John Wick: Chapter 4 💥🔫👊✏️ (NO SPOILERS!) mini review:

If we have learned anything from the past 9 years, it is to not count Keanu Reeves out of the game. Being the fourth and longest film in the John Wick series thus far, the franchise runs the risk of growing stale or too repetitive for its own sake. I am so thrilled to report that John Wick: Chapter 4 is consistent in quality with its three predecessors by dialing up the gun-fu action, raising the stakes, and building upon the mythos of this universe (i.e. The Continental, High Table), full of the most dangerous assassins known to man. Keanu Reeves is so committed to this role and while he shines in the high octane action, he also brings a helping of reserved emotion that gives the cold blooded killer character of John Wick a true sense of humanity and empathy during his journey over the course of the movie. The thing that separates the John Wick series from most other modern action films is its emphasis on a strong supporting cast, and such is the case once again in Chapter 4. Not only do we get excellent work from returning supporting characters such as Winston (Ian McShane), Charon (Lance Reddick), and Bowery King (Lawrence Fishburne), but there are also new antagonists like Caine (Donnie Yen), The Tracker (Shamier Anderson), Killa (Scott Adkins), and Marquis (Bill Skarsgård) that add to both the action and story. Donnie Yen in particular as the blind assassin Caine is a total scene stealer and has some of the most satisfying fight sequences. With the bounty on Wick’s head ever increasing, we the viewer get a look at the nasty elitists of the High Table such as Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis, who works perfectly as the entitled villain that you just want to see get humiliated by Wick. John Wick has always been an action franchise for dog lovers, and with the fun addition of Shamier Anderson’s Tracker, I can assure you there’s plenty of bark and bite to go around. Director Chad Stahelski outdid himself directing this film, as each action scene and each hand to hand combat sequence is choreographed and shot to perfection, with not a single moment of jarring shaky cam nor an array headache inducing jump cuts. It’s an almost three hour affair and somehow justifies just about every scene not being cut out. Maybe a bit of the second act has a pacing lul, but that’s me digging for flaws, something this movie has very little of. The third act is everything an action movie junkie has ever dreamed of, with a kinetic extended final battle full of guns, swords, and satisfying kills that will surely elicit cheers from audiences and have fans buzzing with adrenaline. I’d also like to note how gorgeous the production design and costumes are in this and frankly all of the John Wick movies. Soundtrack is a mix of techno and remixed classic rock, just as fitting as the previous scores. There is in fact a post credits scene all the way at the very end of the scrolling credits, so don’t miss that. Overall, John Wick: Chapter 4 solidifies the John Wick character as one of Keanu Reeves’s most iconic roles and serves as a nearly three hour exhilarating action epic odyssey spectacle, complete with fists, blood, bullets, car chases, blades, badass one-liners, and glorious headshots to behold. If there’s one word to describe how I felt leaving the theater, it’s this: “…YEAH…”