John Wick: Chapter 4

When the :John Wick: franchise began in 2014, who knew it would become the series it has become? But, after seeing the first film, I was hooked. This is about a man that is a man's man, does not take prisoners, but has a certain amount of morals--he knows the difference of right and wrong. So, now that "John Wick: Chapter 4 " is in the can, we see even more of this guy righting wrongs.

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy, the Marquis (Bill Skarsgard) with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes as in Caine (Donnie Yen). With a price on Wick's head, he has to turn to Winston (Ian McShane), Charon (Lance Reddick), the Bowery King (Laurence Fisburne) and Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada). Will Wick win or will he be cut off at the pass?

Others to round out the cast are Shamier Anderson as Tracker, George Georgiou as The Elder, Clancy Brown as Harbinger, Aimee Kwan as Mia, Marko Zaror as Chidi and Rina Sawayama as Akira. 

This was directed with incredible intensity and grit by Chad Stahelski ("John Wick" '14, "John Wick: Chapter 2" '17, "John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum" '19). Since the only feature films this filmmaker has directed have been the entire 'John Wick' series, it would not only be fitting that he direct this film, but also in order for this film to have that similar feel to its predecessors, Stahelski would simply have to be behind the camera. This film was a white knuckler in watching this unfold, having the heaping amount of intensity, action and adrenaline that one would certainly expect from this franchise, however this director simply pulled out all the stops. I believe he's earned his 'stripes' in that he has many projects in the works. If you like Stahelski brand of directing, his "Kill or Be Killed" and "Rainbow Six" are both in pre-production. This was equally well written by Shay Hatten ("John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum" '19, "Army of the Dead" '21, "Army of Thieves" '21, "Day Shift" '22) plus TV and Michael Finch ("Predators" '10, "The November Man" '14, "Hitman: Agent 47" '15, "Countdown" '16, "Interrogation" '16, "American Assassin" '17, "Blood Brother" '18), which is based on characters created by Derek Kolstad. Assuredly, Hatten received first billing of this film since he was one of the writers for the last installment of the franchise, even though Finch had the lion's share of the experience. Even though I am a true 'John Wick' fan, when I noticed the running time of this movie, I took a double, and even triple look at that running time and wondered what could be put in this screenplay to have to take 169 minutes to say? Well, one could've knocked me over with a feather, because this length of film definitively moved right along. The writing was cohesive, tight, concise all the while housing the longest stunt fight I've seen in years if not ever. There's a bit of a surprise at the end of this if that woos you into the theater. 

If you like this franchise, you'll be in "John Wick" heaven, and even if you're not, there's enough, stunts, car chases, adrenaline, action and just pure escapism for you to vege into. The visuals, stunts, non-stop action will most assuredly be the quintessential roller coaster ride. Enjoy this, I know I did! It's also shown in an IMAX format as well.

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                               Rated: R                                               169mins.