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John Wick Chapter 4 shows the titular hero, portrayed by Keanu Reeves (Bill And Ted Face The Music), is a man of few words, since following an opening horse chase, out in the desert – and with Mr Wick doing what he does best, he goes to chew the fat with The Elder (George Georgiou), he’s told a good life is followed by a good death, to which comes a reply that’s little more than “Yeah…” and “Not really…”
But he has bigger fish to fry, because John Wick wants his ring, and his freedom from The High Table, and he’s most likely still rather “pissed off” after the ending of Chapter 3, but when asked by Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne – The School of Good and Evil) if he’s ready? …“Yeah!”
What obviously overshadows this release, is that Lance Reddick (Resident Evil 2022), who plays The Continental’s concierge, Charon, sadly passed away just a week before this film came out, at the age of just 60.
However, the future of the hotel is in doubt, following certain actions by the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård – The Devil All The Time), and Winston (Ian McShane – Jawbone) is told he’ll lose credibility if John Wick lives.
So, events move over to the the Osaka Continental in Japan, managed by Shimazu Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada – Bullet Train), and his daughter, Akira (Rina Sawayama), but with some baddies turning up – led by will-punch-anyone-for-a-quick-buck Scott Adkins (One Shot), as the unsurprisingly named Killa – accusing them of hiding John Wick, this is just a case of any excuse for a gun and/or sword fight, so the film is, as usual, largely just a series of set-pieces.
Meanwhile, this time, there’s an $18m bounty on John Wick’s head, and rising…
If there’s one thing this fourth installment has, it’s too many characters: Donnie Yen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) is blind swordsman Raymond Caine – an old friend of Wick’s, and surprisingly good at getting the job done; Shamier Anderson (Invasion) as “Mr Nobody”, who together with his dog (since we always need a dog in these films), has the tools to achieve bringing in our lead… maybe? And, Clancy Brown (Highlander), as the Harbinger, pops up from time to time, but does seem rather surplus to requirements.
As well as the usual, there’s some gory moments, and cool quotes, such as “A man’s ambition should never exceed his worth”, but overall, you could easily cut about 25 mins out of the ridiculous 2hr 49min running time, since after the initial set-up, there are some chat bits that rather drone on.
So, while John Wick Chapter 4 is entertaining, it’s not the best thing since sliced bread, however much the Groupthink on social media will say.
Plus, there is a post-credits scene. If you want to know what that is before you go, or if you missed it because you’re an idiot who leaves early, you can watch the video below.
John Wick Chapter 4 is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Amazon Prime and DVD.
You can also pre-order the 4-film collection on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 169 minutes
Release date: March 24th 2023
Studio: Lionsgate UK
Format: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic ALFA Scope, ARRIRAW 4.5K)
Cinema: Cineworld Didsbury
Rating: 7.5/10
Director: Chad Stahelski
Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Chad Stahelski
Screenplay: Shay Hatten, Michael Finch
Characters: Derek Kolstad
Music: Tyler Bates, Joel J Richard
Cast:
John Wick: Keanu Reeves
Bowery King: Laurence Fishburne
The Elder: George Georgiou
Charon: Lance Reddick
Harbinger: Clancy Brown
Winston: Ian McShane
Akira: Rina Sawayama
Chidi: Marko Zaror
Marquis: Bill Skarsgård
Raymond Caine: Donnie Yen
Mia: Aimée Kwan
Shimazu Koji: Hiroyuki Sanada
Mr Nobody: Shamier Anderson
Babushka: Irina Fedorova
Katia: Natalia Tena
Klaus: Sven Marquardt
Killa: Scott Adkins
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.