Director
Chad Stahelski
(JOHN WICK franchise)

Starring
Keanu Reeves, Bill Skarsgård and Ian McShane


One thing is for certain with this latest installment in the John Wick franchise, nothing was left on the cutting room floor. With a run time of nearly 3 hours, director Chad Stahelski has put it all on show in what could be the John Wick swan song.

In John Wick: Chapter 4 Keanu Reeves is back at his brooding best, slaughtering assassins around the globe, albeit sauntering around with the mobility of Robert DeNiro in The Irishman. This time the bounty has been placed on his head by newcomer to the franchise, the ‘Marquis’ (played by Bill Skarsgård with a cartoonishly bad French accent). The stakes are high, the action is jam packed and the film isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself. Everyone familiar to the franchise knows exactly what to expect, and it’s very much the same deal this time around, however it’s probably pushing the friendship a little too far with the run time. On the plus side, it’s the kind of movie where you can nick off to the toilet and come back to the exact same fight sequence (theory tested to success courtesy of too much cinema soft drink).

Aussie audiences will also appreciate a couple of nods to our very own Ned Kelly…yes I do go full bogan and get excited any time there’s a reference to something uniquely Australian in any big Hollywood production. Ian McShane’s Winston does feature a bit more prominently in this instalment which is a treat, and the additions of Hiroyuki Sanada (Mortal Kombat, Bullet Train) and Donnie Yen (IP Man) add some richness to the characters involved. Yen in particular as a blind assassin tasked to take down Wick is particularly superb (can I smell a spin-off?).

The film definitely has its tongue firmly in cheek with some of the fight scenes, particularly a never ending stair fall that’s more reminiscent of something you’d see in the Naked Gun trilogy, or the laughably enjoyable Sumo’s with bulletproof kimono sleeves.  
The comedic edge isn’t a bad thing, it’s just more noticeable this time around. Is this the best John Wick installment? No, but it’s mindless enjoyment that isn’t going to leave you disappointed. And let’s face it, sometimes all we need is 3 hours of Keanu Reeves f**king some dudes up…am I right?!

John Wick: Chapter 4 is in cinemas now.