John Wick: Chapter 4 Review: An Example of Why Pure Action Films Don’t Work Anymore

 Movies 

John Wick: Chapter 4 Review: An Example of Why Pure Action Films Don’t Work Anymore 

By Dylan Barbee

SPOILER WARNING

Release Date: 3/24/2023

John Wick: Chapter 4 takes itself too seriously. From the awkward lack of dialogue spoken by protagonist John Wick (Keanu Reeves) to the oddly prolonged fight scenes throughout, it seems like director Chad Stahelski tries to make us care about a story that we are told so little about. Like many recent action movies released (mostly recent Marvel movies), John Wick: Chapter 4 relies on action to lazily drag along its story instead of nurturing a complex storyline.   

 

In John Wick: Chapter 4, a high and increasing bounty on his head causes John Wick to be hunted by the criminal organizations within the High Table. Simultaneously, Wick hopes to eliminate his involvement in the High Table by killing all of them and starting a normal life. At the end of the third film, Wick murdered a member of the High Table group on the grounds of the Continental Hotel, an establishment where killing is forbidden.  This resulted in the bounty and sets the stage for Chapter 4.

 

It is honestly a bland and pointless revenge plot. The High Table wants to kill John Wick for killing one of their members and John Wick wants revenge on the High Table because he is “pissed off” at the end of the third film about how they have impacted his lifestyle negatively. However, not everything about this film is lazy. The cinematography was at times eye opening and the sets on this film were superb. John Wick walked down the alleys of Tokyo at night where neon lights reflected on the pavement and walked up steps in the morning while the sunrise glistened through the Eiffel Tower in the distance while in the city of Paris. I also really enjoyed the scenes that took place in the villain’s palace. The Marquis De Gramont was played by Bill Skarsgard who is a menacing and powerful member of the High Table that wants nothing more than to see John Wick suffer. Gramont’s palace is filled with highly detailed and luxurious long hallways as well as very rare paintings that are placed within golden frames. I honestly wish the film’s writers focused on his rise in the High Table a lot more and showcased Gramont’s character development. 

 

The fight scenes in this film were excessively long but that does not mean that they were not entertaining at times. I enjoyed the different settings that John Wick had to fight in, especially the Arc de Triomphe in Paris where he had to fight dozens of High Table allies in ongoing traffic. However, there are only so many fight sequences and violence one can watch in this film to the point where I was asking myself “Alright when is this going to be over with?” And that is the problem with action movies today. They do not work anymore because movies today need substance to go along with the action. Much like pure horror films, pure action films need to use their genre as a limited tactic to illustrate a much more grand message. The fact that John Wick: Chapter 4 had action sequences lasting almost thirty minutes is outrageous. A good action movie uses fight scenes to make its plot meaningful, not use fights to overshadow its plot and make it seem like an afterthought. Action should be the result of the long buildup of storytelling that takes place within the movie. A buildup makes audiences care about the characters fighting against one another due to the time the film writers try to make the audience emotionally connect with them. Instead, John Wick: Chapter 4 uses action sequences to build up other action sequences and foes of John Wick are described as “old friends” without any other context or previous appearances (Caine who is a blind assassin and played by Donnie Yen). 

 

There are so many more characters and action sequences I can pick apart and critique that were involved within this boresome two hours and forty-nine minutes but just like this movie it would be pointless and a waste of the audience’s time. Hopefully, this is the John Wick saga’s last release. 

Rating: 5/10