“John Wick: Chapter 4” hit the big screen and shot to the number-one movie in the world quite quickly. Even since the sleeper hit that was the first “John Wick,” the gun world has been enthralled by the stunt extravaganza that makes up these films. The films enrapture the gun world because the gun handling has always been just so damn good. The weaponry and gun handling, mixed with the occasional Ju Jitsu and knife fight, keeps people captivated. I guess that’s what happens when your director is a stuntman by trade. This film series has absolutely elevated the genre of action flicks and stunt work, and each movie pushes it further.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is a fairly new flick, so if you want to avoid spoilers, maybe this isn’t the best review to read. I am not going to dive deep into the story, but it’s impossible not to talk about some of the cinematography and shots. Here’s the bottom line up front. If you want to see a “John Wick” flick, this is a good one.
In fact, my order of favorite John Wick flicks has been rearranged:
- John Wick
- John Wick 4
- John Wick 2
- John Wick 3
Mr. Wick
It’s interesting that arguably the only Wick film that started slowly was the first, and even that wasn’t exactly slow. Ever since that first flick, these movies have started at a full sprint, and this one is no different. You barely have time to breathe. This movie is best described as a series of stunt work loosely connected by a story. It’s truly impressive to see 58-year-old Keanu Reeves still rock and roll through what must have been an exhausting movie to make.
After the movie starts moving, it never stops until you collide face-first with the ending. The film is 169 minutes but doesn’t expect it to be a slow burn. From the beginning onward, its a mix of gunfights, martial arts, knives, swords, and more. The film occasionally gives you a little break and a joke here and there to give you a precious few seconds to run to the bathroom.
Wick is still being pursued by the mysterious ‘Table,’ and now the man in charge of the pursuit is Marquis Vincent de Gramont. As the Marquis, he has been given access to whatever resources he needs to hunt Wick down. This includes a blind assassin named Caine, played by Donnie Yen, who was a friend of John Wick and is blackmailed into helping find him.
The film takes place throughout several international locations from Tokyo to Germany and beyond. It makes me think Mr. Wick has lots of frequent flyer miles. The film uses the locations as an excuse to give an exotic locale to stage fights. I was downright impressed by how they used the environments and locales to stage fights against a historical backdrop.
Fight, Fight, Fight
What is art? It’s tough to say. Any college student or son of a president can apparently make art by blowing bubbles. While the John Wick films may not be considered high art, the stunt work and choreographed fights should be considered art. Holy crap, how do they come up with what seemed a hundred unique fights over and over?
Each of those fights feels impressive and looks fantastic. The film got my heart rate consistently up to 85 to 90 BPM. I was excited to see these fights, and it triggered a physical and emotional reaction. To me, that makes it art. The fight scenes are made up of a mix of gun kata, martial arts, knives, nunchucks, swords, and more. They remain creative, from a fight up a huge staircase to a modern samurai duel.
There is an immensely impressive scene where the filming takes place from a top-down perspective. It looks like an old-school shooter or something like Hotline Miami. It blew me away and was absolutely a brilliant way to take a gunfight and make it entirely unique.
Charm and Class
You can’t help but like the main characters of “John Wick: Chapter 4.” The star of the film often seems overpowered by the characters around him. Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King and the Manager Winston return and they are both excellent characters that exude charm. Donnie Yen’s Caine became my favorite as the blind assassin with a cane sword.
Speaking of, Caine isn’t just blind with some magic sense of sight. He uses tricks and sounds to locate his enemies. He’s charming, funny, and a little sad.
Clancy Brown pops in as the mysterious Harbinger. I always love Clancy Brown. The villain, Marquis, played by Bill Skarsgard, is also fantastic. His arrogance and evilness make him a great villain, and you can’t wait for Mr. Wick to get his hands on the little bastard. Not to mention Mr. Nobody, a mysterious tracker with a preference for cowboy weapons and his pup. How does he track Wick? Well, you’ll have to pay him to find out.
In fact, Mr. Nobody and Caine often steal the show. Nobody has a bit where he tracks Wick but is waiting for his bounty to reach a higher and higher level to make it worth his while. He even looks for Wick and helps him in the hope of the bounty continually going up by millions of dollars. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of each character as the series evolves.
The Guns of John Wick 4
There are so many guns! It’s impossible to track them all. We see tons of Glocks, ARs, and so much more. Certain guns often stand out, and they aren’t all hero guns. One bad guy uses what appears to be a modernized Thompson SMG that captured my attention. The head of the German table, Killa, carries a massive S&W 500.
John Wick famously carries a Taran Tactical Glock 34 with the Master Package. He later trades that in for the Pit Viper, a new custom gun from Taran Tactical. Wick also takes and heavily uses a TTI-customized Genesis 12 that’s loaded with dragon’s breath shotgun rounds. The Genesis 12 is an AR-10-styled shotgun that certainly stands out.
Mr. Nobody carries a Mad Pig Customs Marlin Model 1894 lever gun that’s fit with a SilencerCo ASR muzzle brake and an M-LOK rail. It’s a take-down rifle he often stores in his backpack when not in use. Caine carries a custom SAS P365 variant with some form of compensator. It makes the gun appear to have no sights, which makes it a clever gun for a blind man.
The movie is chock full of great guns and interesting layouts. Outside of great guns, we get lots of reloads, some custom Kydex, and a pile of spent ammunition. Not to mention the opening scenes in Osaka, where we see a mix of traditional Samurai weapons employed.
A pair of Thompson Center Encore pistols stand in for dueling pistols as well, and it’s a neat take on an old concept. Gun nerds will be more than satisfied with the weapon selection in “John Wick: Chapter 4.”
Blam Blam
John Wick 4 delivers exactly how you want it to: over-the-top fights, guns, and even some great car chase scenes. You get the action movie experience thrown in your face without restraint, and I’m here for it.
