john wick movie review 2023

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Welcome back, Mr. Wick. Four years after " John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ," director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves have returned to theaters with "John Wick: Chapter 4," a film that was supposed to hit theaters almost two full years ago. Trust me. It was worth the wait. Stahelski and writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch have distilled the mythology-heavy approach of the last couple chapters with the streamlined action of the first film, resulting in a final hour here that stands among the best of the genre.

"John Wick: Chapter 4" opens with its title character (Reeves) on the run again as the villainous Powers That Be known as the High Table get in his way. The main villain of the series is the Marquis de Gramont ( Bill Skarsgård ), a leader of the High Table who keeps raising the bounty on Wick's head while he also cleans up the messes left behind, including potentially eliminating Winston Scott ( Ian McShane ) and his part of this nefarious organization. The opening scenes take Wick to Japan, where he seeks help from the head of the Osaka Continental, Shimazu ( Hiroyuki Sanada ), and runs afoul of a blind High Table assassin named Caine (the badass Donnie Yen ). Laurence Fishburne pops up now and then as Wick's Q when the killer needs a new bulletproof suit, and Shamier Anderson plays an assassin who seems to be waiting for the price on Wick's head to hit the right level for him to get his payday. More than the last couple of films, the plot here, despite the movie's epic runtime (169 minutes), feels refreshingly focused again. Here's John Wick. Here are the bad guys. Go!

And go they do. Stahelski and his team construct action sequences in a manner that somehow feels both urgent and artistically choreographed at the same time. Filmmakers who over-think their shoot-outs often land on a tone that feels distant, lacking in stakes, and feeling more stylish than substantial. The great action directors figure out how to film combat in a way that doesn't sacrifice tension for showmanship. The action sequences in "John Wick: Chapter 4" are long battles, gun-fu shoot-outs between John and dozens of people who underestimate him, but they have so much momentum that they don't overstay their welcome.

They also have wonderfully defined stakes. At one point in the film, John and an enemy decide on the parameters of a battle, including time, weapons, and variables. But this is really true of all the major action scenes, in which we very clearly understand what John needs to do and who he needs to go through to "finish the level." The simplicity of objectives allows for complex choreography. We know what needs to happen for John to keep pushing forward as he has since the beginning of the first film. So much modern action is cluttered with characters or muddled objectives, but the "Wick" films have such brilliant clarity of intention that they can then have fun within those simple constructs.

So much fun. The choreography of the action here can be simply breathtaking. I loved how often the world goes on around Wick and his unfortunate combatants. In a sequence that would be the best in almost any other recent action movie (but is like 3 rd or 4 th here), Wick has to battle a makeup-covered Scott Adkins and his army of unlucky idiots in a crowded nightclub. The dancers barely notice. They sometimes part a little bit to let them through, but they don't stop and stare. With water pouring into the club, the writhing, and dancing bodies make for such a visually inventive backdrop. Later, in one of my favorite action sequences of all time, Wick and his predators battle in the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe. The cars don't stop. In fact, it feels like they speed up. As shots ring out in the streets in this film, no one opens the window to see what the hell is going on. The world outside of Wick and the mythology of this world almost feels like they can't even see the legendary assassin and the hundred or so people he ends up killing. It's a fascinating, visually striking choice.

And then there's what I would call Action Geography. So many people have tried to mimic the frenetic approach of the "Bourne" movies, and the results have often been more incoherent than not. The amazing cinematographer Dan Laustsen (a regular Guillermo del Toro collaborator on " The Shape of Water ," " Nightmare Alley ," and more) works with Stahelski to make sure the action here is clean and brutal, never confusing. The stunt work is phenomenal, and, again, the shoot-outs have the feel of dance choreography more than the bland plot-pushing of so many studio films. There's just so much grace and ingenuity whenever Wick goes to work.

Of course, a great cast helps too. Reeves might have fewer lines in this movie than any so far in the franchise, but he completely sells Wick's commitment while also imbuing him with emotional exhaustion that adds more gravity to this chapter. The vengeful Wick of the first film is a different one than the survivor three movies later, and Reeves knows exactly what this character needs. So many performers would add unnecessary touches to a character that's already this popular, but Reeves is smart about streamlining this performance to fit the film around him. It also allows for a few supporters to shine in different performance registers, especially Yen and Anderson. The legendary Yen is fantastic here, not just in combat but the moments in between. Most people who know who Donnie Yen is won't be surprised to hear that he fits in here perfectly, but he's even better than you expect. Anderson also gives a fun performance as a man who just seems to be a mercenary waiting for the right price, but fans of the series will note from the beginning that this badass has a dog, and this universe values puppies and people who love them.

The only minor flaw in Wick's armor here is a bit of narrative self-indulgence. There are a few scenes, especially early, when it feels like a beat is going on a bit too long, and I do think there's a slightly tighter (if you can say 150 minutes would be tight) version of this film that's simply perfect.

Fans won't care. Much has been made of what brings people out to theaters in the post-pandemic, streaming-heavy world, and this is a movie that should be seen with a cheering, excited crowd. It has that contagious energy we love in action films—a whole room of people marveling at the ingenuity and intensity of what's unfolding in front of them. It's a movie that's meant to be watched loud and big. John Wick has fought hard for it.

This review was filed from the North American premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. "John Wick: Chapter 4" opens on March 24 th .

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

169 minutes

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

Donnie Yen as Caine

Ian McShane as Winston

Bill Skarsgård as Marquis de Gramont

Laurence Fishburne as Bowery King

Clancy Brown as The Harbinger

Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu

Lance Reddick as Charon

Shamier Anderson as Tracker

Rina Sawayama as Akira

Scott Adkins as Killa

Marko Zaror as Chidi

Natalia Tena as Katia

George Georgiou as The Elder

Chad Stahelski

Writer (based on characters created by)

Derek Kolstad
Shay Hatten
Michael Finch

Cinematographer

Dan Laustsen
Evan Schiff
Tyler Bates
Joel J. Richard

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Cast & crew
User reviews

John Wick: Chapter 4

John Wick uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that tur... Read all John Wick uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes. John Wick uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.

Chad Stahelski
Shay Hatten
Michael Finch
Derek Kolstad
Keanu Reeves
Laurence Fishburne
George Georgiou
1.7K User reviews
327 Critic reviews
78 Metascore
32 wins & 46 nominations

Bowery King

(as Asuka Riedl)

(as Milena Rendon)
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Keanu Reeves and Cast Talk Getting Into Character

Did you know

Trivia Keanu Reeves gifted each stunt worker with a personalized t-shirt detailing how many times that performer met their demise in the film. His five-person stunt team also received Rolex Submariner watches, each costing around $10,000, with a personalized message on the back of each one when filming wrapped.
Goofs The Arc de Triomphe is missing the eternal flame which crowns France's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. As its name suggests, it is never ever allowed to go out.

Shimazu : Friendship means little when it's convenient.

Crazy credits There is a small scene after the credits have finished where you can see Caine on the way to his daughter encountering Akira.
Alternate versions The end title for the theatrical version shows "John Wick Baba Yaga" while in home media version shows "John Wick Chapter 4".
Connections Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Most Anticipated Franchises Returning in 2023 (2023)
Soundtracks Nocturne No. 20 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. Posth. Written by Frédéric Chopin Arranged by Joel J. Richard Performed by Lola Bates (as Lola Colette) and Mark Robertson

User reviews 1.7K

markvanwasbeek
Mar 23, 2023
How long is John Wick: Chapter 4? Powered by Alexa
What is the movie based on?
Where was John's dog throughout the film?
Do I need to watch the previous John Wick Movies, to fully understand and enjoy this one?
March 24, 2023 (United States)
United States
John Wick (Japan)
Sát Thủ John Wick: Chương 4
Wadi Rum Desert, Jordan (location)
87Eleven Entertainment
Lionsgate Films
Studio Babelsberg
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$100,000,000 (estimated)
$187,131,806
$73,817,950
Mar 26, 2023
$440,157,245

Technical specs

Runtime 2 hours 49 minutes
Dolby Atmos

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‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Review: There Will Be Blood, Yeah

In the latest and longest movie set in Wick World, Keanu Reeves’s titular assassin visits Paris and paints the town red.

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By Manohla Dargis

A vulgar pleasure of the “John Wick” series is that it aestheticizes violence without the usual blah-blah rationales and appeals to conscience. At once basic and off-the-charts nuts, each movie — the fourth opens this week — centers on a laconic assassin with a hazy back story and extraordinary skills. A virtuoso of death, Wick (Keanu Reeves) has his reasons, or so the series insists, but he kills because it is what he does. It’s his thing. “Deserves got nothing to do with it,” as Clint Eastwood says in “Unforgiven.”

Eastwood is in the DNA of the “Wick” series — and in the way Reeves deliberately draws out the word yeah — and so too are Jean-Pierre Melville, Jackie Chan, Buster Keaton, John Woo, Fred Astaire, “ Point Blank ,” the Three Stooges and “ Get Carter .” That said, the overall story is stripped down to the point of minimalism, especially when compared to the average superhero bloat-a-thon. In the first Wick movie, the assassin resumes his bloody ways after gangsters kill his puppy — a gift from his dead wife — and steal his car. Before long, he has antagonized his former employers, a villainous syndicate called the High Table.

Despite its seemingly Hobbesian aspect, Wick World does have rules, and by the second movie, the character is declared “excommunicado,” a word that underscores the High Table’s profile as a shadowy, quasi-religious elite manifestation of absolute power. The conceit of an all-knowing, all-seeing group of underworld puppet-masters is primo movieland conspiracy-theory and very of the moment; it’s silly, nebulously political, and it gives viewers wide latitude to interpret the movie however they prefer — or they can just groove on the plush trappings, exotic locations, exploding heads and bodies in glorious motion.

The series’s director, Chad Stahelski, is a stunt veteran (he’s doubled for Reeves), so he understandably likes to show off bodies as they move — pivot, soar and fall — in space. He uses plenty of close-ups and medium shots, but he also likes to pull back for full-figure framing à la Astaire. This allows you to see and luxuriate in the performers’ physicality, in their grace and steely power, as well as to appreciate the geometry and precision of the fight choreography. This focus underscores the frailty and impermanence of these bodies, their humanness, especially Wick’s as this seemingly invincible man is repeatedly brutalized.

Keanu Reeves in a black suit walks away from two men, also in black, in the background. The sky behind them is a spooky dark green.

Written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, “John Wick: Chapter 4” pretty much plays out like the previous movies, though at a generally fast-moving 169 minutes it’s longer. Even so, it rarely drags because there’s relatively little dialogue and down time. For the most part, Wick chases or is chased by other assassins, shooting and stabbing, grappling and grunting in a series of visually distinct, meticulously staged and filmed set pieces. Every so often, he confers with old comrades, notably the sonorous, bassy trio of Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne and Lance Reddick ( who recently died ), performers who add luster and history to the series with their singular faces, hard-boiled résumés and perfectly tuned arch deliveries.

There are new faces, among them cautious friendlies (Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama), sympathetic combatants (Donnie Yen, Shamier Anderson) and another filthy-rich villain (Bill Skarsgard), a Euro-trashy baddie with bespoke glittery suits and a taste for torture and classical music. The series has expanded its New York-centric geographical coordinates, and while it jumps to the Middle East, Japan and Europe, it continues to stick close to its circumscribed template. So, the High Table’s tattooed minions in pencil skirts are back. There’s yet another dog and another elaborate sequence at a crowded dance club (the streets are empty by comparison) but, crucially, still no sign of the modern surveillance state.

The constraints of Wick World put it safely on the side of full-blown fantasy, giving the series the feel of a grim fairy tale. It might seem like a distorted mirror of our world, but what’s notable are all the ways it’s different from ours — not just in its depiction of power but also of violence, which, for all the arterial spray, is as untethered from reality as it is in zombie flicks. When Wick faces off against challengers at the Arc de Triomphe in “Chapter 4,” there are no gendarmes, no blaring sirens or screaming bystanders to interrupt the kinetic flow. There is simply and once again Reeves, the axis who centers this franchise with his grave sincerity, beatific glow and mesmerizing, rooted fighting style, with its heavy-footed solidity and surprising suppleness. No matter what happens, nothing ever feels as poignantly at stake here as Reeves’s own ravaged, beautiful, aging body.

There are offscreen stakes, of course, starting at the box office, but central to this series’ appeal is how it reminds you of the real world — through the years between sequels and Reeves’s gray hairs — even as it remains insistently apart from reality’s messiness, its confusions, existential terrors, corporate overlords and unspeakable ordinary brutality. Life for many in Wick World is, to borrow Hobbes’s formulation, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short,” but it’s also sentimental and filled with friendships or at least alliances. It’s also reassuringly ordered, never more so than in its violence, which in Wick World is pure, eye-popping, body-shaking, transporting entertainment, something that (to borrow from another philosopher ) has a good beat and you can dance to.

John Wick: Chapter 4 Rated R for the usual bang-bang, stab-stab. Running time: 2 hours 49 minutes. In theaters.

Manohla Dargis has been the co-chief film critic of The Times since 2004. She started writing about movies professionally in 1987 while earning her M.A. in cinema studies at New York University, and her work has been anthologized in several books. More about Manohla Dargis

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John Wick: Chapter 4 Reviews

Chad Stahelski’s opera of violence is one of the most artistically stirring movies of 2023.

Full Review | Mar 5, 2024

The John Wick universe is a complex blend of gun violence, vague religious imagery, and some of the best dog actors around, and the fourth installment brought the action to a new level.

Full Review | Jan 13, 2024

John Wick: Chapter 4 really is a visual spectacular. With amazing fight sequences and a storyline that never signposts or becomes predictable this film is a film that deserves more credit than most will give it.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 19, 2023

Yes, Donnie Yen plays another blind character (my theory is that filmmakers do this because nobody would buy that a Donnie Yen with two functioning eyes could ever lose a fight).

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 8, 2023

You might have seen some of it before, but it has never been as big and brash as it is in this chapter... an action epic for the ages.

Full Review | Sep 6, 2023

Genuine cinematic poetry.

Full Review | Sep 3, 2023

John Wick 4 is the ultimate action movie.

Full Review | Aug 16, 2023

The action is fluid and all-consuming and makes it easy to overlook some of the story’s shortcomings (too many new threads, not so seamlessly woven in).

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 16, 2023

It is an incredible ride that is designed to entertain from the opening moments and the best way to enjoy it is to just hang on.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Aug 9, 2023

This series always did a stellar job of not turning John Wick into a robotic machine, and Reeves always maintained a depth to this haunted character. The tenderness of a classically Reeves-ian performance is what is missing in John Wick: Chapter 4.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Aug 9, 2023

They understand that it is the characters, the humour, and the jaw-dropping action that keeps us coming back for more. And as long as they keep this up, even in the form of spin-offs, audiences will continue to lap it up.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 29, 2023

John Wick: Chapter 4 delivers a satisfying conclusion to an outstanding action franchise that never fails to impress with its stylish action sequences and portrayal of an intriguing world of assassins and codes of conduct.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.75/5 | Jul 26, 2023

Joins both Mad Max and Mission: Impossible in the action franchise hall of fame in the wing of films that somehow keep getting more thrilling and more beautiful to look at amidst the ballet of carnage in its breathless set pieces.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 26, 2023

John Wick: Chapter 4 concludes the game-changing saga with a relentless, ruthless action masterclass that ultimately justifies its epic length.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jul 25, 2023

"John Wick: Chapter 4" is the best entry since the original, and it knows the mileage on John's soul is starting to reveal itself more and more. So, it smartly plans for a narrative exit ramp.

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski return with trusted collaborators to their neon labyrinth featuring elevated action and a cast of adversaries and allies to create the most John Wick film in the franchise.

The entire series is a sisyphean journey of revenge. The audience knows that John Wick (Keanu Reeves) can never be free from this life of an assassin. He’s doomed to climb that 222-step staircase to Sacre-Cœur in Paris, both physically and metaphorically.

Full Review | Jul 24, 2023

A Bonafide Action MASTERPIECE. Cementing John Wick as one of the greatest Action Franchises of all time. Once you think you’ve seen the coolest sequence it only gets better up until the final 30 minutes which completely had my jaw on the floor.

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Jul 24, 2023

With John Wick Chapter 4, Chad Stahelski crafts a grand sculpture of gunplay, feverishly yet methodically chiseled until its ultimate, explosive completion. A violent, ferocious symphony that encapsulates the very reason why we go to the movies.

From the cinematography, an atmospheric score in all the right places, to a powerful conclusion in Wick’s personal’s story – it ends the franchise in the best way it ever could.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 23, 2023

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John Wick: Chapter 4 First Reviews: The Best in the Franchise, with Epic Wall-to-Wall Action

Critics say the latest john wick adventure might be the best action film of the year, full of spectacular thrills, memorable supporting performances, and at least one set piece you won't forget..

Here’s what critics are saying about John Wick: Chapter 4 :

Where does it rank in the franchise?

John Wick: Chapter 4 outdoes its formidable predecessors in nearly every respect. – Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

John Wick: Chapter 4 once again exceeds expectations. – Jeff Nelson, Showbiz Cheat Sheet

It is the most John Wick movie. And it is the best John Wick movie. – Tom Jorgensen, IGN Movies

John Wick: Chapter 4 takes cinema to the next level once again. – Fred Topel, United Press International

There’s a strong argument to be made that it’s the best of the sequels. – Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend

It may not be consistent enough to rank as the franchise’s finest, but when it gets going, it cooks with gas. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

In this gradual development and expansion of the Wickaverse, the filmmakers seem to have lost the thread of what makes the first and, at times, second film in the series work so well. – Derek Smith, Slant Magazine

Kean Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

(Photo by ©Lionsgate)

Will it go down as one of the best action movies ever?

John Wick: Chapter 4 is one of the best modern American action films this side of a Mission: Impossible . – Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

John Wick: Chapter 4 stands above… the past decade’s worth of action films as a whole. – Tom Jorgensen, IGN Movies

This fourth adventure — like those that preceded it — thrillingly and savagely slays its modern action competition. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

John Wick: Chapter 4 is one of the best action movies of the past few years. – JimmyO, JoBlo’s Movie Network

John Wick: Chapter 4 boasts truly innovative action — not only by the standards of the John Wick series, but also for all of cinema. – Fred Topel, United Press International

This is sure to become a highly rewatched, often quoted classic. – Alan French, Sunshine State Cineplex

What other movies could we compare it to?

John Wick: Chapter 4 feels like the first John Wick movie that wants to be a Clint Eastwood spaghetti Western. It’s like Sergio Leone crossed with John Woo. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

It fits in with the likes of Leone, Walter Hill, John Woo, and George Miller. – Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

It is near non-stop wall-to-wall combat, car chases, and shoot-outs on a level not seen since Mad Max: Fury Road . – Karl Delossantos, Smash Cut Reviews

It’s the best American action blockbuster since George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road . – Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire

Keanu Reeves and Donnie Yen in John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

(Photo by Murray Close/©Lionsgate)

Does Chad Stahelski outdo himself?

Chad Stahelski has once again delivered the goods and then some. – Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture

Director Chad Stahelski, who helmed all the previous films, and his formidable stunt team have outshone their previous work, and that’s saying something. – Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

John Wick: Chapter 4 strongly suggests that he is the finest Hollywood director of gun battles, fist fights, sword duels, and car chases working at the moment. – Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

Throughout John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski has been flexing his directorial muscles with extended action scenes that have a visual style and cohesion that highlights how he’s become one of the best action filmmakers in the world. And then in the wild finale, Stahelski pulls out all the stops. – Sean Mulvihill, Mulviews

Chad Stahelski lacks the showman’s instinct for building and payoff. – Charles Bramesco, Guardian

So the action is good?

Stunt coordinator Scott Rogers makes a bombastic return, choreographing the most bonkers fight sequences ever to hit the silver screen. – Jeff Nelson, Showbiz Cheat Sheet

John… participates in perhaps the greatest action sequence of all time. – Karl Delossantos, Smash Cut Reviews

The action in John Wick: Chapter 4 is out of this world fantastic. – Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture

Between the range of action we see, the creativity of the various settings and set pieces, and the way Reeves acts all through it, it’s a true wonder to behold. – Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

Every action scene in John Wick: Chapter 4 could be the climax of any other movie. There is no small fight in this movie. – Fred Topel, United Press International

The final hour of the film is essentially one large action scene, and one staged with such bravura skill and visual wit that it exposes the vast majority of American action direction as the lazy sham it is. – Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

Does it get a little ridiculous?

This is a nutso film packed with over-the-top characters, on-the-nose line readings, and skewed levels of plausibility that rival the Fast & Furious franchise. However, once again, this series stays true to itself. – Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

It is patently ridiculous and mostly very fun: the platonic ideal of a globe-hopping meatbag action thriller taken to its gloriously illogical extreme. – Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly

The action in John Wick movies wouldn’t seem out of place in Looney Tunes . For Chapter 4 , the filmmakers seem in on the joke though as there’s a playfulness to the set pieces. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

With a willingness to use slapstick in the middle of action beats, John Wick: Chapter 4 is maybe the funniest entry in the series. – Brandon Zachary, CBR.com

Is there more to enjoy than just the action?

The secret weapon of the John Wick films has always been the emotion that fuels John… The fact that this latest film ends in such a character-focused way inspires awe of a different, incredibly welcome kind. – Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture

Director Chad Stahelski and screenwriters Shay Hatten and Michael Finch carry through themes surrounding consequence and the passage of time while also strengthening them with added sentiments on absolution, fate, fidelity and friendship. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

This is a movie that looks not forward toward some cash-grab sequel, but toward the past and how we got here… [It’s] the most emotionally resonant movie of the franchise. – Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire

How does the movie look?

This movie is gorgeous. It’s a symphony of violence, wonderfully captured by cinematographer Dan Lausten… Every shot of this film has something going on. – Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

For a series which has always looked stylish as hell, Chapter 4 sets a new standard for production design and cinematography. – Tom Jorgensen, IGN Movies

Cinematographer Dan Laustsen’s lush visuals makes sure the film is dazzling to look at even when there isn’t any action happening. – Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture

Through cinematographer Dan Laustsen’s lens, the saturated colorscape burns vivid and vibrant. He captures an incredibly seductive depth of field with the imagery, making the characters and action pop. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

What about Keanu Reeves’ performance?

Reeves truly continues to impress, seemingly getting better at this stuff with each franchise. – Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily

Keanu Reeves continues his action-hero dominance with another incredibly physical, supernaturally charismatic performance that pushes the boundaries of what any actor should be willing to put themselves through but he seems to take great pleasure in with tremendous skill. – Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture

Reeves does solid work bringing out flashes of humanity and exhaustion in the character, even as he dispatches untold numbers of enemies through plenty of amazing stunt work. – Brandon Zachary, CBR.com

Reeves might have fewer lines in this film than any so far in the franchise, but he completely sells Wick’s commitment while also imbuing him with emotional exhaustion that adds more gravity to this chapter. – Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

Bill Skarsgård in John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

How is the film’s villain?

Skarsgård builds depth and dimension into his ostentatious, arrogant, weaselly baddie. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

While Skarsgård’s Gramont is an arrogant upper-cruster who likes to hold court in the Louvre and the Paris Opera House, he’s more of a functional than unique villain. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

What lets Chapter 4 down is its central villain. Bill Skarsgård is entertaining… but there’s no development there. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Does anyone in the cast stand out?

Donnie Yen delivers such a physically witty and charismatic performance that you can’t wait for the inevitable spinoff. – Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

The legendary Donnie Yen gives a brilliant performance and effortlessly steals scenes as Caine. – Simon Thompson, The Playlist

Honorable mention to Scott Adkins, whose scene-stealing turn as a purple-clad, poker-playing gangster with chrome-plated front teeth deserves its own spinoff. – Brent Hankins, The Lamplight Review

Shamier Anderson, playing a new character… is destined to be a fan-favorite (and whose loyal dog nearly walks away with the movie). – Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

Anderson steals the film during several scenes… It’s a star-making supporting role, and we would love to see him headline his own franchise in the near future. – Alan French, Sunshine State Cineplex

Rina Sawayama is an absolute firecracker in her film debut. – Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture

Ian McShane and Lance Reddick are given their moments to shine. They both make a meal out of their screen time. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

Will we feel the runtime?

At just hair under three hours, John Wick: Chapter 4 is indulgent for sure, but it’s earned the running time at this point. – Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

John Wick: Chapter 4 can certainly be accused of being too long. But I doubt many fans will be complaining. – Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

Is Chapter 4 too long? You bet it is… yet the movie is conceived as a knowingly overstuffed gift to John Wick fans, and on that level it succeeds. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

In an age of increased grumbling about films with two-plus-hour runtimes, Chapter 4’ s roaring pace serves as a counter argument that proclaims movies should be as long as they need to be. – Tom Jorgensen, IGN Movies

Don’t let the length fool you; John Wick: Chapter 4 may be the most exhilarating two-hour and thirty-eight minutes you’ll spend in theaters this year. – JimmyO, JoBlo’s Movie Network

I do think there’s a slightly tighter (if you can say 150 minutes would be tight) version of this film that’s simply perfect. – Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

John Wick: Chapter 4 opens in theaters everywhere on March 24, 2023.

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‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Review: The Best Action Blockbuster Since ‘Fury Road’

Rafael motamayor.

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The “John Wick” franchise has evolved from a small-scale tale of revenge for the death of a wife and the killing of a do to a globe-trotting epic that spans continents, dozens of characters, and an intricate mythology. In its fourth chapter, director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves bring this franchise back to its roots while expanding the world and the story to bigger and bolder places. The result is not only the best movie in the franchise, but the best American action blockbuster since George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

After going to war with essentially the entire world, and causing the deaths of hundreds of people, “Chapter 4” finally starts pondering the question of just how far John Wick is willing to go for revenge, how many people close to him he’s willing to endanger, and whether it was all worth it. At this point, this is no longer about the killing of his wife and dog, it’s about burning down a system that always resented Wick for abandoning it.

The problem is that now, John Wick’s friends and acquaintances are paying the price of his little insurrection. This starts with the closure and then destruction of the Continental Hotel by the enigmatic High Table, who have now resorted to hiring The Marquis. This is Bill Skarsgård doing his best French Joker, playing the Marquis as a ruthless, often hilarious, always chaotic and intelligent villain.

Like with every film in the series, “ John Wick: Chapter 4 ” adds to its ludicrously complex mythology, introducing new rules to the High Table’s command, new sections of the franchise’s secret world of assassins, and new unique characters. There’s Shamier Anderson’s Mr. Nobody, a tracker who knows exactly where John Wick will be next but waits patiently until his bounty is large enough to be worth it to him, and who is always accompanied by a faithful (and scene-stealer) German Shepherd. While the film goes bigger in scope, it also manages to stay fairly grounded in the idea of relationships, focusing on John Wick and his allies and friends, such as Winston — who take on a larger role this time around — or Wick’s former friend, Caine.

Caine is the best character in the film, with Donnie Yen bringing his martial arts superstardom to the “John Wick” universe with an intimidating yet charismatic blind assassin with a similar backstory to Wick, who is forced to hunt him at the request of the High Table. Even when he’s not fighting, Yen steals every scene he’s in, even by just slurping on noodles while his henchmen die all around him, or when he uses Wifi-controlled doorbells to track his enemies.

Creator Derek Kolstad steps down as the screenwriter of the film, leaving scribe duties entirely to the co-writer of the previous entry in the franchise, Shay Hatten, as well as Michael Finch. Despite the long running time, “John Wick: Chapter 4” has impeccable pacing. It never drags, but feels tightly focused, and manages to develop even the new supporting cast, like Rina Sawayama’s assassin Akira — a standout — or Scott Adkins having the time of his life as a German assassin covered in heavy prosthetics. It also helps that this chapter in the story is almost non-stop action, having each of the film’s three acts revolving around breathtaking set piece after breathtaking set piece — each with its own enemies, weapons, and sets.

Indeed, the best way to describe “John Wick: Chapter 4” is that it often feels like watching “Mad Max: Fury Road” and marveling at how they pulled that movie off without killing half the crew. As mentioned, each set takes advantage of the different locations and crews to deliver wholly unique fight scenes, and like in every movie of the franchise, it continues to be a delight to see Keanu Reeves’ John Wick constantly be out of breath, knocked down, and then beaten up before he stands back up. The last arc, in particular, should be placed in the Louvre, with a fight in the middle of a transited Arc de Triomphe.

And yet, as cool as it is to see a vulnerable John Wick, he still needs a few gadgets. Clear among them, however, is his superpowered magical suit that seems to completely deflect bullets, which turns the characters into superheroes about as actually vulnerable as a cartoon character. It never stops being a bit too ridiculous to see these assassins cover their face with their suits and just not take any damage — just as John Wick is now apparently immune to pain from being hit by a car — but it is easy to let this slide when the action scenes are so good.

Returning cinematographer Dan Laustsen continues to really understand and utilize neon blues and reds, but he also gives us an incredible fight done as a one-liner with an overhead shot that makes the scene look like the “Hotline Miami” video game.

We’re four movies in, and about to get spin-offs. This is a movie that looks not forward toward some cash-grab sequel, but toward the past and how we got here. Whether he gets out alive or dead, John Wick has to start thinking about where this quest leads, where the road built on all the dead bodies he’s been laying in front of him leads. The answer is surprisingly meditative and poignant, one that makes this the most emotionally resonant movie of the franchise.

The “John Wick” saga has changed and evolved throughout the years, For this film, there is no denying how it has made Chad Stahelski one of our best action filmmakers, and how the franchise gave Keanu yet another career-redefining role. It’s been a wild ride, and one of the best and most consistent movie series ever. No matter where the roads lead, however, “I’m thinking John Wick is back.”

“John Wick: Chapter 4” premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. Lionsgate will release it in theaters on Friday, March 24.

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‘atlas’ review: brad peyton’s ai futurism film falls short despite jennifer lopez’s star power, ‘john wick: chapter 4’ review: keanu reeves takes franchise to new levels of action, and length – sxsw.

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I personally have still never forgiven the first film for brutally killing off John’s lovable little beagle puppy, but I have to let it go, as the rest of the series has not let audiences down — particularly the last one with a kick-ass Halle Berry and what is still for me that amazing sequence, a masterpiece of action choreography with all those killer dogs doing their thing against the humans.

This new film opens with the assumption of the High Table, that unseen cabal of Crime Lords out to make a deal for John’s head, that Wick is dead. He’s not, and instead in a sequence that might be described as John Wick meets Lawrence of Arabia, we get reintroduced to him in the Jordanian desert as he takes to horseback in the first of those many, many action sequences which are the signature attraction here, obviously. Director Chad Stahelski, a former martial arts expert and stunt man for Reeves in the Matrix pictures, clearly knows what the audience wants and expects, and seems determined to ratchet it all up a few notches. Fortunately, even if it seems just too much of a good thing at times, John Wick: Chapter 4 delivers.

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Reeves truly continues to impress, seemingly getting better at this stuff with each franchise (following four Matrix films where he honed his initial skills). His characters are men of few words, but who needs a lot of dialogue anyway? The casting in this one with two giants of the genre Yen and Sanada really takes the series to new levels, and Skarsgard seems to be having a swell time playing a lethal guy we love to hate. Shout-out as well to new cast member Shamier Anderson as The Tracker, a killer with a faithful Belgian Malinois (this series does seem to employ a lot of dogs) that not only is a faithful companion but also pretty fearsome when the situation calls for it. Rina Sawayama makes an impressive feature debut as Shimazu’s skilled daughter and concierge of his Osaka hotel.

Returning to the series is Laurence Fishburne as Bowery King, the kingpin who oversees an underground underworld operation and remains a mysterious friend for Wick, as well as Ian McShane’s Winston, the owner of the hired killers paradise, the New York Continental Hotel. Lance Reddick again plays the ever-helpful concierge at that one.

Just as big a star as any of these actors would be Scott Rogers, the lead stunt coordinator/choreographer who helps stage these spectacular set pieces. The ending promises more down the road, but in what direction we will have to wait and see the inevitable John Wick: Chapter 5.

Producers are Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Stahelski. Lionsgate opens the film on Friday March 24th exclusively in theaters including Imax. It had its first U.S. first screening Monday night at SXSW .

Title: .John Wick: Chapter 4 Section: Special Event Director: Chad Stahelski Screenwriters: Shay Hatten, Michael Finch Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Hiroyuki Sanada , Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Clancy Brown Running time: 2 hr 49 min Distributor: Lionsgate

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‘John Wick: Chapter 4’: Longer, bloodier and better than ever

The fourth installment in the martial arts action franchise ups the ante, with stunning set pieces of fight choreography

Is “John Wick: Chapter 4” the best John Wick movie in the franchise, as early reviews suggest ?

Quite possibly. But what does that even mean? Readers who have never seen Keanu Reeves as John Wick, who don’t even like violent action movies — especially not ones about an elite assassin in a fantastical hierarchy of three-piece-suited assassins that is run like an efficient corporation, on the run from his co-workers, and with a multimillion-dollar bounty on his head — won’t understand why the film deserves the star rating I’ve given it. They might even assume that it is great (and it is pretty great) by the same metric that “ The Quiet Girl ” is great.

That would be a mistake. Apples, as they say, must be not be compared to oranges, and certainly not blood oranges, which is perhaps the better analogy for this tart, tangy and juicily sanguineous offering. But fans of the films will understand. They will even accept — nay, demand — the repetition of the series’s formulaic plots, which involve both flight and pursuit.

Triggered by the killing of the titular professional hit man’s dog and the theft of his car, the first “ John Wick ” was essentially a revenge thriller centering on John, or Mr. Wick as he is just as commonly known, and a Russian crime lord (Michael Nyqvist). John’s pursuit of Viggo Tarasov is slightly counterbalanced by the antihero’s efforts to avoid being killed.

Over time, the mix of fight and flight has shifted, with John fully becoming the quarry by the end of “ John Wick: Chapter 2 ,” in the wake of his killing of a Neapolitan Mafioso (Riccardo Scamarcio). As “ John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum ” gets underway, John is being hounded by a lethal Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon), along with nearly every hired gun in the world, having been declared “excommunicado,” or excommunicated, for the murder of Santino D’Antonio on the “sanctified” grounds of a New York City hotel catering exclusively to killers. (Come to think of it, the society to which John belongs — and under whose arcane rules he operates — is more like a religion than a company.)

The point is, these plots are all the same, or at least very similar: John wants someone dead, and someone — or a lot of someones — wants him dead in return. In “Chapter 4,” the main someone is the effete Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard), the French representative to the High Table, the governing body of the international crime syndicate for which John works. At nearly three hours long, it’s the most John Wick-ian of all the John Wick films, by virtue of the simple fact that there is more time to lavish on the films’ fans exactly what they want, in spectacular fashion.

And boy, is it spectacular. Would that all action films were so well and cleanly choreographed. (Are you listening, Marvel and DC?) To be sure, the Wick films are not for everyone. But returning director Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman and stunt coordinator, knows one thing: If you’re going to do something, do it right.

Stahelski ups the ante from the previous three films with one amazing set piece after another — a chase scene set in the desert, on horseback; a bloodbath in a discothèque decorated with waterfalls; visits to Osaka and Berlin — each sequence outdoing the one before. The most talked-about fight scenes will surely be two staged in Paris: the first taking place in the traffic roundabout encircling the Arc de Triomphe, known as the Étoile, or star, for its 12 radiating avenues; the second taking place on the 222 steps of the Rue Foyatier leading up to the Sacré-Coeur cathedral, where a climactic duel takes place at dawn between John and the Marquis.

Also in attendance: two secondary antagonists, a killer known only as the Tracker (Shamier Anderson) and a blind assassin named Caine, beautifully brought to life by Chinese martial arts legend Donnie Yen. ( According to Yen , the actor requested a change to the character’s stereotypically Asian name — originally “Shang or Chang,” he says, in the screenplay by Michael Finch, Shay Hatten and Derek Kolstad. Intentionally or not, his character now suggests an homage to David Carradine’s Kwai Chang Caine from the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu.”)

Clearly, Stahelski is a fan of martial arts lore and its elaborate — one might even say perverse — codes of chivalry, ethics and honor among rogues. (The call letters of a radio station in the film are, notably, WUXIA .) He is not alone. If you are also an acolyte in the church of chopsocky, samurai swordplay and gunslinging gangsters, you could do a lot worse than “John Wick: Chapter 4.” In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to do better.

Why not four stars? Because I want to save room for improvement, in case there’s a “Chapter 5.”

R. At area theaters. Contains pervasive strong violence and some coarse language. 169 minutes.

John Wick: Chapter 4 Review: The Greatest Modern Action Franchise Tops Itself [SXSW 2023]

You've got to love a movie star who suffers for our sins. And while Tom Cruise snags the biggest headlines for his death-defying work in the "Mission: Impossible" movies, it's hard to watch "John Wick: Chapter 4" and not admire the anguish of Keanu Reeves. Alongside the most astonishing stunt ensemble in Hollywood, the universally beloved, charmingly stoic actor offers the perfect portrait of an action hero in constant physical and emotional pain. We don't love John Wick because he kills every last motherf***** in the room, we love John Wick because he kills every last motherf***** in the room and emerges from the fight limping, sweating, panting, and making it clear that being a master assassin is the kind of task that breaks your body and soul.

We love John Wick because he's a superhuman character who displays every sign of human frailty. He bleeds. And Reeves, no stranger to tossing typical movie star egos straight in the trash, leans right into it. After four movies of cyclical revenge and torment, Reeves is ready to let his signature hero look as tired as possible. Yeah, the Baba Yaga wracks up another body count this time around, but you just want him to get the hell out of this and take a nap. Reeves, impossibly empathetic by default, lets us love the Terminator.

John Wick must suffer

If you forgot about the ending of "John Wick: Chapter 3," "Chapter 4" offers no apologies as it throws the characters and the audience straight into the meat grinder. New enemies emerge, frenemies flip across the aisles, and in true franchise fashion, select antagonists emerge as the closest thing John has to someone who understands everything he's going through. This time around, the source of John's pain is the Marquis (Bill Skarsgård, chewing into a perfectly imperfect French accent), who's been tasked by the criminal underworld's High Table with cleaning up the giant mess Mr. Wick has caused across the previous three movies by any means necessary. This means series-shaking consequences and major deaths, and the kind of bad guy who is boo/hiss-worthy to actually repair some of the seemingly irreparable decisions made in the previous movie and get certain characters talking again.

"John Wick: Chapter 4" begins with whispers of an apocalypse for the franchise's complex world and then delivers it, tearing down familiar walls and thrusting John into situations that somehow top the increasingly bonkers action director Chad Stahelski and his fearless stunt team staged in the previous movies. "Chapter 4" goes for broke — John Wick must suffer, and we are going to thrill in his suffering.

An action fantasy

Like the previous films, "Chapter 4" continues to build out the bizarro landscape its characters inhabit, feeling very much like an adaptation of the greatest '90s Vertigo comic book series never published (consider that my highest form of praise for anything, really). With its extensive world-building, deep bench of bizarro characters, language that sometimes feels as opaque as Frank Herbert and J.R.R. Tolkien (if they were, you know, fans of machine guns), and endless rules that govern the lives of the characters, "John Wick" has always felt like an urban fantasy series, albeit one where bullets stand in place of magic. The series' dedication to carving out its own wild world that exists beneath our own and playing by its own logic recalls Walter Hill's "Streets of Fire," another breathlessly cool action movie that honestly has more in common with "Lord of the Rings" than a story set in the real world. The world of "John Wick: Chapter 4" remains singular, the kind of thing that keeps you coming back even if the initial draw is Keanu Reeves and the punishing, stylish action he endures for our pleasure.

At just hair under three hours, "Chapter 4" is indulgent for sure, but it's earned the running time at this point. If you aren't ready for scenes of characters discussing the rituals and regulations of the Wick Universe ... Well, just know the action does come, fast and furious. But this entry knows that the weirdos in the crowd (like me, and probably you, the person reading a movie website) like to understand the process of this world, and Stahelski delivers on the politics, the squabbling, the posturing, and the power struggles. And he knows that filling the cast with delightful character actors like Clancy Brown and B-movie action legends like Scott Adkins is the key to our investing in the whole thing. We want to watch these actors talk with Keanu Reeves.

And then we want to see them try to kill each other.

How the heck did they pull this off?

And everyone wants to kill each other in "John Wick: Chapter 4," a movie whose three-act structure is built around three gigantic action scenes that shift scope, enemies, weapons, and environments so swiftly that getting bored feels like an impossibility. As you'd expect, there is a deep pleasure in watching Keanu Reeves share the screen with Hong Kong action superstar Donnie Yen, and their scenes (both when they're beating the stuffing out of each other or just talking) are a highlight of the film. An equally pleasant surprise is Shamier Anderson, playing a new character who is destined to be a fan-favorite (and whose loyal dog nearly walks away with the movie).

And while some returning characters don't get as much to do as you'd hope (Lance Reddick and Laurence Fishburne just pop in to say hello, and Ian McShane's Winston is largely sidelined), the film leans into Reeves and the newcomers with gusto, throwing them into action sequences that are destined to make stunt coordinators all over the world lose sleep as they wonder "How the heck did they pull that off?"

The final hour of the film is essentially one large action scene, and one staged with such bravura skill and visual wit that it exposes the vast majority of American action direction as the lazy sham it is. Stahelski, a former stunt performer and coordinator himself, knows how important it is to showcase these talented folks and make sure the audience can appreciate and follow their every action. That "every action" also involves staging choices that feel just plain unfair to every other action movie you'll see this year strongly suggests that he is the finest Hollywood director of gun battles, fist fights, sword duels, and car chases working at the moment.

Yeah, I'm thinking he's back

However, "John Wick: Chapter 4" is all about Keanu Reeves, the ego-free leading man who has proven endlessly fascinating to audiences both on and offscreen. At this point, Wick has become his signature role, eclipsing Neo from "The Matrix" and Ted Theodore Logan. And of course it has. This is a role built to showcase that indefinable stillness, the deadpan humor, that self-effacing sense of suffering. It's no secret that Reeves does a great deal of his own stunt work, and Stahelski's camera makes sure you know it. There is nothing about Reeves' work as an action hero that feels phoned-in, or vain. John Wick remaining empathetic even after he's wiped a hundred bad guys off the map remains a very special kind of acting magic trick, and one only suited to his particular set of skills.

By this point, someone reading a "John Wick: Chapter 4" movie review already has an opinion on the "John Wick" franchise. If more world-building, bigger action, and a deeper embrace of what its leading man does well all perk up your ears, you know what you need to know. As someone who has been in the tank for these movies for nearly a decade now, the fourth film is everything I wanted out of these movies. Yeah, I'm thinking he's back.

/Film Rating: 9 out of 10

Vague Visages

Movies, tv & music • independent film criticism • soundtrack guides • forming the future • est. 2014, review: chad stahelski’s ‘john wick: chapter 4’.

John Wick: Chapter 4 Review - 2023 Chad Stahelski Movie Film

Vague Visages’ John Wick: Chapter 4 review contains minor spoilers. Chad Stahelski’s 2023 movie stars Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen and Bill Skarsgård. Check out the VV home page for more film reviews, along with cast/character summaries, streaming guides and complete soundtrack song listings.

The John Wick films belong to a lineage of comic book-like productions. In the visual structure, the style is elaborated by italicized subtitles, with certain words highlighted for emphasis, and fluid editing. While Chad Stahelski’s 2023 film occasionally confounds its own suspension of disbelief, it closes out the franchise with courage.

John Wick: Chapter 4 takes place some indeterminable amount of time after its predecessors as Keanu Reeves’ title character continues his violent quest for alleged peace, knowing that he can’t be free until his enemies are gone. Despite a well-paced script, it takes longer for the first action sequence to hit than in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019). The nearly three-hour runtime commences with minor character struggles but culminates without any. Like its immediate predecessor, John Wick: Chapter 4 warps across the globe in a way that makes it difficult to gauge how much time has passed between scenes.

John Wick: Chapter 4 Review: Related — Know the Cast & Characters: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

The John Wick franchise started with a simple inciting incident — a retired hitman seeks revenge after his dog gets killed — and has become the story of a globe-spanning secret society of assassins and overlapping crime organizations. It is nonetheless refreshing that these movies keep audiences contained within their world. And the lack of police means that the rules and consequences become the sole social focus, even if part of the intrigue comes from not knowing those rules as clearly as the characters .

Just as the coded language, blood oaths and dead friendships strengthen more than slow the script in John Wick: Chapter 4, the economy of motion and fluidity of combat is augmented more than stifled by additional tools, from former colleagues clashing in culturally distinct fencing styles to one of the least graceful but nonetheless most brutally efficient deployments of nunchaku. The judo throws, jiu-jitsu holds, kickboxing and other hand-to-hand fighting styles return with grit and glamour. And as the lore has developed lots of moving parts around the story, Kevlar-coated suits make the many disposable henchmen harder to kill. While drawing viewers further from reality, the relatively impervious nature of the protagonist extends somewhat to his enemies, though this also means that some deaths feel arbitrary, even if the brutality remains consistent. In turn — and this is a wider issue across action films — it can be hard for certain deaths to resonate in a film full of corpses, especially if one doesn’t have time to better understand certain characters, due to their limited screen time. This imperviousness and warped relationship to death reminds of the video games even more than comics.

John Wick: Chapter 4 Review: Related — Know the Cast: ‘Death on the Nile’

The deepening world of the John Wick franchise invites a wealth of new characters , most notably Bill Skarsgård as the main antagonist (Marquis), Hiroyuki Sanada as a hotel manager (Shimazu), Rina Sawayama as his second-in-command (Akira), Shamier Anderson as an enigmatic tracker (Tracker) and Donnie Yen as a father in a dilemma (Caine). Much as with Bullet Train , I was ecstatic to see Sanada and wish there was more of him, though John Wick: Chapter 4 is more efficient with his time on screen. I also could have used more Lance Reddick and Laurence Fishburne. While none of these characters are completely flat, all the returning ones (such as secondary protagonist Ian McShane as Winston) come with the built-in expectation that audiences have seen the other franchise films. Just as Yen developed a martial arts style for Chirrut Îmwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), he appears to have honed another blind swordsman discipline for this character, and it’s awesome. Scott Adkins’ Killa will likely be controversial, though the character is effectively violent enough that the makeup might not spur an instinctive critical pan.

John Wick: Chapter 4 Review: Related — Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘Bullet Train’

John Wick: Chapter 4’s impressive cinematography initially utilizes wide-angle shots of exotic locales and develops tension and intensity through close-ups; however, toward the end of the film, the close-ups begin to feel like a crutch — an attempt to incorporate emotional depth and resonance without ever developing characters’ personalities because of the emphasis on fight scenes. Also, toward the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, there is an homage to a cult classic action thriller that becomes a main wrinkle of the third act. It’s like the filmmakers decided to include a remake within the main narrative. Thematically, it fits. But the copy-paste job, down to dialogue and musical choices, feels too cute. Within that little channel, a genre reference is literally spelled out, with writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch too self-assured of their cleverness. They also felt the need to have a character explain the key to another character’s moment of strategic triumph at the climax, so maybe they’re unsure of the audience’s intelligence.

John Wick: Chapter 4 Review: Related — Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘Triangle of Sadness’

John Wick: Chapter 4 is a jet-setting combat film that remains slimmer than its franchise contemporaries (James Bond, Mission: Impossible, Fast & Furious). While it’s unlikely to re-orient one’s understanding of what is possible with cinema, it is indeed a rewarding viewing experience; an exhilarating action film that takes itself and its bizarre world seriously. John Wick: Chapter 4 is a fitting conclusion to the series. Stahelski, Derek Kolstad and their hundreds of collaborators should be proud of what they’ve done for American action films.

Kevin Fox, Jr. (@ KevinFoxJr ) is a freelance writer, editor and film critic. His work has appeared in Paste Magazine and People’s World. Kevin has an MA in history, loves audiovisual entertainment and dreams of liberation. Check out his Substack at kfjwrites.substack.com .

John Wick: Chapter 4 Review: Related — Know the Cast & Characters: ‘Babylon’

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Home » Movie Reviews » John Wick: Chapter 4 Movie Review: The Franchise Surges Miles Ahead of Its Contemporaries

John Wick: Chapter 4 Movie Review: The Franchise Surges Miles Ahead of Its Contemporaries

Review: In terms of contemporary action movies, John Wick: Chapter 4 (and the entire John Wick franchise, honestly) has separated itself from the pack. Each detail, idea, and set piece is perfectly crafted to build out a world that feels so fully realized. Somehow, Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski continue to find new ways to keep the franchise fresh.

John Wick Chapter 4 Movie with Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski

A few months back, I felt that I may have reached nirvana during a screening of a certain movie at a local theater. Sure, maybe a bit hyperbolic, but also quite accurate of how I felt seeing three hours of nonstop, pedal to the metal action that truly transformed what I thought that genre could conceive of. Obviously, I’m talking about John Wick: Chapter 4 , which I just recently bared witness to for a second time and can finally confirm is a certified work of art.

At the time of first laying eyes on this movie, I planned to write a full length review tackling what I thought was an incredibly engaging three hours of spitfire gun-fu, but I wasn’t sure I was fully prepared to break down what I also thought was such an engaging and viscerally overwhelming experience – so I laid off. But now I’m ready to navigate this expansive, breakneck iteration of what may be the best action franchise of this century.

John Wick: Chapter 4 starts soon after the events that close out Parabellum . After faking his own death and crawling back to underground New York, John Wick ( Keanu Reeves ) is training to hit back at those that wronged him. From the over-ruling Elder to those that sit at the High Table, nobody is safe from the indestructible hitman once nicknamed Baba Yaga – not even the mercenary Marquis ( Bill Skarsgård ) crowned by the High Table to take down the legend himself.

As John Wick: Chapter 4 moves along, we see the price increase immensely to take down the journeyman responsible for causing chaos in the streets of the incredibly large underworld of assassins, from New York to Osaka to London. It becomes clear that the only way for John Wick to gain his freedom and to clear his name is by winning a duel – one that could become costly for everyone involved.

The John Wick franchise has always been remarkable for their level of worldbuilding. What started as a slick, insular bit of clever storytelling in the first movie has quickly become one of the more expansive worlds in action genre filmmaking, especially as of late. The world of interconnected hotels and systems for hitmen has always been fascinating, and it’s been equally fun to see director Chad Stahelski and executive producer David Leitch continue to inspire and redefine what’s possible in this world.

And so while the first few entries continued to build on the idea of a growing, immensely populated world of trained hitmen, no movie before John Wick: Chapter 4 has built out the lore and mythology quite like this. There are elongated scenes used just to push forward the idea of this final duel that John Wick must take part in that I was captivated in from beginning to end.

There are also a handful of new characters, each with their own tone and set of motivations. Donnie Yen stands out whenever he’s on screen as the blind assassin Caine, who’s inability to see certainly does not detract from his ability to kill anyone with perfect eyesight. Shamier Anderson also makes an appearance as another budding professional in this world as he flip-flops between trustworthy and adversary depending on who offers him the best payday.

The collection of new faces helps add to the plethora of fighting styles and interesting characters. The burden on Keanu Reeves to provide the stunt work is significantly lightened because many of them are dedicated to the surrounding cast members, an each of them excel with what they’re given. Perhaps the pinnacle example of this is Caine moving through the Osaka kitchens in the first leg of this movie.

Thematically, John Wick: Chapter 4 gets a bit deeper and is able to pull back a few more layers than the previous films. The movie digs heavily into the question of John Wick being a hero knowing that many of his friends have died as a result of his run from danger. At times, the movie hints at him standing down knowing that it could save those he’s close to so they don’t meet the demise of the people he’s lost in the past.

It’s all handled in a sincere and mannered way as the tone in John Wick: Chapter 4 feels similarly dreary and melancholy like the first few. John Wick is a reserved, unwilling assassin wanting to get out of the game any way possible, and the franchise continues to build on the notion that he’s only committing certain actions to get his version of a peaceful life – even though that may be impossible to return to.

As is the case with every John Wick movie, Chapter 4 is incredibly shot and technically sound. Upon second viewing, I was floored just how well lit so many of the action sequences are, from John Wick gaining revenge for his family members in the middle of a rave to the impeccable overhead one-shot in the third act (you’ll certainly know what I’m talking about when you see it). Every action sequence and idea is carefully planned out, and I’m not sure I’ve seen a movie in this lane with so many blossoming visual ideas. The set pieces are so meticulously planned out.

John Wick: Chapter 4 feels like such a great sendoff for a franchise that never had a miss, which makes me so skeptical of the greenlit fifth installment rumored to be coming down the road, but I’ll surely give it a shot given what I thought was one of the best installments yet.

There are action movies, and then there is John Wick . To say that these movies are generic and action fluff feels dismissive given what usually comes from this genre year in and year out. Everyone else is playing catch-up to what might be the best franchise operating right now.

Genre: Action , Crime , Thriller

Where to stream John Wick: Chapter 4: VOD

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John Wick: Chapter 4 Cast and Credits

John Wick Chapter 4 Movie Cast and Credits

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

Donnie Yen as Caine

Bill Skarsgård as Marquis

Ian McShane as Winston

Laurence Fishburne as Bowery King

Lance Reddick as Charon

Shamier Anderson as Tracker

Director: Chad Stahelski

Writers: Michael Finch , Shay Hatten

Cinematography: Dan Laustsen

Editor: Nathan Orloff

Composers: Tyler Bates , Joel J. Richard

John Wick: Chapter 4 movie on Letterboxd

John Wick: Chapter 4 movie on IMDb

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John Wick: Chapter 4 review – overlong and overstuffed action sequel

Keanu Reeves returns as the indestructible hitman in a follow-up that confuses bigger for better at a patience-stretching almost three-hour runtime

L ate in the fourth film bearing his name, indestructible hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) falls down some stairs. Quite a few stairs, actually – tossed by an enemy down the 222 steps of Paris’s famed Rue Foyatier on his way to the final showdown at the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, he tumbles down one flight after another like a Slinky in an immaculately tailored suit. He finally crumples on to a landing, only to get hurled once more down the rest of the stairs, at which point the absurd amount of time spent watching him roll back over the path he just climbed turns into its own deadpan, sisyphean joke.

This bit isn’t quite as funny during the rest of John Wick: Chapter 4’s bloated two hours and 49 minutes, though it’s not really meant to be. To crib a phrase, everything happens so much to our killing-machine hero as he blazes a bloody trail from New York to Osaka to Berlin to Paris. Scene after scene drags on far past the point of redundancy, the zillion solemn ceremonies and over-the-shoulder flips landing in monotony without the saving grace of a winking laugh. An entirely earnest and altogether fatal fondness for itself has drawn out a franchise once prized for its lean-and-mean ferocity into a logy death march set at a dirge’s pace. Roger Ebert memorably declared that no good movie is too long, his point not that fun can go on forever, but that a well-told story takes as long as it takes. Wick’s latest outing indulges in muchness for its own sake, and where unrestrained excess has blown open the gate for mad inspiration in so many others, the director, Chad Stahelski, lacks the showman’s instinct for building and payoff.

In the side-quest-clogged narrative as in the virtuosic fight sequences that far overstay their welcome, a viewer starts to feel the difference between maximalism and merely having a lot of stuff, somewhere around the third hour and mostly in our glutes. Like gun-fu ace Wick, Stahelski’s crew just kept shooting and shooting and shooting, too caught up in the action to stop and consider what it’s all for.

This needless elongation frustrates in particular because the plot at hand fits within a single sentence: hunted by his former assassin guild, Wick must clear his name by defeating the new head honcho Marquis (Bill Skarsgard, whose pouty lips and literal silver spoon in his mouth mark him as an effete, privileged object of hatred) in a duel. Should be simple enough, if not for the world-building arcana this series’ writers have decided its audience can’t get enough of. We’re made to wade through about an hour of movie before an ally notifies J-Dubs that this get-out-of-execution-free card even exists, except that he can’t formally file his challenge with the Marquis until lone wolf Wick pledges his allegiance to one of the guild’s officially recognized cells. And he can’t do that until he snuffs out a rotund local mobster (the great Scott Adkins, nimble even in a Norbit-quality fat suit) to curry their favor. And so on and so on.

To the extent that Wick’s vehicles follow the same schematic as musicals, with shootouts taking the place of song-and-dance numbers, the script doesn’t have to do much more than usher the characters from one showstopper to the next. And each set piece has an amusing gimmick; an army of guys in bulletproof suits must be dispatched with headshots, a blind mercenary (Donnie Yen) picks off foes using doorbell sensors, an aerial shot follows Wick on a shotgun-flamethrower rampage. But the legendary Freed unit behind MGM’s Golden Age extravaganzas understood that you only get one multi-part dream-ballet fantasy suite, and that your grand finale – in this case, a melee in the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe that plays like a life-or-death game of Frogger – should come at the end. Just as an actor-turned-director gives his cast the free rein for scenery-gnawing he’s always wanted for himself, former stuntman Stahelski’s evident and often endearing affection for his professional peers gets the better of him in impressive battles nonetheless hampered by two or three extraneous beats.

There was a time when an economical-minded studio head would have forcibly excised the pointless horseback chase in the Middle East, or the wheel-spinning interlude in Germany, or the morally ambiguous Tracker (Shamier Anderson) that screenwriters Shay Hatten and Michael Finch can’t figure out what to do with. For whatever reason – the endless scroll of streaming content reorienting our concept of a long time, perhaps – Hollywood has made its peace with the three-hour blockbuster, and expects the public to do the same. The most faithful faction of the Wick fandom will undoubtedly be pleased to see their belief that you can’t have too much of a good thing put into practice. Those who appreciated the original for its brutal, sinewy agility have another thing coming: a lumbering, stultifying gargantua of a film willing to kill everything except its darlings.

John Wick: Chapter 4 will be released in the US, UK and Australia on 24 March

Keanu Reeves
Action and adventure films
Ian McShane

Total Film's 2023 in review: Keanu Reeves and more on the making of John Wick: Chapter 4

Exclusive: Total Film suits up with John Wick 4’s Keanu Reeves, director Chad Stahelski, and the wider cast and crew to uncover a film gunning for greatness

This feature originally appeared in issue 334 of Total Film. Subscribe to Total Film here to never miss an issue.

We’re thinking he’s back… the hardest-hitting American action series returns for a Japanese-flavoured fourth installment that promises a mano-a-mano main event with a martial arts legend and puts John Wick under an existential spotlight in his fight for liberation from the High Table.

There’s a saying on the set of the John Wick films, one that’s uttered when the punishing demands of a series lauded for its best-in-league action needs to be acknowledged by all present: Wick is pain. It’s an expression that comes from a place of affection and is used for two reasons: “Because Chad [Stahelski], the director, likes to torture John Wick,” chuckles the man typically on the receiving end of said torment, and the phone today, Keanu Reeves. And, secondly, to make it clear to anyone entering the world of Wick that, when it comes to what you see on screen in these films, there are no shortcuts. “A lot of people say they want to do John Wick action,” Reeves notes in that instantly recognizable drawl. “And then when they get there, they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is something else.’”

Total Film's John Wick: Chapter 4 cover.

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For John Wick: Chapter 4 , the latest installment in the puppy-avenging punchathon which started from relatively humble beginnings in 2014 and is soon to spawn its own expanded universe (more on that later), Reeves trained intensively for the best part of a year, adding the bow and arrow and nunchucks to an already loaded repertoire of lethal weapons (guns, knives, pencils…). Taking his movie martial arts to the “next level” with judo and ju-jitsu practitioner Dave Camarillo, Reeves also boosted his driving skills for a full-throttle setpiece that takes place in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe. “John Wick: Chapter 4 has the most action of any of the [John Wick] films, which is saying a lot,” Reeves exclaims. “And it’s more by a good margin. It’s a big show!”

When TF catches up with Reeves and Stahelski in early January there’s a week left until work is completed on Chapter 4. It’s the culmination of a bruising three-year production – the longest period of time the pair have dedicated to a single Wick movie. Contrary to expectations given the series’ ever-deepening mythology, there is no long-term plan, according to Stahelski; no prescriptive multi-movie arc that the team is pursuing with these films. In fact, “after number three, Keanu and I were both fairly done,” the director admits. “We kind of wanted to just end on a cliffhanger.” What changed their opinions, as it has in the past, was a trip to Japan on the home stretch of a Wick publicity tour. “We’re usually down at the Imperial Hotel [in Tokyo]. They have an amazing Scotch bar there,” Stahelski says. “It’s been months since we wrapped. We sit in the Scotch bar, talking about what a good time we had, and, ‘Oh my God, it was painful, but it wasn’t that painful.’ Then you start talking like, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if…? We wish we could have done this…’ And usually, by the end of that press tour, we’re like, ‘Hey, man, we should write another script.’” He erupts into a knowing laugh.

On Chapter 4, the baton was passed from Wick creator Derek Kolstad to 28-year-old screenwriting wunderkind Shay Hatten, who got his big break in 2017 when his Ballerina spec script, written at weekends while Hatten was a writer’s assistant at Robert Downey Jr.’s production company, was bought by Lionsgate with the intention of incorporating the female-assassin story into a wider Wick universe (a process finally nearing completion, see boxout p37). Hatten has a credit on Chapter 3, but wrote this latest installment from whole cloth, and with Reeves, conceived a story that interrogates John Wick’s very reason to keep fighting. “With 4, you get to this place of asking an existential question of John,” explains Hatten, who says that while the tone and action of the films largely comes from Stahelski, the characterization of Wick is all Keanu.”

“When you find him, there’s been a little bit of a time break between [Chapters] 3 and 4. He’s full of rage. He wants revenge on the High Table for the things that happened in the third movie. But the questions that everyone around him is asking are: ‘Literally why are you still doing this? What is the value of your life, even if you get out?’ And would his wife value the man that he’s become in going down this gauntlet of revenge? You get to really examine John’s soul, and make him confront this idea of who he is, and what he’s fighting for.”

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Last action hero

In Chapter 3, we learned that John, aka Jardani Jovonovich, was once an orphan taken in by the Ruska Roma crime syndicate – represented by Anjelica Huston’s Director. In order to secure safe passage in that film, he cashes in his remaining chips with the Ruska Roma. Or, more accurately, “My ticket was torn,” says Reeves between gritted teeth, that Wick growl bubbling to the surface. Chapter 4 will again see Wick turning to his found family to take the fight to the High Table – the all-powerful organization seemingly pulling the strings in the film’s heightened underworld of organized killers. “I need my family to do something,” Reeves explains. “I need a reconnection. And I have some trials to go through to make that connection, to try to gain my freedom. But of course, since ‘Wick is pain’, the trials have some tribulations.”

After fighting his way across Rome and Morocco in previous entries, those tribulations will once again take Wick well outside his native New York. Filmed over four months from late June to late October 2021, the globetrotting script took the production to Aqaba in Jordan, Berlin, Paris, Tokyo, and, of course, New York. “I love being on location. Death, to me, is being on a soundstage,” Stahelski states. It is Japan that will have the biggest impact on Chapter 4, with Wick revealed to have history there in the form of two old allies: Donnie Yen’s blind swordsman Caine, and Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shimazu. The choice to tie the series to Japan has elegant thematic connections to the strict honor code observed in Wick’s assassin underworld, but is primarily driven by the fact that both Stahelski and Reeves are passionate fans of Asian cinema, and Japanese culture in general.

“Japanese anime and Japanese filmmaking have definitely been something I’ve loved and have been influenced by,” Reeves says. “And bushido is definitely a theme in our film – you know, the code of the samurai – so, from the outside, it feels like a great fit, the idea of honor and sacrifice. There’s definitely a strong Japanese influence.” Stahelski succinctly sums up the series’ new flavor: “If you took Sergio Leone and mixed him with Kurosawa, that’s kind of John Wick 4.”

The Western genre’s influences have always been present in the John Wick films, and have been further expanded in Chapter 4, which introduces single combat, winner-takes-all, pistol dueling to the series’ ornate mythology. “Nothing is more personal than a duel as a way to settle disputes,” Stahelski explains. John sees it as a way to challenge the authority of the High Table but runs into an issue of hierarchy. “You have to earn the right to duel,” Stahelski continues. “Back in the day of medieval duels, you couldn’t duel outside of your class, that’s how they use power to manipulate. I thought that was a fascinating idea to mess with, a way to show a different class within our world. And it’s a nod to all the great westerns out there.”

Wick’s challenge to the High Table puts him in the crosshairs of the Marquis de Gramont, a “viciously ambitious” individual looking to make a name for himself, played by Bill Skarsgård. “The Marquis is a young man of unknown origin who has quickly climbed the ladder within the High Table doing god knows what,” Skarsgård says. “I always saw him as someone from the gutter that now savors the glittery suits he’s wearing. He functions as the new sheriff set out to rid the world of John Wick once and for all.”

The Marquis embodies the “bureaucratic evils” of the High Table by enforcing and manipulating the arbitrary rules of a system designed to keep John and others like him under its thumb. He may not be a physical match for John Wick – let’s face it, who is? – but the Marquis’ skill in twisting these rules to his favor makes him a threat that Wick can’t simply fight the only way he knows how. “John’s getting old and tired, the Marquis is offering him a way out,” Skarsgård teases. “To be the one who finally kills the Baba Yaga would secure his status and power within the High Table.”

Wick's world

Keanu Reeves as John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 4

John isn’t about to move on the High Table alone. Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King is back, and “assists John Wick in the fight against the High Table in the most delightful, unexpected way,” Fishburne hints. And, of course, there’s Ian McShane’s Continental manager, Winston. When last we saw Winston, he had just gunned down his old pal Jonathan, sending him tumbling to the street from the roof of the Continental. The trailer shows Winston and Wick working together, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re allies, teases McShane. “Of course, they’re speaking. They’re on the same side… aren’t they?”

Similarly complex is the relationship between Wick and Shimazu, a character John has known for a long time, serving in part as “an invitation to explore John’s backstory more”, according to Hatten. Shimazu’s daughter, Akira, is played by singer/songwriter Rina Sawayama in her first screen role. She’s a character who is relatively new to the world of assassins, but what she lacks in experience she makes up for in gun(g)-ho enthusiasm, something Sawayama could relate to as a newcomer to film and John Wick. “The intensive training is something I’ve never had to do before and I was pushed to new limits, which I loved… although it was totally brutal!” Sawayama says. “It was a complete culture shock getting used to the physical training as it’s very different to choreo for stage and music videos, as well as every shot being at night-time, so training your mind to be alert at strange hours. It was a real experience, honestly.”

Inarguably, the most exciting addition to the cast for Chapter 4 is Hong Kong action icon Donnie Yen as Caine. Long before he was one with the Force in Rogue One, Yen was blazing a trail in Asian action cinema, bringing mixed martial arts and Wing Chun into the mainstream. The idea to cast Yen in a role that would put him in direct conflict with Wick came from Stahelski and Yen’s mutual respect for each other’s work, with Yen describing John Wick as like “the Super Bowl concert stage” of Western action movies, while Stahelski initially pitched Yen on a more traditionally Zatoichitype blind swordsman. “Donnie was like, ‘I get what you’re going for. I just don’t want to be the old, blind guy with a cane.’” Stahelski chuckles. “He came back, and goes, ‘If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather be the cool guy in the suit… It’s John Wick. It’s a suit movie. It’s cool!’ I was like, ‘You know what, Donnie? You’re absolutely right!’” As well as the Zatoichi archetype, Chow YunFat’s character in The Killer was an inspiration, as was footage of Bruce Lee in a tailored suit from an old screen test. “Caine is an old buddy of John Wick – and an ex-assassin as well,” details Yen of a character who is far from a cut-and-dry antagonist. “Most extraordinary is that he is a man who gave up his own sight in exchange for the safety of his daughter.”

Mortal combat

As Hatten points out, “There’s only so many actors in the world who can pose a viable threat to [Reeves] on an action level, and Donnie Yen is one of those.” According to stunt coordinator and second unit director Scott Rogers, Yen “brings ‘master level’ fighting abilities” to his films, meaning “he is not an actor that you have to train for each specific fight. He is a great actor who is also a trained fighter. His ability to enhance the choreography through his own creativity is world-class. When you add that to the many years of John Wick training that Keanu Reeves has invested, you end up with something very special.”

Reeves graciously admits that “my bar is nowhere near the heights of Donnie Yen”, adding that “to see his talent in person was amazing”. Like Reeves, Yen is in his late fifties (Yen is in fact 59, while Reeves is a sprightly 58). Describing himself as “older, and not much wiser” than when he first played John Wick nine years ago, Reeves claims that “John Wick: Chapter 4 was the hardest physical role I’ve ever had in my career so far. They really trained me up to be able to have what we call the toolbox.” A key tool that Reeves was required to hone for Chapter 4 was his stunt driving, with the film set to reintroduce car-fu to the series in showstopping style. “We took the car-driving to the next level, which I really enjoy,” Reeves says. “There’s 180s, forward-into-reverse 180s, reverse into-forward 270s, drifting… So it was really fun to get a chance to learn those skills, and to play.”

Everyone involved in the making of the John Wick films recognizes that a crucial element of their success is that Reeves is always visibly front and center of the action, often performing full-on fight scenes in unedited wide shots with nowhere to hide. It’s something that adds untold complexity and challenge to the process – not least to Reeves himself – but the results speak for themselves. “Overall, John Wick films are inherently very difficult because of the level of action and the fact that everyone involved wants Keanu Reeves to be embedded in that action,” Rogers says. “So you have to develop sequences that are physically within his grasp.” That also extended to Chapter 4’s Arc de Triomphe car sequence. “That was challenging in a number of ways,” Rogers adds. “First and foremost was the fact that we wanted it to editorially fit with the rest of the film, as in longer takes with [Reeves] doing the action. We started training Keanu nine months in advance to develop his driving skills and then choreograph the sequences around his strengths and abilities. Then we started developing a way to shoot it that would more resemble a John Wick fight than a standard car sequence.”

Stahelski is confident he has the most committed and capable leading man in Hollywood when it comes to action, and especially car stunts. “I dare you to find anybody, any cast member in Hollywood – and I’m including all the big names – that can drive better than [Reeves],” an animated Stahelski says. “I’ll throw down the gauntlet! You know the other names I’m throwing it down to, and I bet Keanu can out-drive them all. That’s how much time we put in. No skydiving or base-jumping; I can’t throw that gauntlet for sure. But in a vehicle, he’s amazing. And he puts in the time not just on set – he puts in the pre-lap time.”

Expansion pack

Given that the mainline John Wick series has gone from strength to strength both critically and commercially, and shows no signs of abating, it should come as no surprise that the world of Wick is currently expanding. Later this year The Continental, a three-episode miniseries set in the eponymous New York hitman hotel, will air, starring Mel Gibson, with Colin Woodell as a young Winston. Then there’s Ballerina, in which Ana de Armas stars as a Ruska Roma dance assassin (see page 39). Already confirmed is that John Wick will appear in the latter and throw down with de Armas’ character.

At one stage, there were even reports that John Wick Chapters 4 and 5 would film back to back. A follow-up to 4 is still officially unconfirmed though, at least until it’s discussed over a glass of Scotch in Tokyo. “You have to see how the audience responds to what we did,” says Reeves, who has proven time and time again across his career that he knows how to pick films that audiences connect to. “The only reason we’ve had a chance to make these movies is that people have liked what we have done. So I think we have to wait and see how the audience responds to it. Hopefully, they’ll like it.” As for the decision not to shoot two films back to back, Stahelski is confident he made the right call.”

“I understand the mentality to do that. I’ve been part of a couple of projects that have shot back to back, way back to the Matrixes,” noted Stahelski, having famously doubled for Reeves as Neo in the original trilogy. “But I grow a lot in between films. Hopefully, someday, someone who maybe has nothing else to do for the weekend will watch all four John Wicks, and I would like to think that the movies get not just bigger, but better, because in between I got better. It gives you that time to breathe, to research, to come up with new ideas, to try different things.”

Since making his feature directing debut with the first film in 2014, as a features director Stahelski has worked exclusively on the John Wick series, though not for lack of trying to get other projects off the ground, including a long-mooted Highlander reboot. If the filmmaker has his way, he’ll finally turn his attention to a non-Wick project next – Without Remorse follow-up Rainbow Six, starring Michael B. Jordan. “You might have to give me and John Wick just a little break,” Stahelski says. “Ask me in a couple of months. In the next week, I’m praying to the movie gods that I finish this one.”

Though he’s yet to see a finished cut at the time we speak, Reeves is confident they’ve pulled off something special with this latest installment; no mean feat given the series’ spectacular track record. “John Wick: Chapter 4 is our opus,” he says without hesitation, incapable of containing his enthusiasm. “Oh my god, it’s crazy, man! It’s banana cakes!” John Wick might be a pain, but Reeves knows better than anyone: no pain, no gain.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is available to stream on Prime Video right now. For more Wick check out our piece on the ending of John Wick 4 explained . If you're up to speed, check out our guide to all the upcoming major movie release dates for everything coming in 2024 and beyond.

I'm the Deputy Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the features section of every issue where you can read exclusive, in-depth interviews and see first-look images from the biggest films. I was previously the News Editor at sci-fi, fantasy and horror movie bible SFX. You'll find my name on news, reviews, and features covering every type of movie, from the latest French arthouse release to the biggest Hollywood blockbuster. My work has also featured in Official PlayStation Magazine and Edge.

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Fan-favorite John Wick character is getting a spinoff movie with Donnie Yen

Yen’s Caine was introduced in 2023’s “John Wick: Chapter 4.”

The John Wick universe is expanding once again.

Lionsgate announced that the studio is developing a spinoff focusing on Donnie Yen ’s character Caine, the blind assassin who was introduced in 2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4 . No director is attached yet, but the franchise’s producers Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, and original Wick director Chad Stahelski will oversee the project.

“Working on John Wick: Chapter 4 was an extraordinary experience. The reason these films resonate so deeply is because, like myself, Chad, Basil and Erica push themselves to create action, fights and stunts that are not only thrilling, inventive and artistic, but also expressive of character, story and emotion. Caine is an incredible character with a haunted past, and I am excited to return to the role,” Yen said in a statement.

Murray Close / Lionsgate / Courtesy Everett

Caine arrived in Chapter 4 as an old ally of Keanu Reeves ’ John Wick who’s hired to assassinate his friend after the High Table threatened his daughter. At the end of the movie, he teams up with Wick to defeat numerous other assassins, and is ultimately freed from his debt to the high table. In the post-credits scene, Caine finally reunites with his daughter — but Rina Sawayama’s Shimazu Akira is there, too, seeking revenge for her father, whom Caine killed earlier in the movie.

Yen is best known internationally for leading the Ip Man film series, which follows the legendary martial artist who trained Bruce Lee. Yen also played another blind character, Chirrut Îmwe, in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , and served as the primary antagonist opposite Vin Diesel in 2017’s XXX: The Return of Xander Cage .

The film will mark the third live-action spinoff in the John Wick series. The first expansion of the Wick universe came last year in the form of Peacock’s three-part prequel series The Continental , which starred Colin Woodell as Winston Scott, the owner of the titular assassin hotel played by Ian McShane in the movies.

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Next year, the first Wick spinoff movie, Ballerina , will hit theaters. Set in between John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4 , the film will star Ana de Armas as vengeful dancer-slash-killer Rooney, and will also feature appearances from McShane, the late Lance Reddick , and Keanu Reeves himself.

Reeves sang Yen’s praises in an interview with Entertainment Weekly last year. "He's obviously a legend in action movies and he's such a fantastic actor and artist," he said. "I really appreciated how he created the character of Caine and connected it to how he did action. It was almost character first, and then the action was an expression of character, which is a perspective that Chad and I share."

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The best John Wick movies, ranked by box office gross

Everyone loves a good action movie. From the original Terminator back in 1984 to last year’s Brad Pitt-lead Bullet Train , audiences have flocked to see things get blown up real good for decades. It’s no secret that action movies usually dominate the box office; after all, would you rather see Bruce Willis sneak around the Nakatomi building in Die Hard or a three-hour movie about shepherds in Siberia?

4. John Wick ($86 million)

3. john wick: chapter 2 ($174, 348,632 million).

1. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ($328,349,387 million)

1. John Wick: Chapter 4 ($359,094,319 million*)

In the last decade, no action film franchise has quite dominated the charts as the John Wick franchise. From 2014’s sleeper hit to 2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4 , these Keanu Reeves-starring action movies have quietly won over the hearts of fans worldwide. But which one is the most popular? Is it the sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2 , or the original John Wick , one of the greatest action movies ever ? Using each movie’s worldwide box office gross, the following is a list of the most popular John Wick movies in ascending order.

Note: * means the film is still in theaters and making money. These figures are current as of April 26, 2023 .

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It’s no surprise that the original John Wick is at the bottom of this list. When it came out in 2014, no one really thought much of the movie. Saved at the last minute from going direct-to-DVD by Lionsgate, John Wick had few things going for it. Its director, Chad Stahelski, was new and untested. Its star, Keanu Reeves, had suffered a series of critical and commercial flops, culminating in the notorious 2013 bomb 47 Ronin the year before. Its release date, October 24, was a no man’s land for action films, and it wasn’t a big shock when the cheesy horror movie Ouija beat it as the No. 1 movie that weekend.

And yet, John Wick persisted, grossing decent enough numbers to justify its small $20 million to $30 million budget. An $86 million total gross doesn’t sound like a lot for an action movie, but with its tiny budget and non-existent marketing campaign, the movie was able to make a tidy profit from its theatrical run. More importantly, John Wick did extremely well in home entertainment, expanding its fanbase to such a degree that Lionsgate felt confident enough to greenlight a sequel with a slightly bigger budget. And the rest, as they say, is action movie history.

Every sequel is designed to be bigger and better than the original. Ridley Scott’s spare and suspense-filled Alien was followed by James Cameron’s bombastic, action-heavy Aliens . The ultra-low budget Evil Dead spawned Evil Dead 2 , a gnarlier, more comedic sequel that upped the blood, guts, and weird camera angle. And so like many sequels before it, John Wick: Chapter 2 aimed to be just a little bit better than its predecessor.

It worked. With a slightly bigger but still lean budget of $40 million, John Wick: Chapter 2 more than doubled the original’s worldwide gross. Part of the reason why was the cast, which expanded to include the rapper Common as Cassian, comedian John Leguizamo as Aurelio, Ruby Rose as Ares, and Reeves’ old Matrix co-star Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King. Another factor was the impressive worldbuilding returning director Stahelski instigated in the sequel, which saw Reeves travel to Italy to complete an assignment and survive a memorable fight in the Roman catacombs. The action sequel was a hit with critics as well, who enjoyed the stylish director and deeper subplots involving the Continental and the High Table.

1. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ($328,349,387 million)

How many threequels are actually good? I love Scream 3 , but it’s generally considered the worst in the franchise. Ditto Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Friday the 13th Part 3-D , Jaws 3-D , and The Godfather Part III . For every Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Creed III , there are about a dozen other threequels that a truly terrible.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum bucked that trend. With all the usual sequel improvements like a bigger budget (now $75 million), more stars (Halle Berry was added to the roster), and more locations (Casablanca), Chapter 3 boasted some of the most complex action scenes yet in the franchise, including one where John engages in a fight at the New York Public library with NBA basketball star Boban Marjanović and Reeves riding a horse under a subway on the streets of New York City. Wick’s world was significantly expanded with this installment, with The High Table’s members The Elder, The Abdicator, and The Director all receiving significant screen time. The movie was the highest-grossing John Wick movie in the series, a record that is likely to fall given John Wick: Chapter 4 ‘s phenomenal success .

In just over 2 weeks of release, John Wick: Chapter 4 had already outgrossed the original and John Wick: Chapter 2 . What was it about this one that drove fans to see it? The awesome action scenes , which are already being called legendary? The memorable kills , including one in a rain-soaked Berlin nightclub? Is it the possibility that John Wick may die in this chapter ? How about all of the above and more?

While Chapter 4 had the highest budget of all the John Wicks at $100 million, that’s still pretty conservative when compared to other blockbusters like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania , which cost at least $200 million. Chapter 4 ‘s immediate success showcases the likability and endurability of Wick’s assassin hero, who could only be played by someone as coolly remote as Keanu Reeves. It’s the perfect marriage of an actor and a role, and it’s largely why people keep coming back for more. Well, that, and the spectacular action scenes, which are some of the best Hollywood has ever produced.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently playing in theatres.

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Netflix continues to bolster its library with new movies and TV shows every month. The streaming service has seen an increase in action movies in February, with American Assassin, Fury, Pacific Rim, Resident Evil, and Shot Caller all available to stream. Some of these films could find themselves on the top 10 charts of most popular films on the service.

If you are looking for more films to watch this month, we selected three action films to place in your Netflix queue. One of our picks is Extraction 2, the Chris Hemsworth-led sequel to one of Netflix's best original films. The other selections include a sequel to a famous assassin movie and an excellent zombie horror movie from Asia. Extraction 2 (2023)

Before 2023, it was always a safe bet that many of the year's top-grossing films would be action movies. Last year, even blockbuster sequels like Fast X and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One failed to cover their massive budgets and don't get us started on the lackluster superhero flicks that did their best to sink the entire genre.

Hollywood needs a reset, and we've been craving cinematic excitement ourselves. That's why we're looking ahead at the 10 most anticipated action movies of 2024. If these films can't be hits, then Hollywood will be in serious trouble. 10. The Beekeeper

2024 is shaping up to be an interesting year at the box office. Thanks to the Hollywood strikes, some releases were pushed back to 2025, and for the first time in years, there will only be two comic book adaptations in theaters. If some non-superhero flicks were ever going to step up, now's the time to do so.

Regardless of the strike delays, there are still a lot of potentially great movies to look forward to in the coming year. That's why we've assembled our list of the ten most-anticipated movies of 2024 as your guide for the next year. These films will likely be among the top hits of 2024 as well. 10. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

How to Watch the ‘John Wick’ Movies in Order

Follow Baba Yaga's entire blood-soaked saga

John Wick is arguably the defining action franchise of the last decade. What began as a relatively simple story of a retired assassin (Keanu Reeves) out for revenge has morphed into a globe-trotting saga filled with twisting allegiances, increasingly opaque worldbuilding, and guns… lots of guns.

This article explains how to watch the entire John Wick series in order of release and chronologically, as well as where each installment is available to stream.

Although it’s not a movie, we’ve included the spinoff Peacock miniseries The Continental: From the World of John Wick in the lists below.

How to Watch the 'John Wick' Movies in Order of Release

John Wick was originally released in 2014, and three sequels have come out since. In addition to the movies, a prequel miniseries called The Continental: From the World of John Wick came out in 2023 on Peacock .

Here’s the complete list of John Wick movies and spinoffs, sorted by order of release:

Planning a marathon? The first four John Wick movies will take eight hours and 42 minutes to watch back-to-back. The Continental miniseries adds another four hours and 28 minutes, so if you watch everything currently available, you're looking at a very long day of 13 hours and 10 minutes watching John Wick .

How to Watch the 'John Wick' Movies in Chronological Order

If you just want to stick to the movies, the John Wick chronology is identical to the release order. This means you can watch John Wick through to John Wick: Chapter 4 and be caught up on the whole story thus far.

However, if you add The Continental to the mix, the order changes a bit. The miniseries is set before the events of John Wick , so you’ll want to start there to watch in the proper chronological order.

Are They Making 'John Wick 5'?

While Ballerina is the fifth John Wick movie, a proper Chapter 5 is in development. We don't currently have a release date or any plot details, however. Originally, it and Chapter 4 were supposed to be filmed back-to-back, but director Chad Stehelski wanted a break between them.

Along with Chapter 5 , producers are also developing other spinoffs similar to Ballerina . The first would bring back Caine, Donnie Yen's character from Chapter 4 , and follow directly from that installment.

Producers are also already exploring a possible sequel for Ballerina and separate projects. One will include Sofia (Halle Barry) and Tracker (Shamier Anderson), and another may provide some backstory for the Bowery King ( Laurence Fishburne ).

Other discussed (but unlikely) projects include crossovers with Atomic Blonde and Nobody .

Read the original article on Lifewire .

How to Watch the ‘John Wick’ Movies in Order

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Movie Review – John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

March 24, 2023 by Robert Kojder

John Wick: Chapter 4 , 2023.

Directed by Chad Stahelski. Starring Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Ian McShane, Kamel El-Torky, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Clancy Brown, Hiroyuki Sanada, Lance Reddick, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Aimée Kwan, Marko Zaror, Natalia Tena, and George Georgiou.

The first line of dialogue in John Wick: Chapter 4 is simple and to the point: “the motherfucking king has returned”‘. After seeing the movie, it’s safe to say that director Chad Stahelski is the current motherfucking king of staging action.

Yes, there is more of the same martial arts-infused gun-fu with tweaks (even the most generic of henchmen are rocking durable armor) that’s just as thrilling as before, if not more so. There’s an extended fight scene set inside a wide-open area filled with flashing glass panels that serves as a creative playground for Keanu Reeves’ John Wick (you can practically feel your body breaking down alongside him just from watching every remarkably executed and tiring action sequence) and a lethal nunchuck/gun combination.

Toss in Donnie Yen as blind assassin Caine, formerly a friend of John Wick but now pitted against him through his service to ruthless High Table (the faces that run this intricate guild, and faces that can instantly be replaced before a dead body becomes cold) member Marquis de Gramont (a delightfully unhinged and sadistically arrogant Bill Skarsgård), and that makes for another refreshing dynamic for battles.

Caine’s tough predicament is one of John Wick: Chapter 4 ‘s secret weapons, as he doesn’t want to kill the titular assassin that has recently been a thorn in the High Table’s backside but will do anything to ensure the protection of his young daughter. Much like John Wick, Caine is looking for freedom and something to preserve, effectively functioning as a mirror to the protagonist, where the key difference is that all the things he has to live, die, and kill for are still alive.

The script by series newcomers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch (based on characters created by Derek Kolstad) is also smart enough not to waste some of the nearly three-hour running time on heavy-handed exposition; these two were once close friends when they were willing to be a part of this lifestyle, and it shows during their quieter, character-driven interactions. There are also not many of those, but they matter and count.

It’s also highly plausible that John Wick isn’t the only one looking to escape the demanding clutches of the High Table. This also means the film can explore friendship dynamics that don’t return to Markers (tokens by blood signifying that one must return a favor). Early on, John Wick visits the Osaka Continental Hotel run by Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shimazu, another friend from this past life who might offer assistance. Unsurprisingly, violence erupts, paving the way for his daughter Akira to join the melee, with Rina Sawayama instantly announcing herself as an exciting action star.

John Wick also encounters an assassin, played by Shamier Anderson, offering more of a tracking service to the Marquis, looking to buy his way out of the guild. He is accompanied by what he calls an emotional support dog that gets in on the action violently and hilariously. Also returning is Ian McShane as New York City Continental Hotel manager Winston, with one absurdly rousing line reading that perfectly sums up an entire character.

Complicated friendship dynamics are at play here, with many characters looking to make something right or cornered into doing something dastardly. John Wick: Chapter 4 easily has the best set of antagonists of the four films thus far; they have big and bold personalities similar to villains in the previous installments, but this time there is a depth that builds to an emotional finale as the film draws inspiration from classic spaghetti Westerns (with a soundtrack from Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard capable of mimicking that style in addition to the usual electronic beats and moody music).

If you’re reading this and nervously wondering that director Chad Stahelski got too ambitious and decided to stuff a three-hour movie with an hour of unnecessary character and storytelling, stop thinking that way. John Wick: Chapter 4 still jumps from one insane, stunningly choreographed action sequence to the next and is, miraculously, more brutal. Everyone here seems to be stabbed, shot, or hurled into a hazard more times than necessary, but it’s better to be safe than sorry when ensuring people are dead. As previously mentioned, this is more of the same, at the same level of quality and with greater character detail than anything that has come before.

However, there is nothing in this world that can prepare anyone for how innovative, electrifying, intentionally exhausting, and plain fucking intensely awesome the final hour of John Wick: Chapter 4 is. That level of engagement goes beyond caring about the characters into immersive moments during the action where the setbacks John Wick suffers are palpable.

Without giving much away, there is a relentless gauntlet of mayhem involving everything from cars (not in the way you think), shootouts mind-blowingly choreographed from a top-down video game shooter perspective, and a staircase that would make Rocky Balboa say, “fuck this.” It is exhilarating, with astounding physicality from every performer, and John Wick continues to be the greatest modern-day American action series, once again improving upon the last entry.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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'The Continental': Release Date, Cast, & Everything We Know About the 'John Wick' Prequel Show

It's time for your check-in at The Continental Hotel.

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What is the continental about, who’s who in the continental, watch the trailer for the continental, when is the continental scheduled to be released.

John Wick rules. It’s one of the most universally praised action franchises starring one of the most ubiquitously beloved leading men in Hollywood history— Keanu Reeves . Three entries in, and the franchise has grossed more than half a billion dollars worldwide. Each new entry almost literally doubles the earnings of its predecessor, demonstrating that a swelling wave of fans is flocking to each release, and all but foaming at the mouth for more decadent violence. The action is excessive and awesome. Director Chad Stahelski ’s time as the martial arts stunt coordinator and Keanu’s stunt double in the original The Matrix trilogy clearly informs his perception of his star’s capabilities and how best to capture them. While the exquisite action set-pieces are certainly the main attraction, the atmosphere and world-building set it apart from other invincible action-hero pictures. The neon-infused underworld of assassins, gangsters, and the industries populated by the oddball characters who make money off of them, seems limitless in its prevalence. One such institution, which is featured prominently in each film, is The Continental Hotel in New York City.

The Continental Hotel is an amnesty port in a world of wetwork. Patrons may visit the bar, enjoy a meal, or a room for whatever duration they can afford. They may enjoy the entire bounty of services and privileges of the hotel under the agreement that everyone is “off duty” (aka, no killing) when on the premises—lest they incur the wrath of management. The Hotel is run by an enigmatic and generous man named Winston ( Ian McShane ). Winston’s friendly but formal demeanor is accompanied by a sharp glint in his eye and comfort that betrays his power. McShane’s performance is flamboyant yet sophisticated and has helped pique the interest of Winston’s storied past. Back in 2017, a John Wick spin-off series was announced with very little information alongside the announcement. It’s been four years, coming up on five, since the show was announced, and casting and story details have finally started trickling out in recent months. Here’s a rundown of everything we know about The Continental .

Editor's Note: This piece was updated on September 17 with the latest trailer.

Related: 'The Continental' Filmmakers on the Hotel's New Look in 'John Wick' Prequel Series

The Continental is a prequel series set in New York during the 1970s sanitation strike that saw the city literally flooding with trash. While it was initially announced as a series that would run side-by-side with the events of the movies, even alleged to feature Keanu cameos, it’s taking viewers back to the beginning. Lionsgate’s TV Chairman Kevin Beggs spoke to Deadline in April 2021 where he revealed the show will follow a young Winston on his path to the steward of The Continental Hotel in New York. Given the 40-year gap between this series and the films, news of recasts is already spilling out. As he put it, “What we’re exploring in The Continental is the young Winston and how it came to be that he and his team of confederates found their way into this hotel, which we have met for the first time in the movie franchise 40 years later.”

The series' ambition is remarkable. Between expectations, recasting iconic characters, and the quality of action television like Game of Thrones and Gangs of London , The Continental has a lot of hype to live up to. Chad Stahelski’s early comments on his hopes for the show belie the aspirations for the production saying, “Yeah, I’d like to give it a go and prove to the TV world that you can have feature action on a TV show. It would be a nice little feather in my cap, sure.”

The official plot synopsis for the series via Peacock reads:

The three-part event will explore the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the John Wick universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape of 1970’s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the hotel’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his future throne.

Stepping into the loafers of Winston Scott is Colin Woodell ( Unfriended : Dark Web ). He’ll play Winston without all the power he’s accumulated since his ascent. Woodell is joined by Ayomide Adegun , who will portray a young Charon—a character endeared to fans of the films by Lance Reddick ’s performance. Rounding out the recast-crew is Peter Greene ( Pulp Fiction ). Greene dons the fedora of Uncle Charlie, the tight-lipped body disposal expert featured briefly in the films. Stepping into the series as the biggest name on set is Mel Gibson in the role of Cormac . Little is known about his character, but the legendary actor and director is joining a cast of varied experience—Adegun received his first acting credit on IMDB thanks to The Continental . Filling out the cast is Ben Robson ( Vikings ) as Frankie, Hubert Point - Du Jour ( Doctor Death ) as Miles, Jessica Allain ( The Laundromat ) as Lou, Mishel Prada ( Vida ) as KD, Nhung Kate ( The Housemaid ) as Yen.

The Continental is being run by Greg Coolidge , who’s mostly known for his comedic writing, and Kirk Ward . They share writing credits with Chris Collins ( John Wick Chapter 3 : Parabellum ), Derek Kolstad ( John Wick Series), and Ken Kristensen ( Happy ) on the show. Outside of the characters, it’ll share a large amount of the creative minds in common with films as well. Chad Stahelski, Derek Kolstad, David Leitch ( Deadpool 2 ), Paul Wernick ( Deadpool) , Rhett Reese ( Deadpool) , and Shawn Simmons will serve as executive producers on the show. While it originally boasted Chad Stahelski as a director for one of the episodes, Albert Hughes ( The Book of Eli ) is now slated to direct the opening and closing episode, with an unknown director helming the middle part.

Related: 'The Continental's Director Isn't Sure If the 'John Wick' Prequel Will Have More Seasons

The first teaser trailer for the series , set to Donna Summer 's "I Feel Love," was unveiled by Peacock on April 12, 2023.

We got our first full trailer for The Continental on August 9, featuring nearly three minutes of non-stop action. On top of that, several stills from the series have also been released . On August 24, we also got a new behind-the-scenes video spotlighting the beginnings of Charon and Winston's friendship. See it here:

Peacock released The Continental 's opening fight scene on YouTube days before the show's premiere.

The show is scheduled to premiere on Peacock on September 22, 2023. It’ll run as a miniseries with three 90-minute episodes. The series was initially going to premiere on the premium cable channel Starz, but in August 2022 it was announced that it would be heading to the NBCUniversal service instead . Kelly Campbell , President of Peacock and Direct-to-Consumer, said the following in regard to the move:

“The John Wick films have become a global phenomenon, are among the most watched titles on Peacock, and we are thrilled and honored to partner with Lionsgate to extend this incredible franchise. We understand the value of a global franchise and Val Boreland and team knew that by bringing this special event series to Peacock and putting the full power of NBCUniversal behind it, the premiere of The Continental will be the streaming event of the year."

The series will be available to stream on Prime Video for those outside of the US .

› Behind the Scenes

Donnie Yen’s ‘John Wick’ Character Caine to Lead Spin-Off Movie

His blind assassin warrior will now appear in his own spin-off movie, which is due to film next year in Hong Kong and continues his story from ‘Chapter 4’.

Donnie Yen as Caine in 'John Wick: Chapter 4.' Photo Credit: Murray Close.

Donnie Yen is starring in a ‘John Wick’ spin-off.
His blind assassin character Caine is the focus.
Robert Askins wrote the script.

When you have an internationally known and respected action star in the latest entry of your popular franchise, it stands to reason that, should his character pop, you might end up going the spin-off route.

Such is the case with martial arts icon Donnie Yen , who graced ‘ John Wick: Chapter 4 ’ last year as Caine, a highly skilled, blind assassin. Yen is now the focus of another ‘ Wick ’ spin-off.

John Wick: Chapter 4

What’s the story of Donnie Yen’s ‘John Wick’ spin-off?

(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Donnie Yen in 'John Wick: Chapter 4'. Photo: Lionsgate.

Lionsgate has yet to confirm the specific storyline for the new movie, though we do know it’ll continue the arc established in ‘Chapter 4’, as Caine was freed from his obligations to the High Table, the organization that purports to control the activities of hitmen such as Keanu Reeves ’ John Wick.

What we do know on the narrative front is that Robert Askins, a Tony-nominated playwright who has also worked on such series as ‘ The Umbrella Academy ’ and ‘ The Son ’, has been hired to write the script.

Here’s what Lionsgate’s Adam Fogelson had to say about the new development:

“From the moment Donnie Yen appeared on screen in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’, he captivated audiences and created an authentic, emotional connection that left an inedible mark and had fans asking for more. The ‘John Wick’ universe that Chad , Basil, Erica, and Keanu have built offers a tapestry of fascinating characters brought to life by the most extraordinary performers, and we’re excited to have one of the world’s biggest superstars on board to continue this journey.”

And here’s what Yen himself said:

“The reason these films resonate so deeply is because, like myself, Chad, Basil, and Erica push themselves to create action, fights, and stunts that are not only thrilling, inventive and artistic, but also expressive of character, story, and emotion. Caine is an incredible character with a haunted past, and I am excited to return to the role.”

Who else will appear in the ‘John Wick’ spin-off?

Donnie Yen in 'John Wick: Chapter 4'. Photo: Lionsgate.

No other casting was confirmed by the studio, though given that Reeves is reprising his role as Wick (albeit more as a cameo) in one of the other movie spin-offs, ‘ Ballerina ’ (due in theaters on June 6th, 2025), there’s still a possibility he could pop up in Yen’s film.

And this marks just the latest expansion of the ‘John Wick’ universe launched by the 2014 original movie –– in addition to ‘Ballerina’, we’ve already had TV prequel ‘ The Continental: From the World of John Wick ’, which streamed on Peacock and charted the earlier days of the titular hotel.

Other Movies and TV Shows in the 'John Wick' Franchise :

‘ John Wick ' (2014)
‘ John Wick: Chapter 2 ' (2017)
‘ John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum ' (2019)
' John Wick: Chapter 4 ' (2023)
' The Continental: From the World of John Wick ' (2023)
' John Wick Presents: Ballerina ' (2025)

Buy 'John Wick' Movies On Amazon

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‘John Wick’ Spin-Off ‘Ballerina’ Delayed By a Year

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Jessica alba's new netflix movie can rival an 89% rt hit for 2024's best john wick replacement.

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30 Best Movies Like John Wick

Vin diesel trains at familiar fast & furious location in new fast 11 bts photo, all 9 jason statham non-action movies, ranked worst to best.

Trigger Warning has the potential to be the top action movie of 2024, rivaling Monkey Man with gritty action sequences and a vengeful plot.
Jessica Alba's character, a special forces commando, is set to bring intense combat scenes reminiscent of the John Wick franchise.
While Alba's film may face tough competition and high expectations, it still aims to fill the void left by the absence of new John Wick content.

Jessica Alba's new Netflix film looks like it could be the perfect rival for an 89% Rotten Tomatoes hit in the quest to become 2024's John Wick replacement. The actress' upcoming movie, Trigger Warning , has a great chance of becoming this year's John Wick alternative , but the film already has some stiff competition. With the Ballerina spinoff officially being delayed until June 2025 , the John Wick franchise now has no content releasing in 2024, opening the door for other films to fill this void. This gives Trigger Warning a great chance at succeeding and becoming 2024's top action movie.

The film will follow Jessica Alba's Parker returning to her hometown and attempting to find the truth about her father's sudden death. Alba's character is a special forces commando, meaning Trigger Warning will contain plenty of action and violence as seen in the trailer. The close-quarter fight sequences and vengeful plot are reminiscent of the John Wick franchise and make Trigger Warning a suitable alternative during the action series' hiatus. However, while Trigger Warning could emerge as one of 2024's best action flicks, it will have to surpass a critically acclaimed smash hit with an incredible Rotten Tomatoes score.

Jessica Alba's Trigger Warning Can Rival Monkey Man As 2024's Best John Wick Replacement

Trigger warning looks like it will match monkey man's gritty action.

While Monkey Man looks to be 2024's best John Wick replacement , Trigger Warning can still rival it. The upcoming Netflix film has a similar plot to the first John Wick film, and if it can get the best out of Alba and her action skills, it has the potential to be a huge hit for the streaming platform. Alba's film looks like it has the same dark and gritty elements that made Monkey Man so successful while offering plenty of entertaining combat sequences in the process. The simplistic premise should also help Trigger Warning avoid being overcomplicated like other action flops.

Trigger Warning will be released on Netflix on June 21, 2024.

Monkey Man is currently leading the charge in terms of replacing John Wick , as it was constantly compared to Keanu Reeves' franchise during the build-up to its release. Alongside its critical success, Monkey Man also made a decent box office profit, confirming that Dev Patel's passion project was a certified hit. This will make it a lot tougher for Trigger Warning to run away as the year's top action movie, but if it can deliver on the trailer's potential and offer the same compelling fight scenes as Monkey Man , it stands a chance at competing.

Why Trigger Warning Is Unlikely To Beat Monkey Man's Rotten Tomatoes Score

Monkey man's stellar reviews make it difficult for any action film to better it in 2024.

With an 89% Tomatometer rating and an 84% audience score, Monkey Man is one of the top-performing action films of 2024 and this gives Trigger Warning a high bar to try and clear.

Even if Trigger Warning manages to receive strong reviews, it is unlikely to beat Monkey Man 's Rotten Tomatoes score. With an 89% Tomatometer rating and an 84% audience score, Monkey Man is one of the top-performing action films of 2024 and this gives Trigger Warning a high bar to try and clear. Monkey Man 's similarities to John Wick definitely helped the film thrive and it is clear that Dev Patel's movie took a lot of inspiration from the franchise. This helped the movie refine its action and tell a compelling story that has led to so much success.

Trigger Warning may still perform well, but it will have to be exceptional to exceed these reviews, and Alba's Rotten Tomatoes track record isn't ideal for the film. There is already pressure on Trigger Warning to redeem Jessica Alba's Killers Anonymous which has a 0% Tomatometer score, and her other action movies haven't performed much better. While this is a slightly worrying sign for Trigger Warning , Alba's newest film looks a lot better than some of her past failures ; however, surpassing Monkey Man 's reviews looks close to impossible, especially when considering Alba's Rotten Tomatoes history.

Trigger Warning & Monkey Man Prove John Wick Is Still Influencing The Action Genre

John wick's signature style seems to have influenced both trigger warning & monkey man.

With Trigger Warning and Monkey Man both having plenty of aspects resembling John Wick , it is clear the action series is still having a massive influence on the genre. John Wick has become the perfect example of what works for modern action movies, and Monkey Man 's performance is proof that the gun-fu format is a winning formula when done right. Although John Wick may not be the most charismatic action hero, his combat skills and honorable motivations make him so exciting to watch, and Monkey Man 's The Kid falls into a similar category, proving John Wick has redefined the genre.

The best movies like John Wick are the ones that–like John Wick the character and John Wick the film–go above and beyond what action fans expect.

Although Trigger Warning is still to debut, its fight sequences and vengeful plot seem to have taken plenty of inspiration from John Wick as well, once again proving that the franchise has become pivotal to modern action films. Other movies like Nobody and Atomic Blonde also adopted the John Wick style of action as it creates a grittier and more realistic plot despite how resilient the protagonists are. Despite John Wick not having any projects in 2024, it is still inspiring this year's action films , and Trigger Warning appears to be the latest movie trying to replicate the franchise's success.

Trigger Warning (2024)

Lionsgate Shrinks Quarterly Losses as TV Business Gets Post-Strikes Bounce

By Brent Lang

Executive Editor

Lionsgate Shrinks Quarterly Losses as TV Business Gets Post-Strikes Bounce 15 hours ago
5 Takeaways From Cannes as Festival Winds Down: ‘Emilia Pérez’ Beguiles, Trump Gets Fired Up, Austerity Hits Croisette 3 days ago
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Quarterly losses shrank at Lionsgate and revenues climbed as the company’s television business rebounded from the twin strikes that had shut down production for much of 2023.

Popular on Variety

The company continues to anticipate that the full separation of Lionsgate Studios and Lionsgate (i.e. Starz) will occur by the end of calendar year 2024. Currently about 87% of the total shares of Lionsgate Studios are held by Lionsgate. Lionsgate Studios is comprised of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group and Television Studio segments along with a film and TV library that includes 20,000-plus titles.

In a call with analysts shortly after announcing the company’s results, Jon Feltheimer, who serves as CEO of both companies, touted the benefits of the separation. “Last week’s launch of Lionsgate Studios is more than just an opportunity to shine a light on the tremendous value of the content we’re creating, owning and delivering,” he said. “It is also an important step forward in fully separating our studio and Starz by the end of the calendar year in order to simplify our structure, unlock opportunities to scale our respective businesses and create incremental value for our shareholders.”

Lionsgate’s media networks’ business, which includes its streaming service, struggled. Net subscribers in the U.S. decreased by 480,000 which segment revenue fell 7.1%  to  $361.5 million.  Segment profit declined by 28.4% to $52.5 million.

Lionsgate shares were up slightly following its quarterly report. They closed Thursday down 2.49%.

Todd Spangler contributed to this report.

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COMMENTS

John Wick: Chapter 4 movie review (2023)
The action sequences in "John Wick: Chapter 4" are long battles, gun-fu shoot-outs between John and dozens of people who underestimate him, but they have so much momentum that they don't overstay their welcome. They also have wonderfully defined stakes. At one point in the film, John and an enemy decide on the parameters of a battle, including ...
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In " John Wick: Chapter 4 ," the epic culmination of the flamboyantly brutal death-wish-meets-video-game-meets-the-zen-of-Keanu-Reeves action series, our hero finds himself in a Berlin ...
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
John Wick: Chapter 4: Directed by Chad Stahelski. With Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, George Georgiou, Lance Reddick. John Wick uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.
John Wick: Chapter 4
Rated 4/5 Stars • 08/24/23. The Continental. In Theaters At Home TV Shows. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must ...
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In the latest and longest movie set in Wick World, Keanu Reeves's titular assassin visits Paris and paints the town red. ... 2023 Updated March 24, 2023. ... John Wick: Chapter 4 Rated R for the ...
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Chad Stahelski's opera of violence is one of the most artistically stirring movies of 2023. Full Review | Mar 5, 2024. ... The John Wick universe is a complex blend of gun violence, vague ...
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John Wick: Chapter 4 is one of the best action movies of the past few years. - JimmyO, JoBlo's Movie Network. John Wick: Chapter 4 boasts truly innovative action — not only by the standards of the John Wick series, but also for all of cinema. - Fred Topel, United Press International. This is sure to become a highly rewatched, often ...
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"John Wick: Chapter 4" premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. Lionsgate will release it in theaters on Friday, March 24. Lionsgate will release it in theaters on Friday, March 24. Read More:
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It goes without saying, but John Wick: Chapter 4 doesn't exactly fly by, particularly due to its runtime of 169 minutes, which is the longest in the franchise. With that being said, every brutal sequence, piercing sound effect, and humorous line delivery is well worth it. The nerve-wracking scuffles among the assassins have returned to their ...
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John Wick: Chapter 4 is a 2023 American neo-noir action thriller film directed and co-produced by Chad Stahelski and written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch. The sequel to John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019) and the fourth installment in the John Wick franchise, the film stars Keanu Reeves as the title character, alongside Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki ...
John Wick: Chapter 4 Review: Kevin Fox, Jr. on the 2023 Film
Vague Visages' John Wick: Chapter 4 review contains minor spoilers.Chad Stahelski's 2023 movie stars Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen and Bill Skarsgård. Check out the VV home page for more film reviews, along with cast/character summaries, streaming guides and complete soundtrack song listings.. The John Wick films belong to a lineage of comic book-like productions.
John Wick: Chapter 4
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John Wick: Chapter 4 Movie Review: The Franchise Surges Miles Ahead of
Review: In terms of contemporary action movies, John Wick: Chapter 4 (and the entire John Wick franchise, honestly) has separated itself from the pack. Each detail, idea, and set piece is perfectly crafted to build out a world that feels so fully realized.
John Wick: Chapter 4 review
Mon 13 Mar 2023 23.00 EDT Last modified on Thu 23 Mar 2023 14.31 EDT Share L ate in the fourth film bearing his name, indestructible hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) falls down some stairs.
2023 in review: Read our feature on the making of John Wick: Chapter 4
Total Film's 2023 in review: Keanu Reeves and more on the making of John Wick: Chapter 4. This feature originally appeared in issue 334 of Total Film.Subscribe to Total Film hereto never miss an ...
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RSVP NOW. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) takes on his most lethal adversaries yet in the upcoming fourth installment of the series. With the price on his head ever increasing, Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Osaka to Berlin.
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