For some people John Wick: Chapter 4 might be the movie of the year. Since the film’s release I’ve had numerous interactions where people have sung laurels about this film. I was not able to watch the film in the opening weekend, so when I finally went in I was expecting to be blown away. Was I? Unfortunately not. I was never a big fan of John Wick movies until I saw the third one. The first one is fine, the second one is a real drag but despite the long runtime of the third one, it managed to just flow by. I didn’t feel the runtime even for a minute. So, when Chapter 4 didn’t work for me I pondered as to why? The answers were right in front of me but I was surprised as to how everyone else is just ignoring the problems with the film. The overwhelmingly positive response to John Wick 4 film is confusing because if a novice like myself sees so many glaring issues with the film then how are the professional critics ignoring them. So, let’s get straight to the point and talk about these issues.
Things That Don’t Work In John Wick: Chapter 4!
Just to clarify, I wanted to love this film and I didn’t go in with the thought of ripping it apart. With that in mind, these are the things which objectively don’t work in the concluding chapter of the John Wick franchise:
1. Runtime: I know there are many who will defend this, however, I felt the runtime. The film was too long. A good editor would’ve definitely chopped off at least 40 minutes of the film. I know people who criticize Scorsese’s films for having a massive runtime but that man mostly covers a man’s entire life journey in his films. This film only has 2-3 days of John Wick’s life in which all he does is shoot bullets and get hit by cars. Still the film has a runtime of 169 minutes. Parabellum was also pretty long, however, the film had considerably more plot in it and the innovative action scenes which somehow just kept getting better. John Wick Chapter 4, unfortunately, has neither.
2. John Wick: Hear me out. I’m not saying he is the problem but the ending they were seeking just doesn’t fit. Counting in the hyper-unrealism of the action sequences, he is hit by a million cars in the film, he is shot thousands of times, he falls down from all places, and he is thrown down the stairs from what seems like heaven. He survives everything and then dies of a simple gunshot in the end. Wick’s death was always going to be unbelievable as at this point, he is almost a superhero who is unkillable. To up the ante they made him survive everything but then they also expect us to buy his very normal death? This is why John Wick, like the superhero he became by part 3, doesn’t fit the ending of the film.
3. Villain: Bill Skarsgård is one of my favorite actors because of his iteration of Pennywise in the IT movies. Unfortunately, the villain he portrays in the film more often than not comes across as a show-off. He wear expensive shoes and suits. Lives in lavish hotels and delivers lines really slowly but other than that all he does is what previous villains have done- send out numerous people to kill John Wick. Does he have no idea of the events of Chapter One, Two and Three? Does he not know how many people John Wick has killed? He should’ve had a better plan. The only two moments where I found him menacing was when he killed Charon and stuck a blade through Tracker’s hand. The ending is just an example of how poorly they’ve developed Marquis Vincent de Gramont.
4. Action Sequences: Well, that is it, isn’t it? When I say the action sequences are the problem in an all out action film then what else is up for discussion? Well, let’s see where everything went downhill. The film began fine but after that it slowed down considerably. There is a lot of time given to set-up Marquis, which I think was necessary. The first big action set piece is in Tokyo and despite the visual appeal of it the action is repetitive. We don’t like action scenes that look similar to other films, however, most of the action scenes from this film almost look identical to itself. All it has is John Wick with a gun shooting and running away from assassins. Donnie Yen’s character is also a misfit, he is cool but it is the same Chapter Three problem- John Wick’s status protects him. Tracker and Caine rescue him so many times which just feels like a bummer. Also, sometimes John just leaves the scene like in Tokyo when John escapes and then we see a long fight between Caine and Shimazu. I didn’t come to see that. I wanted to see John Wick killing people in unimaginable ways. Which brings me to the fundamental problem- the action set pieces are grand but unimaginative. The use of props and objects in Chapter Three elevated the ante in the film here the action looks stale and often just repetitive. However, I would say that Stahelski has grown as a filmmaker as this is his most cinematic film, visually speaking. I also appreciate the Paris car sequence but after a point it is just a guy getting hit by cars that too for half and hour. I admire the technical brilliance but sorry it didn’t work for me. The stairs sequence has a similar issue. In fact, it is more boring as there is no technical superiority to it.
5. Unwanted Emotional Moments: I get that you can’t show action all the time and you need moments that make your hero vulnerable for the audience to connect to him. However, this is not the first film of the franchise. It is the fourth which means that we’re already connected to him. The emotional moments were unnecessary and weird. They were out of place. They almost felt like a set-up for the ending to make sense. I so wish they were done better.
6. Ending, Screenplay and Wasted World-Building: The ending seemed forced. After bearing everything John Wick dies? So unbelievable. It almost seemed like they were done and wanted to end the franchise so they were like, fine let’s kill him. The screenplay is bloated as well but not due to the unimaginative action sequences, but instead cause of the route that Wick takes for his freedom. I mean after all that build up by the past 3 films, I expected him to take on the entire high table or something or going out on a full-on war route. Instead we were given a John Wick Chapter 2-esque villain and storyline. Also, many new characters are introduced in the film which in retrospect are not required.
That said, it did have some glorious moments especially the flare-shotgun sequence with the iconic LED Spirals / Shots Fired as its BGM. But ultimately, it failed to live up to the hype and definitely didn’t work as well for me as most people out there. John Wick: Chapter Four is playing in theatres near you and it is available for purchase on Digital.
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