© 2023 by Zack Smith. All rights reserved.
Summary
Picking up where Chapter 3 left off, John Wick is at war with the High Table and is on the run, taking refuge in Japan. The High Table hires some assassins to kill him there who of course fail resulting in much bloodletting, setting the stage for a negotiated final duel in Paris between Wick and his primary enemy and representative of the High Table, the Marquis. But before that duel can happen, Wick must battle his way across Paris on foot.
Review
This excellent fourth movie in the John Wick series is ostensibly the last, but we'll see.
The battles and action are as thrilling as expected. John Wick can't just fight a few bad guys, he has to fight a smorgasbord of thugs, and not just in one venue but numerous with various attendant dangers:
- He fights people in at a Japanese hotel with swords.
- He fights people in busy Parisian traffic, which doesn't stop moving despite constant gunfire.
- He fights people in a dilapidated French building.
- He fights people while ascending perhaps the longest stairway in Paris.
His relationships are altered in various ways:
- He loses a good friend to the corrupt High Table.
- He loses a good friend to an assassin.
- He forms a temporary alliance with the same assassin.
- He gains the respect of another assassin, whose dog he saves.
- He appears to die, but we don't see that happen.
In short, this film delivers the goods, with far more entertainment value than most movies can muster.
The film-makers also rendered a kindness to fans who, having been stuck in unnecessary Covid-19 lockdowns for years, were unable to travel overseas. We are treated to views of such set locations as the Eiffel Tower, the interior of the Palace of Versailles, and Montmartre among others.
Did Wick die?
In movies, if you don't see someone die, assume they didn't. Lawrence Fishburn's grin while standing above Wick's grave may indicate a ruse.
Polti plots
- #1 Supplication, subtype A1 Fugitives imploring the powerful for help against their enemies.
- #3 Vengeance, subtype A7 Vengeance for a slain or injured friend.
- #5 Pursuit, subtype C The hero struggling against a power.
- #5 Revolt, subtype B1 Revolt of one individual, who influences and involves others.
- #24 Rivalry of Superior and Inferior, subtype A6 Of a master and a banished man.
Links
Actors
Keanu Reeves, Bill Skarsgård, Donnie Yen, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Rina Sawayama