#MovieReview: John Wick 4 is an epic of fight scene efficiency

Although it strains credulity beyond any reasonable measure, John Wick 4 delivers more than enough thrilling action to warrant a trip to the movies.

The latest, and potentially last, installment of the franchise sees titular assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) take on an army’s worth of assailants on his way to an excellent third act set piece.

Wick was already the illegitimate lovechild of Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee, but given the trail of death he leaves in this outing, you’d have to imagine Superman somehow snuck into his gene pool too.

Dodging an endless stream of bullets and blades, Wick displays his signature gun-fu fighting style in locations across the world, from Osaka to Berlin and Paris.

Despite a run time of almost three hours, the movie barely takes a breath after the first 20 minutes or so of necessary exposition, continuously ratcheting up the action until it just about earns its bonkers finale.

Of course Wick is all but invincible and we see no cops or passersby getting caught in the melee, but you don’t really buy a ticket to one of these movies for realism.

An epic through-and-through, with references to Lawrence of Arabia and Battleship Potemkin to boot, the action in John Wick 4 is simply some of the best ever brought to screen.

It’s well known at this point, but franchise director Chad Stahelski broke into Hollywood as a stuntman, first encountering Reeves when he doubled him for The Matrix.

This intimate knowledge of fight choreography allows him to capture scenes like no other director, with the stunt team in this movie pulling off some truly amazing feats.

Whether you think the story delivers is mostly inconsequential, you will likely be smiling from ear-to-ear at the sheer audacity of some of the stunts.

And Stahelski is far more accomplished than his ex-stuntman moniker too, bringing a neon-futurism to the film’s aesthetic and trusting his performers enough to shoot the fights in full light.

Lesser movies rely on fast cutting and blurry shadows to hide fight inadequacies, but John Wick 4 shows every punch and speck of blood as it dares you to look for a mistake in the editing room.

Which is all to say, this movie is pretty damn good at accomplishing what it sets out to do.

Cameos from action legends Donnie Yen and Scott Adkins add extra Easter eggs for ardent fans too. Is it all a bit ridiculous? Absolutely.

But as a showcase for pure action, you will find few better films.
Rated 18 for Violence and Language.
4/5.

Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news

Telegram Broadcast Service: https://t.me/joinchat/yJULuN8NaCs5OGM0