After four long years away, Keanu Reeves is back as John Wick in an epic, globetrotting action extravaganza that arguably tops anything that the series has done so far, while never losing sight of the characters and mythology that make these films so much fun.

Premise: After recovering from his betrayal by Winston (Ian McShane), John Wick (Keanu Reeves) declares war on the High Table, holding nothing back. But his vendetta has consequences, and soon the confrontation threatens to engulf everyone John has ever been close to, as the High Table send the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) and Caine (Donnie Yen) to not only kill John Wick, but to make sure that no one ever considers standing against the High Table again.

Review:

Now that we’ve reached Chapter 4 of the John Wick series, I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this, you’ve seen the previous three chapters (so expect some spoilers for the earlier films). What started as a relatively straightforward revenge tale in the first John Wick film escalated in Chapter 2 into a much more expanded mythology with the introduction of the High Table, the all-powerful but unseen cabal behind the world’s hidden network of assassins and underworld societies. Chapter 3 was a fascinating exploration into the consequences of the characters’ actions in the first two films, culminating in John Wick (Keanu Reeves) and Winston (Ian McShane) openly defying the High Table … until Winston shoots his old friend from the rooftop of the New York Continental Hotel to safeguard his own position.

Chapter 4 picks up the story sometime later, after the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) has nursed John Wick back to health from his near fatal injuries. From there, John wages all-out war on the High Table … but it quickly becomes apparent that the filmmakers aren’t necessarily going to take this next chapter in the direction that you may have been expected.

“…the central theme of Chapter 4 is “where does all this violence end”?…”

If the central question asked in Chapter 3 was “what are the consequences of ones actions”, then the theme of Chapter 4 is “where does all this violence end”? Right from the start, Koji (an old friend of John’s, played by the always reliable Hiroyuki Sanada) asks John what his endgame is, because the High Table is a metaphorical hydra, and for every member that John kills, another will rise to replace them. But these themes apply more widely than just to John himself (just as the consequences theme applied to several characters in Chapter 3) – to paraphrase one of the lines from Chapter 4, some characters are trying to serve their way to freedom, some are trying to buy their way to freedom, and some are trying to kill their way to freedom.

The film also doesn’t shy away from the maxim that “an eye to an eye will leave the whole world blind”, as John’s one-man war against the High Table leads to retaliations and retributions against anyone who may be offering him shelter or aid. In Chapter 4, the myth of John Wick has grown in stature to the extent that it’s a threat to the authority of the High Table, meaning that they have to destroy the idea of John Wick, and not just make a martyr of him.

“…Donnie Yen is superb in arguably his best Hollywood role to date…”

In their desperation, the High Table appoints the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) as their representative, who sets out to destroy John Wick by any means necessary. Bill Skarsgård gives the late, great Michael Nyqvist a run for his money as the best villain of the series, combining a sense of ruthless menace with naked ambition, all wrapped up in some impeccable three-piece suits. The Marquis in turn blackmails retired hitman – and John’s former friend – Caine into hunting John Wick by using his knowledge of his former friend to predict what he’ll do next. Caine is played by Hong Kong action legend Donnie Yen in arguably his best Hollywood role to date (although Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may still be the higher profile gig). Donnie Yen is superb in this role, not only in the (mind-blowing) fight sequences, but also in the character moments too, brilliantly conveying Caine’s conflicted loyalties between honouring his former friend and protecting his own daughter’s life.

Alongside the Marquis, Caine and Koji, there are plenty of other new characters that also make an impression – including relative newcomer Shamier Anderson as a bounty hunter pursuing John for his own reasons, Natalia Tena as a figure from John’s past, an almost unrecognisable Scott Adkins as a German crime-boss, and singer Rina Sawayama who makes a very impressive big screen debut as Koji’s daughter. There’s even a cool cameo from Clancy Brown as a character called The Harbinger, as well as a breakthrough performance from Chilean martial artist Marko Zaror as the Marquis’ righthand man.

“…the action is phenomenal…”

In terms of the returning cast, Keanu Reeves continues to put most Hollywood actors of any age to shame (let alone those who are 58 years old) with what he’s able to do ‘for real’ on screen, and his occasional fumbled reload or awkward return of a pistol to a holster just adds to the realism of the scenes, as he’s able to deal with any such issues calmly and professionally. Ian McShane once again shines as the unashamedly self-serving Winston, and although Laurence Fishburne doesn’t get a great deal to do, he always looks like he’s having fun. This film opened just a week after Lance Reddick’s unexpected death, but here he at least gets to make one final memorable (and bittersweet) appearance as the unflappable concierge Charon.

As you may expect from this series by now, the action in Chapter 4 is phenomenal, arguably topping anything that the franchise has done so far. The climax of Chapter 3 saw John Wick taking on an army of High Table elite soldiers with advanced body armour – but in Chapter 4, this is just the warm up before the real action kicks off. There are inventive fight sequences involving everything from guns, katanas, nunchucks, and bow and arrows, to axes, knives and – of course – a pencil, all of which are expertly choreographed into an intricate ballet of violence.

“…the darkly humorous, heightened reality is what elevates the series…”

This time, the action is truly world spanning, with location shooting in France, Germany and Japan (as well as New York) giving the film an epic feel in terms of its scope and scale. One of the film’s most inventive action set pieces takes place in busy traffic around Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, while there’s another action sequence involving an aerial one-shot of an intricate gunfight that was unlike anything I’ve seen staged before. And Chapter 4 could also challenge The Untouchables for its claim to having the most memorable staircase-based action sequences in cinema.

Of course Chapter 4, like the rest of the series, won’t be for everyone, and some people may find the unrelenting action sequences a bit too much. The film is only a shade under 3 hours long – but I for one was never looking at my watch at any point, and the epic nature of the movie totally justified its run time in my opinion. But it may be a bit much for some viewers, as may the suspension of disbelief required to explain how everyone is practically bullet-proof when they need to be, or how no members of the public ever seem to react to anything that’s going on (even if we assume that the police and the authorities have been paid off). But this is all part of the darkly humorous, heightened reality of the John Wick universe, and it’s arguably what elevates the series above some of its more po-faced peers.

“…an absolute must for fans of action cinema…”

It may be too soon to say whether Chapter 4 is the best instalment in the series (my favourite previously was definitely Chapter 2), but it’s unquestionably a contender. Elevating the action sequences to a whole new level, while also introducing some of the most interesting new characters in the series, at the same time as asking where all of the violence is likely to leave everyone, means that this film is an absolute must-see for fans of action cinema, as well as being a very satisfying chapter for those who have followed Jardani Jovanovich’s story from the beginning.