Movie Review- John Wick: Chapter 4
In my review of John Wick 3:Parabellum, I had noted that the John Wick movies have always been less about the storyline and more about the elevation of choreographed cinematic carnage to art form. That still holds true in the fourth installment of the franchise, John Wick: Chapter 4.(JW4)
However, JW4 elevates the art form several notches higher. It synthesizes the franchise’s alternate world’s notion of social contracts and moral codes with mind-boggling cinematic carnage to create a masterclass in the action genre of film making.
From the beginning, JW4 grips you by the throat and treats you to intensely pleasurable asphyxiation. It builds an increasingly impressive sistine chapel of visceral violence orchestrated to the strains of classical music when bad guys are spewing Zen-ish existential philosophy about friendship, rules and consequences or the pulsating sounds of techno music whilst they beat the holy crap out of each other in the laser-light lit midst of ravers.
Superb directing, hard-hitting and brilliantly-choreographed stunt work, creatively artistic set pieces enhanced even more by brilliant cinematography, deft editing and aurally-pleasing sound effects coupled with several impressive acting turns from action movie legends and newcomers were all expertly deployed to create an unforgettable cinematic experience in this fourth installment of a franchise that not only sustains the tempo set by its predecessors but actually tops them.
For the uninitiated to the John Wick franchise, if you can allow yourself to see beyond the pomp and pageantry of blood and gore, the symphony of swords and knives, the ballet of bullets and brutal fights, the avalanche of mindlessly raw and visceral violence (albeit sartorially finessed by bad guys in fitted suits) and try to understand the philosophical underpinnings of the rules and consequences of its alternate world especially as portrayed in JW4, you will discover what the initiated have always known and appreciated; that the John Wick franchise is a masterclass in modern film making. 9/10
