He is a man of Focus. Commitment. Sheer Will. And he's back to finish the fight with the High Table at all costs.
It's bee nearly a decade since Keanu Reeves literally revived his career by playing the assassin and hitman known as "John Wick" - with the eponymous first film directed by his longtime collaborator and stuntman Chad Stahelski bowing into theaters in 2014 and telling the story of "Baba Yaga" as he seeks revenge on those that stole his car and killed his dog after the untimely passing of his wife Helen. The action flick proved to be a major hit. - so it spawned two more sequels with "John Wick: Chapter 2" in 2017 and "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" in 2019, which expanded John's world even further as we got to know more about the criminal underworld he lived in as he faced more obstacles to try and get out of the assassin life he reluctantly walked back into.
Now after enduring a global pandemic and delays brought about by it, John Wick: Chapter 4 is now here to bring you even more gratuitous violence, action sequences, and grit that only Keanu and his team can deliver. As the longest installment in the franchise, Chapter 4 clocks in at a whopping 2 Hours and 50 Minutes - which it deservingly gets thanks to all the story threads and stunt work applied for what is undoubtedly Mr. Wick's finest moment in cinema yet.
Thanks to Viewer's Choice Philippines and SM Cinema, I was invited to the screening of John Wick: Chapter 4 with expectations high and excitement up in the air. I dressed up alongside my friends as Caine - the blind hitman assassin and new character in the film that's played by the legendary Hong Kong martial artist and actor Donnie Yen. His role as John's old friend turned adversary is a welcomed one - and this sequel is packed with other big stars and names from Hollywood that just adds to the spectacle of this pretty awesome movie.
Here's my review for John Wick: Chapter 4. Spoiler Warning naturally for anyone that wants to see it themselves!
JOHN WICK 4 Trailer
Picking up some time after the events of Chapter 3 - Parabellum, John Wick is now working with the Bowery King - setting himself up for his revenge against the High Table and doing whatever it takes to earn his freedom once and for all. Unfortunately John's actions have led to severe consequences for those who were and are remotely associated with him, with the Marquis Vincent de Gramont punishing anyone who has any connection to John Wick and forcing the blind assassin Caine to honor his services to the High Table by killing his old friend. With the stakes high and being once again hunted with a huge bounty on his head, John embarks on a globe-trotting crusade to put an end to his excommunicado status and get the High Table off his back once and for all.
In a nutshell, John Wick: Chapter 4 is everything that John Wick fans have been hoping for - four times the action, four times the risks and stunts, and four times the catharsis with the story coming full circle and leading to a finale that will definitely feel shake you when all is said and done. Even if it is the first film. in the series not to be written by the creator of the franchise in Derek Kolstad, Chapter 4 doesn't skip a beat and actually pulls you even further into the assassin world by expanding it even more with new characters to show off in the table. We have the aforementioned Donnie Yen as blind man Caine who absolutely kicks ass, but there's also the equally talented and skilled Hiroyuki Sanada as Koji - another old friend of John Wick's who is the manager of the Osaka Continental. He is accompanied by his daughter Akira - played by singer Rina Sawayama who provides the theme "Eye for an Eye" for this movie as well.
Chapter 4 also brings back Lawrence Fishburne, Ian McShane, and the late great Lance Reddick as the Bowery King, Winston, and the New York Continental's concierge Charon - and all of these guys land back as the familiar faces who help and support John in his crusade against the High Table. There's also the random presence of a new assassin named Mr. Nobody who's played by Shamier Anderson, and he takes along a dog - another staple presence in any John Wick film that reminds you why he's a man you don't want to mess with. The very talented Clancy Brown also makes an appearance as the Harbinger. an operative who works for the High Table and delivers judgement on tasks that need to be presided on.
Of course every installment of this franchise has a big bad villain you love to hate, and we hate two in Killa and the Marquis Vincent de Gramont. The former is played by Scott Adkins - who puts on a fat suit and make up where he looks so unrecognizable much like Colin Farrell's performance as The Penguin in "The Batman, and he delivers it with one of the best action sequences in the movie you need to see. Bill Skarsgard sheds his role as "Pennywise/ It" for the role of Vincent de Gramont - a Frenchman and member of the High Table who wants to make an example of Mr. Wick but doesn't realize how he sorely underestimates him.
Every John Wick sequel has to up the ante, and Chapter 4 does it in spades. Crazy fight scenes, swords, gun blazing, and heck even Wick using nunchucks does it so well you'll be mesmerized and glued to your seats with every action sequence that comes rolling in. From the Osaka Continental in Japan to a club in Berlin and finally the lovely city of Paris, this one doesn't skip a beat in terms presenting luscious visuals, spectacular cinematography, and absolute balls to the walls chreography that's deserving of an Oscar nomination. Reeves, Stahelski, and Team Wick have set the bar so high for Chapter 4 that it's impossible not to find an awesome moment from this franchise that remains embedded in your head.
That being all said, John Wick: Chapter 4 is a MUST WATCH. A PERFECT RATING from this fan and reviewer, and I hope we see more of Mr. Wick's world down the line!
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