Keanu Reeves Can Shoot A Bullet Right At Us & We Won’t Even Blame Him Because He Is That Brilliant

Xtreme Vogue Islamabad Desk: Sidra Yusuf

John Wick: Chapter 4 Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Shamier Anderson, and ensemble.

Director: Chad Stahelski.

What’s Good: Imagine two 30-minute-long action sequences but not dull for even a second: an insanely amazing Keanu Reeves and an equally fiery script that is chaotic but in control.

What’s Bad: If you don’t catch this one on the biggest screen possible.

Loo Break: Not at all. Maybe carry a bottle, or wear a diaper, or do any form of workout that teaches you to control your motions. Because this is chaos, you cannot miss a minute of it.

Watch or Not?: Book your tickets now because the High Table demands your presence.

Language: English.

Available On: In Theatres Near You!

Runtime: 171 Minutes.

User Rating:

John Wick, who is trying to run away from his violent life but is only getting trapped more and more, last killed the Elder and picked up a fight with the entire ecosystem. Now every assassin and tracker is on his hunt, and he is still hell-bent on killing everyone and then leading a life of normalcy.

Script Analysis

The first John Wick movie released almost a decade ago, in 2014. the franchise set up an entire culture of assassins for us. It is a system with its own set of rules, obedience, and discipline and is supremely possessive of their existence. It was a story that out and out dealt in the grey and existed in the dark underbelly that connected almost the entire world. With no law or governments involved, it cleverly built its own power and welcomed the audience to suspend their disbelief and believe this world can exist too.

Even with its most overtly exaggerated aspect, the John Wick Franchise never felt like it was doing too much. Like we believed a man has continued a war for a decade that started just because someone stole his car and killed his puppy, what more exaggeration are we talking about? To their credits, writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, who adapt the story from the characters created by Derek Kolstad, have managed to create the most Campy-themed movies around this man who kills over 100 men in every film but wants to be remembered as a ‘Loving Husband.’

Chapter 4 is like the final ‘Love You’ before the next era begins. While it is almost three hours long, the story is crisp and only branched out as needed. The writing takes its own time in setting up the world of the High Table and how they are directly behind Wick now. Every sequence is well thought of and is shaped in a way that concludes every single thing that has happened to Johnathan. His closest of friends, betrayal in the name of close ones, the life of Baba Yaga he has lived and wants to now leave behind, the fact that no one can kill him with his suit on. Still, as the blazer is taken off, it is not just a physical layer going off, but he is vulnerable in more ways than one.

Interestingly, the villain this time is a very young man who is just arrogant. Powerful metaphorically but not physically. But his purpose is not just to wipe-off John Wick, but the idea of John Wick that is setting an example for others to raise their voice. While there is ultimate chaos and a crazy amount of action, it is these moments that tell you that the makers are shaping a cathartic tale too. Wiping the idea of Wick is not just the villain’s purpose but even John’s. What differs is in what way they want to do it. Everyone keeps asking John about ‘where will all of this end,’ and while everyone knows the answer, no one speaks it out loud. On John Wick’s death! When a filmmaker manages to make the character think deeply with so much noise around, he has already won half the battle.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is the best film in the franchise so far for the very reason that it continues to keep its heart in the right place even when there is so much happening around. Every department has worked with love and to worship the idea of a assassin who dreams of a normal life and is ready to kill the world for it because he promises his dead wife and his dog. Also, there is enough of dog content this time!

Star Performance

Keanu Reeves is now synonymous with John Wick, and there is no going back. Every punch feels personal, and every emotion is heartfelt. In a critical moment, a character describes him as ‘a ghost in the search of a graveyard,’ Reeves makes sure you feel it in his performance. Even with the world against him, he never stops and assesses the risks of his movements because they don’t matter to him, and there is no one around him who would be worried.

Donnie Yen is a gift to this franchise and deserves a raise for just how bada** he is. The actor makes playing a blind assassin and killing men swiftly so easy that you would want everyone on this roaster to be blind and fight each other. He has his moments when he finds his redemption, and he does it. well.

Lauren Fishburne and Ian McShane take home the next big chunk of the pie because they bring most of the humour in the darkest situations. Bill Skarsgard plays the antagonist with all the conviction he has got. It takes a special bone to be a villain against Keanu Reeves and then be hated. He does it quite impressively.

Rina Sawayama as Akira is the most promising fresh face on the roaster, and she should definitely have a future in the franchise. Though I wish there was more of her in this one.

Direction, Music

Chad Stahelski should win all possible awards for just how brilliantly he choreographs and stages the multiple action sequences. There two 30-minute long, and there is not even a minute you are allowed to move your eyes away from the screen. The real finesse is in the fact that Chad gives every single character around Keanu their time to shine without eating out Wick’s spotlight. The fact that he doesn’t even say cut when Ian keeps walking in a long hall, or when there are just men running towards John, and makes that all look brilliant, is the specimen of his art.

DOP Dan Laustsen must have had sleepless nights thinking of capturing this world in his camera. A fight sequence is shot inside a multi-room apartment as John Wick runs around it, killing people. Dan uses the bird’s eye view and captures the entire scene from a top angle. What a breathtaking shot! Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard are brilliant with their music, and there is so much that they add to every single scene.

The Last Word

John Wick: Chapter 4 delivers much more than it promises, and Keanu Reeves ensures you don’t leave the hall with any complaints. Every punch kills, and you celebrate like Wick saved your life; that’s the power!