{"id":26231,"date":"2023-03-22T23:07:58","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T06:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=26231"},"modified":"2023-03-22T23:07:58","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T06:07:58","slug":"john-wick-chapter-4-delivers-chaotic-mayhem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=26231","title":{"rendered":"JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 Delivers Chaotic Mayhem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time:  169 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Lionsgate will be opening exclusively\nat theaters on March 24th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past decade, this reviewer would be hard pressed to\nthink of an action film character who has taken down more bad guys than John\nWick (according to online enthusiasts, the body count tally after three movies\nis a whopping 299). The first movie in the series was a literal blast, and its\nsequels have done everything possible to outdo their predecessors. John\nWick: Chapter 4<\/em> is the latest follow-up and is intended to be the climax of\nthe series. It’s a pretty safe bet to say that the filmmakers may have hit 500\nafter this adventure. The movie is so over-the-top that it can\u2019t help but be a\nbit silly, but the charismatic leads and incredible fight choreography are\nthrilling to witness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After being shot and plunging off of the edge of a Manhattan\nhigh rise, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) has managed to survive by hiding\nunderground with the Bowery King (Lawrence Fishburne). Fully healed, he intends\nto hunt down the leader of The High Table, Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill\nSkarsgard). This man controls the council of the criminal underworld.\nNaturally, the villain is also looking to cement his authority by wiping Wick\nout, sending out his goons to eliminate the rogue assassin. To further secure\nan advantage, Gramont makes individual deals with noted killer Caine (Donnie\nYen) and rising star, Tracker (Shamier Anderson), who also begin their pursuit\nof Wick. Once again, the hero finds himself on the run, hopping around the\nglobe and hoping to find a way to get close to Gramont.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, the story is ridiculous and viewers do have to\nallow for plenty of lapses in logic. Dozens upon dozens of bad guys fight and\nshoot at Wick in public areas in front of onlookers (who don\u2019t appear all that\nbothered by the fracas and simply continue going about their business). Police\nnever appear in the major metropolises featured. And, the evildoers even have a\nsinister radio network that broadcasts out of one of the observation decks of\nthe Eiffel Tower in Paris. If that wasn\u2019t odd enough, viewers may also question\nwhy Wick is so forgiving of Winston (Ian McShane), the friend who turned on him\nin the previous chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, there are numerous conversations between the\nprotagonist and acquaintances who ask Wick when the violence will stop and\nremind him that there is no way he can win this one-man war. They note that no\nmatter how many he slays, another will rise and take the place of the deceased.\nThe intent is fine, but the chastising does seem a bit much coming from other\nprofessional killers. It also doesn\u2019t help that the filmmakers seem to take an\nalmost gleeful delight in stabbing, shooting and maiming characters in the most\nwince-inducing ways imaginable.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In another movie, these issues might have been enough to\nturn this viewer against the feature. But star Reeves manages to keep viewers\ninvolved in Wick\u2019s plight and never-ending quest for revenge. Chinese action\nhero Donnie Yen is also a great addition, adding his incredible skill and a\nnotable threat to the proceedings. And at least the film appears to be leaning\ninto the silliness when it occurs, particularly during the entertainingly\nexaggerated final act. There\u2019s a fun reference to a famous movie from the late\n1970s during the radio broadcasts and several characters possess a dark sense\nof humor. There\u2019s also a physical gag during the bloodletting involving the\nsteps to Sacr\u00e9-C\u0153ur Basilica that provides a dark laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the action itself is about as good as you\u2019re\nlikely to see in any film this year. There are lengthy battles with complex\nchoreography, all set in front of visually striking locales. The Osaka hotel\nshowdown is incredible to witness, as is the melee through Paris, including a memorable\nexchange on the road at the Arc de Triomphe. Not only is it all impressively\nstaged, but many pieces are creatively filmed. There\u2019s a long overhead shot in\na run-down building following Wick from room-to-room that is wonderful to\nbehold and sure to put a smile on the face of any action enthusiast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, the final climax delivers a satisfying close\nto the events. For this reviewer, the original film will always be the\nstrongest. That being noted, John Wick: Chapter 4<\/em> is the best of the\nfollow-ups. It delivers the most chaotic mayhem of any movie in the series, as\nwell as several memorable supporting characters and closure for the central\ncharacters. While the serious asides about revenge come across as loopy, at\nleast the movie is trying to add some meaning to the madness. In the end, if\nyou enjoy seeing bones cracked and hundreds of thugs get riddled with bullets,\nthen this movie is about as good as it gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: And for those interested, there is a brief bonus scene\nafter the credits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time:  169 minutes This feature from Lionsgate will be opening exclusively at theaters on March 24th. In the past decade, this reviewer would be hard pressed to think of an action film character who has taken down more bad guys than John Wick (according to online enthusiasts, the body count tally after three movies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":26232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[213,697,1896,2746,6139,7705,9216,9614,10917,10924,10925,10926,10927,11533,12175,14766,15494,15728,18035,18136],"class_list":["post-26231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-213","tag-action","tag-assassin","tag-bill-skarsgard-2","tag-donnie-yen","tag-follow-up","tag-hitman","tag-ian-mcshane","tag-john-wick","tag-john-wick-chapter-4","tag-john-wick-chapter-4-film-review","tag-john-wick-chapter-4-movie-review","tag-john-wick-chapter-4-review","tag-keanu-reeves","tag-lawrence-fishburne","tag-new-york","tag-osaka","tag-paris","tag-sequel","tag-shamier-anderson"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26231\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}