in new blood.
- Keanu Reeves as John Wick, a professional hitman and assassin who has gained a legendary reputation for his set of skills and is now hunted by the High Table.
- Donnie Yen as Caine, a blind High Table assassin and an old friend of John Wick.
- Bill Skarsgård as the Marquis Vincent de Gramont, a powerful member of the High Table whose position is challenged by John Wick
- Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King, a former underground crime boss who was left for dead by the High Table and is now sponsoring John Wick.
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu Koji, the manager of the Osaka Continental Hotel and an old friend of John Wick.
- Shamier Anderson as Mr. Nobody / The Tracker, a bounty hunter pursuing Wick.
- Lance Reddick as Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York.
- Rina Sawayama as Akira, Koji’s daughter and concierge of the Osaka Continental.
- Scott Adkins as Killa Harkan, the head of the German Table and an individual who has one thing in common with John Wick: they have the same enemy.
- Ian McShane as Winston Scott, the manager of the New York Continental Hotel and friend of John Wick.
(Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
(Photo by Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios)
The Plot
Well, I am not going to reveal much but the plot will keep you hooked to your seats. “John Wick: Chapter 4” opens with its title character (Reeves) on the run again as High Table is eager to wipe John Wick from the face of the earth. The main antagonist of the movie is the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), who wields the authority of the High Table like a dandy Darth Vader and keeps raising the bounty on Wick’s head. The opening scenes take Wick to Japan, where he seeks help from the head of the Osaka Continental, Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada), and runs afoul of a blind High Table assassin named Caine (the badass Donnie Yen). Shamier Anderson plays an assassin who seems to be waiting for the price on Wick’s head to hit the right level for him to get his payday. The plot here, despite the movie’s epic runtime (169 minutes), feels refreshing.
A car chase and shootout around the Arc de Triomphe is an adrenaline rush like no other. The mind-bogglingly complicated fight sequence in the last lap of the movie at a Parisian apartment, tops all the scenes and is a pure delight to eyes.
The Verdict
It seemed like an impossible task to deliver a memorable movie, but John Wick: Chapter 4 beats its predecessors by a huge margin. John Wick: Chapter 4 features franchise-best levels of action. You will be amazed to see the creative, ‘blink-n-miss’ action choreography and cinematography, perfectly pitched performances from an outstanding cast of allies and villains. The soundtrack by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard makes it more memorable. Slide Chapter 4 a gold coin across the table and enjoy staggering amounts of gun-fu, archery, full-on MMA brawls, and stylish swordfights.
I am always impressed by the movies where the protagonist does not have much dialogue and talks with her/his action like Ryan Gosling in Drive.
If you are someone new to John Wick universe, you can start the saga from here.
