John Wick: Chapter 4 — The Best Action Movie You’ll Ever Watch
A beautiful blend of brutality and aesthetics in relentless violence
I ended up delaying the booking of the tickets for this movie by two days, due to uncertainty in our plans for the weekend. Due to this, my wife and I ended up sitting on the third row from the front instead of the third row from behind. My regret was somewhat reduced by seeing a group of young boys and girls sitting in the second row from the front. My wife told me that it was fine and that we should focus on enjoying the movie.
Having enjoyed the third installment of this franchise on the big screen, I had high hopes, and I began judging the movie from the first scene itself. The first scene felt meh, and the second scene felt like something was happening and the audience was getting prepped up for what was to come. It was after a few scenes when the movie took us to the Osaka Continental in Japan that the real fun began. Within 15 minutes, we got what we had bought the ticket in the third row for — John Wick-style non-stop carnage.
The movie is structured very well, delivering high-octane action scenes with some breather for the audience in between each stylized action scene. And that break in between takes the plot forward and gives the audience enough rest to be prepared for the next big action experience. The beautiful blend of colors, locations and background music enhances the experience further.
The trailer of John Wick 4 wasn’t anything more impressive than what we had seen in the previous three installments. It had similar look and feel. But I got excited because of Donnie Yen joining the John Wick universe. I was surprised that even my wife who enjoys action movies as much as I do didn’t know about Donnie Yen. I have been impressed by him since his Ip Man first movie. He is a good martial artist and has done some very good martial arts actions in Hollywood movies but sadly hasn’t become as popular as he should have been. He should have been what Jackie Chan was at the peak of his career.
I was impressed by the other supporting characters also that they introduced this time, and they seemed more memorable. While I consider Donnie Yen as the show stealer in this movie, I also liked Nobody and Akira and would like to see them also in any potential sequel or a spin-off.
People hooted and cheered when John Wick finally wins in the end. Till then everybody was glued to their seats and their eyes and ears glued to the big screen extravaganza. I felt exhausted the way John must have felt at the end of the movie. Watching him fight hundreds of assassins day and night was tiring but when he is finally free (obviously), it felt good, like one feels after a long roller-coaster ride.
Two things I find very challenging in my life are driving in high-speed traffic, and climbing a long flight of stairs. John Wick in this movie does both while shooting countless assassins. The only two other movies in recent memory that gave me such an edge-of-seat experience were Top Gun Maverick and RRR. Such thrilling cinematic experiences have been a great way to try and get back to the old normal in the post-pandemic world.
John Wick 4 is a wonderful way to conclude this action franchise that revived the action genre in the most thrilling way I could ever imagine. After watching movie franchises such as The Matrix, Mission Impossible, and Fast & Furious, one wonders whether we have reached the limit of what action movies could offer. The John Wick franchise is a pleasant and thrilling surprise in this genre that proves that something better or different can always be done. It is also a reminder that when one creates something genuine and sticks true to one’s conviction instead of pandering to certain social norms that often stifle creativity, one can end up creating something mind-blowing.
I highly recommend watching John Wick 4 at the nearest IMAX screen available to you. The action genre will never be the same after this movie. We plan to watch it again, maybe the coming weekend, and this time I will make sure I book the seat in the third row from the top.
