MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Chapter 4’ is the biggest, wildest John Wick yet

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The “John Wick” series of films masterminded by director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves are able to keep firing on all cylinders thanks to a potent blend of well-choreographed action sequences and focused, constantly unfolding mythology. 

Action movie sequels are certainly nothing new in the landscape of popular American movies, but while many action franchises get by simply by shoehorning their hero into yet another odd circumstance that requires their particular skills, the “Wick” movies thrive on keeping their main character in a rule-bound, densely populated world of assassins and crime syndicates who all serve the same mysterious master. 

That means the world feels richer, and by extension John’s place in that world feels both anchored in a certain established status quo and, because we know the rules, capable of constant reinvention and subversion. 

“John Wick: Chapter 4,” the latest installment that reunites Stahelski, Reeves, and the franchise’s best-known supporting cast members, is all about walking that line between the rules we know and just how much John and his friends can break said rules. Building on the showdown that made up the finale of the previous film, and running to nearly three hours of breathless action, “Chapter 4” is easily the most ambitious “Wick” film to date, but it never feels like it’s losing its grip on the world that’s been so lovingly created for this character over the years. It’s action filmmaking at its finest, and a welcome addition to an already stellar story. 

In the wake of his betrayal by the High Table at the end of “Chapter 3,” John Wick (Reeves) has recuperated from his injuries and is ready to take his quest for vengeance straight to the top. This time, though, the High Table is poised to hit back. 

One of its members, the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard), has launched a personal mission to make an example of Wick, and enhance his own reputation in the process. To do this, he turns to a bounty hunter who calls himself Nobody (Shamier Anderson), and one of John’s old friends, the retired blind assassin known as Caine (Donnie Yen), commissioning them both to take down Wick no matter the cost. 

If he’s going to survive, John must summon all his strength, and the few friends he has left, to mount a challenge against the Marquis and win his freedom from the High Table’s rules, even if he has to die to get it. 

As with the previous John Wick films, this is all plot scaffolding designed to pit John against wave after wave of adversaries, and showcase the franchise’s always-exceptional action design. In that regard, “John Wick: Chapter 4” rises to meet the challenge lain before it to surpass its predecessors, delivering the biggest action setpieces of the series so far, taking John from Japanese hotels to Berlin nightclubs to the streets of Paris. 

And, as always, Stahelski has recruited a who’s who of action stars to join in the fun, from the always-welcome Yen as Caine to the great Hiroyuki Sanada as another of John’s allies. It all feels appropriately grand and ambitious, and helps to amplify the emotional stakes of this particular struggle, as John once again tries to get out of a game that has no winners.

If there’s a flaw in this design, though, it’s that the grandness is almost too much, even for this franchise. Fight sequences seem to reach a natural conclusion, then spark right back up again, risking repetition and a kind of numbing quality each time they do. At its best, this effect places us at the core of the endless, seemingly insurmountable gauntlet John is up against. At its worst, it reminds us that we’re watching a very long movie, and makes us wonder why it had to be this long to begin with.

But those moments are few and far between, and the overall effect of “Chapter 4” as a “John Wick” entry is another dazzling, thrilling theatrical experience. This franchise may wrap up eventually, but this mighty film and its expansive story is proof that there’s still plenty of gas in the tank, and still plenty of weighty emotion behind Reeves’ steely eyes. It’s action cinema done right, and great time at the movies.