John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) * *

 

Directed by:  Chad Stahelski

Starring:  Keanu Reeves, Bill Skarsgard, Donnie Yen, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Laurence Fishburne, Shamier Anderson

Is John Wick a cyborg?  Was he created out of the same materials as The Terminator?  From my count, John is hit by a speeding car six times, shot, stabbed, and falls from high places only to hit the ground and then moments later shake it off and keep going.  Other than the occasional shot of alcohol, John Wick doesn't seem to drink, or eat for that matter.  He doesn't seem to sleep or suffer in any way from fatigue after blowing away forty people and fighting even more.  I was willing to suspend my disbelief and allow the first three films in the series to work for me in all of their ludicrous glory.   But now I'm pushing back.  John Wick: Chapter 4 is forty minutes longer than the last film in the series and it's chock full of looooong action sequences which pass into the realm of the absurd.   I find myself asking questions, which is deadly to a movie like John Wick: Chapter 4.  Questions such as:

*  How many clips does John carry in his suit?  

*  Does any airport security stop him or question why he has so many clips in his luggage?

*  How many frequent flier miles has he accrued over the years since he shows up in whatever city he's needed at a moment's notice?   And if he uses a private jet, then whose private jet, since he is supposed to be excommunicated from the underworld he inhabits and helping him would result in death? 

*  What substance are his bones made of?  

I could go on, but you get the point.  The first three movies in John Wick were outrageous, but fun, and the rules and traditions of the underworld from which John Wick can't escape created intrigue of their own.  The seemingly implacable rules, however, can be broken by technicalities or shortcuts whenever the plot requires them to be broken.  The ending of Chapter 3 promised us a battle with the "High Table", the organization which governs the world of John Wick.  Instead of that fight, we are treated to another showdown between John Wick and a representative of the High Table, the sadistic Marquese (Skarsgard), who has sent men like Caine (Yen) and the Tracker (Anderson) after John Wick.  Caine is blind, but still a fierce fighter, and Tracker, like the John Wick of old, is more vicious when you go after his dog companion.   The issue is, Caine and Tracker's allegiances and loyalties change with the wind.  One minutes they help John, the next they are trying to kill him.  

Keanu Reeves plays the role straight and of course is a top-flight action star.  He isn't given much dialogue, although it is my understanding many of his lines were cut from the script.  But he's no longer human, which could be said for the series.   John Wick: Chapter 4 looks and feels like a video game with its hero fighting through an endless parade of nameless, faceless villains he must destroy in order to proceed to the next round where he can do it all over again.   You have the sense that John Wick hung on for one movie too many.