It’s been nearly four years since audiences have seen Keanu Reeves as the assassin John Wick, but when John Wick: Chapter 4 hits theaters on March 24, the story will pick up right where the third installment of one of the best action movie franchises left off. The hitman is determined to take down the High Table, the crime organization that has a huge bounty on his head, and the trailer promises a large body count and all the bad-assery that fans have come to expect from this franchise. First reactions were very promising, with people calling the fourth installment “epic,” and the praise continues now that reviews are out.
Keanu Reeves is again joined by Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane and Lance Reddick, and the John Wick: Chapter 4 cast also adds some notable characters in Caine (Donnie Yen) and the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), who have left their mark on the critics. Let’s get to it then, starting with CinemaBlend’s review of John Wick: Chapter 4. Eric Eisenberg rates the film 4.5 stars out of 5, saying it earns every minute of its nearly three-hour runtime and is likely the best of the sequels. He continues:
With each film, the stakes have been effectively raised, the breadth of the world has expanded, and the scope of the action has grown. That’s not an easy trend to sustain by a third sequel, but John Wick: Chapter 4 carries the weight of all of that and sprints. The characters are enthralling and fun, and the variety of set pieces are audacious in style and feature mind boggling physicality by the performers. It’s everything that fans could want out of it.
Hoai-Tran Bui of Inverse agrees the three hours breezes by, saying the movie is a “bone-crunching showcase” of what director Chad Stahelski has honed and perfected over the course of four John Wick movies. The critic says:
Given a relatively simple narrative and a script that was less beholden to the complex mythology of the franchise, it’s clear that Stahelski went into Chapter 4 no-holds-barred. The action, the spectacle, the humor, and the melodrama are all turned up to 11 in a film that is the most John Wick movie, for better or worse. Some might call it overkill, but with John Wick: Chapter 4, overkill is underrated.
Tom Jorgensen of IGN rates the movie a perfect 10 out of 10, calling John Wick: Chapter 4 a “Masterpiece” whose incredibly staged action scenes, engaging ensemble and stylish production design coalesce into a modern action masterclass. From the review:
John Wick: Chapter 4 stands above its predecessors – and the past decade’s worth of action films as a whole – as a modern epic, something Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski have been driving at since 2014. Wick’s world war is bursting at the seams with creative, thrillingly staged action choreography and cinematography, perfectly pitched performances from an outstanding and unforgettable cast of allies and villains heralded by a merciless Bill Skarsgård, all without losing its grip on the sensitivity that keeps John’s struggle for absolution at the heart of every bullet fired and every edged weapon swung.
Leah Greenblatt of EW grades the movie a B+, calling the movie both “patently ridiculous” and “gloriously illogical,” but also says it’s mostly very fun. The review states:
As Wick carves a path of stoic destruction across several continents, the series' longtime director Chad Stahelski, once Reeves' Matrix stand-in and stunt coordinator, gets down to the business of what he does best: creative kills, far-flung zip codes, incalculable body counts. Having set a certain bar over several films now — bathhouse bloodbaths, horse kung-fu, motorcycle sword fights on the Brooklyn Bridge — he seems to have had his id (or at least his location budget) unleashed in 4's many tableaus.
Frank Scheck of THR says this fourth John Wick movie outperforms its predecessors in almost every respect, calling it “bigger, badder, bolder, longer.” The critic agrees with those above in saying not many in the audience will complain about the runtime. He continues:
Director Chad Stahelski, who helmed all the previous films, and his formidable stunt team have outshone their previous work, and that’s saying something. These sequences play like the great dance numbers in old MGM musicals, complete with incredibly complicated, lengthy continuous shots that feature the full bodies of the performers rather than kinetically edited snippets of a gun here or a limb there. They’re so virtuosic you practically want to stand up and applaud when each one is over.
Thanks to Keanu Reeves, Chad Stahelski and many others involved, John Wick has become one of the best action franchises, boasting some pretty memorable scenes. If you’ve been waiting for this next chapter, your time is almost here, as John Wick: Chapter 4 is set to hit theaters Friday, March 24. Be sure to check out our 2023 Movie Release Schedule to see what else is headed to theaters soon.
